Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald (1921–1986)

The Daughter of Jazz Age Icons

The only daughter of the most famous and celebrated couple of the 20th century Jazz Age, an era that her father named himself, Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1921 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her mother was the famed Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, a writer and artist in her own right.

Her parents were the 'it couple' of the Jazz Age, leading a wild and unconventional life as the celebrated writer and his lovely wife traversed between Europe and the U.S. for a decade. The drunken parties they threw and attended were the talk of Paris and New York City.

A Turbulent Childhood in the Shadow of Literary Giants

Nicknamed "Scottie," she led a nomadic and traumatic childhood, moving constantly between countries and continents with a succession of British and French nannies. Her mother was not into mothering or nurturing, and her father barely had time for her when writing. Many times, "Scottie" was just ignored by her parents. And their tempestuous and alcohol-fueled marriage isolated her even further.

That "Scottie" grew up to have a modicum of a normal life with talents of her own is amazing. Talent and tragedy were genetically passed on to her. Those genetics included alcoholism, prescription drug abuse, numerous failed suicide attempts by her mother, and a mother with schizophrenia/bipolar disorder. Fitzgerald, too, wasn't the greatest of fathers.

She grew up in Paris, France, with her parents and met all the important figures in the writing and artistic hub at that time. She met Gertrude Stein, who "terrified her." Of course, Gertrude Stein could terrify anyone, not just little girls. She also met Hemingway and felt he was "a great tearing figure."

As a child, she also knew Picasso, Valentino, John Dos Passos, Ring Lardner, Dorothy Parker, Archibald MacLeish, and Charles MacArthur: all friends of her parents and artists and writers living in Paris. Did she ever have playmates of her own? Hardly.

A Life in Denial

How did she react to her parents continuing antics? Early on, she developed her lifelong coping mechanism with regards to her parents' behavior. It was the ability to refuse to see what she didn't want to see. Today, we call that "in denial." She felt the only way to survive her parent's tragedy was to ignore it.

During her entire lifetime, Scottie never discussed her parents or childhood with anyone, even her closest friends and family. It is through her biography written after her death by her daughter Eleanor that we know about Scottie's amazing yet normal life.

A Daughter's Attempt to Piece Together Her Mother's Life

Shortly before her death, Scottie began writing an autobiographical "diary" for her children. She left seventy-four typed pages, and her daughter, Eleanor, took it from there and completed a biography of her mother: Scottie, the Daughter of ... The Life of Frances Scott Fitzgerald Lanahan Smith (1995).

Eleanor, an artist and a writer, went through 64 boxes of letters, journals, clippings, photos, and other memorabilia left by her mother. She took five years interviewing Scottie's friends, family, lovers and associates to provide a completed and rounded-out depiction of her mother.

Advice From Father

When Scottie was eleven years old, her father gave her a list of advice in a letter to her. It is presumed it was given to her on her eleventh birthday. Here is the life advice she received from her famous and celebrated father:

Things to Worry About

• Courage
• Cleanliness
• Efficiency
• Horsemanship

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Things Not to Worry About

• Popular opinion
• Dolls
• The past
• The future
• Growing up
• Anyone getting ahead of you
• Triumph
• Failure unless through your own fault
• Mosquitoes
• Flies
• Insects in general
• Parents
• Boys
• Disappointment
• Pleasures
• Satisfactions

Things to Think About

• What am I really aiming at?
• How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to scholarship?
• Do I really understand people and am I able to get along with them?
• Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Unconventional Parenting

Although Fitzgerald was not a great father to Scottie, he seemed to care enough at this point to give her some little fatherly advice. He seems to be telling her EQ is as important as IQ or even more important. Emotional Quotient was important to Fitzgerald because charm and wit would get Scottie into the right circles and keep her there. He knew that was as important or more so than Intelligence Quotient. He seemed to know what life was about, even if seen through an alcoholic haze.

At least this advice is better than none from her famous father.

A Little Girl Grows Up

In nearly every photo I could find of Scottie's childhood, she looks forlorn, unhappy, and unsmiling. It is only as she ages that she begins to smile in photos. Her capacity to ignore the worst parts of her parents apparently worked quite well for her.

Fitzgerald, her father, continued writing letters to her until the day he died in 1940. They were, however, letters admonishing her in some way and were, I'm sure, not pleasant for her to receive. And, with her mother in mental institutions, her relations with her parents were strained, to say the least.

Motherhood in the Shadow of Family History

In 1942, she graduated from Vassar and married prominent Washington DC tax attorney Samuel Jackson Lanahan, known as "Jack." She and Jack had four children: Thomas Addison, Eleanor Ann, Samuel Jackson Jr., and Cecilia Scott.

