Amory's Love Affair in Section 2 of This Side of Paradise

In the second of “This Side of Paradise,” amongst the commotion that occurs in the section, Amory’s love affair with the upper class, Isabelle, fails.

This shouldn’t come to the reader as a shock that self-centered Amory couldn’t with hold a relationship for very long, although the pair had exchanged long letters with each other previously.

The very irony of the whole love affair is what ends up due a miniscule event. While Amory was cuddling with Isabella his shirt stud brushes against Isabelle’s neck, leaving a wound. Mockingly, Amory tells her to massage it, while he tires to hold his laughter. As a result, the two enter into an argument.

“He became aware that he had not an ounce of real affection for Isabelle, but her coldness piqued him. He wanted to kiss her, kiss her a lot, because then he knew he could leave in the morning and not care. On the contrary, if he didn’t kiss her, it would worry him…It would interfere vaguely with his idea of himself as a conqueror. It wasn’t dignified to come off second best, pleading, with a doughty warrior like Isabelle” (103).

A kiss is the ultimate expression of romantic affection/sexual desire; in this