Like her own mother, Scottie discovered that motherhood and its relentless demands did not interest her at all. She was not the nurturing type, and it took its toll on her children. The eldest child "Tim" committed suicide, and another of the children became a drug addict. So family tragedy, too, struck Scottie in her own family. It seems part of the Fitzgerald/Sayre genetics had been passed on to Scottie.

Scottie's Renaissance

It was in the decades of the '50s and '60s that Scottie came into her own and found her voice. Scottie and Jack were popular hosts in Washington DC during these decades. Scottie began writing and worked to promote the Democratic Party and its candidates. She worked on several Democratic presidential campaigns.

She wrote the Democratic National Committee's Digest and had a weekly column in the Washington Post. She also wrote for the New Yorker Magazine. Also, during this time, she wrote musical comedies about the Washington DC social scene which were performed every year by charities.

End of Life Struggles

Eventually, Jack and Scottie divorced, and she married Grove Smith. That marriage also ended in divorce in 1979, and in the last years of her life, Scottie retreated to Montgomery, Alabama, and lived out the rest of her life in her mother's hometown.

Scottie also struggled with and suffered from alcoholism during her life, and she also suffered and dealt with three types of cancer. When she died in 1986, she also was disappointed in her own accomplishments, as were her parents of their own.

Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald was inducted into Alabama's Women's Hall of Fame in 1992.

Navigating Adversity and Seeking Recognition

I find it amazing that she lived a productive life at all, given her role models and her nomadic childhood. She had her own life tragedies, but she seemed to handle them much better than her parents. Her triumphs carried her through life, but she didn't dwell just on them to survive.

The lost, lonely child of the photographs became the toast of Washington, DC, during her prime, finally experiencing the attention she needed and craved from her parents as a child. To be noticed was probably what she needed during her adult life. I can't say I blame her.

Comments

swept away on April 12, 2018:

Those of us who appreciate the Fitzgeralds and love the writing of FSF remain fans. I don't see the Fitzgerald family as tragic. I see them as survivors. Alcoholism will do whatever it can to keep the individual invested and ultimately wants that person dead. That is how I see it. There are all types of heavy drinkers and remarkably some people live accomplished and successful lives. They can drink and thrive. Fitzgerald tried to beat it on many occasions and maybe he didn't try hard enough but he lived. He left us some great work and he lived. Many, many drinkers do not survive, they are unable to contribute, unable to live, unable to do anything much but drink. The Fitzgeralds did so very much and made a forever contribution to our American Culture.

Mimi from Pacific Northwest on June 18, 2017:

I'm a little (ok a lot) late to the party here... Nothing new about that by the way.

Recently I decided to do some research about Zelda and started mucking around the internet and cam upon this article. Excellent and very informative. I knew they had a daughter, but I really didn't know too much about her really.

Pretty sad, though expected really that their dysfunction would affect her so much but it looks like she did better than they did and that at least some of her kids did even better still. Hopefully this kept filtering down to later generations so that less and less of them have those massive issues in their lives.

Suzette Walker (author) from Taos, NM on May 12, 2014:

RWillingham: Yes, I found her life to be so interesting. I, too, wondered what ever happened to "Scottie." Every picture she was in with her parents I noticed she never smiled or looked happy. I think it is amazing that she lead a 'normal' life after her early upbringing. But, she did display some of her parents' behavior. I suppose that is to be expected. We all seem 'to become' our mothers or fathers as we age and mature. Thank you so much for reading and for your comments. Most appreciated.

RWillingham on May 07, 2014:

This was a beautiful article, which had life lesson. I do not emember when F. Scott Fritzgerald became one of my favorits. The novel "The Great Gastby" has been at the top of my list since high school. I am now a "Boomer". It was delightful to read about Scottie the daughter. I always wondered what happen. One lesson from her life from reading your article, is enjoy like. It is okay to be different, and all will not accept or understand your journey. Thank you so much for sharing.

Suzette Walker (author) from Taos, NM on May 31, 2013:

Lurana: Glad you enjoyed this and thank you for your comments - most appreciated.

MrsBrownsParlour on May 31, 2013:

Very interesting article! I read "The Great Gatsby" in high school but knew little except surface details about the author's life. Your review of her life adds so much depth to my understanding of her. Well-done! ~Lurana

Suzette Walker (author) from Taos, NM on May 25, 2013:

tirelesstraveler: Thank you so much for your comments and for reading this. I knew more about her childhood with her famous parents than I did about her adult life. I did have to research some of that, but I found her an interesting and compelling person in her own right. Thanks again for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed this.

Judy Specht from California on May 24, 2013: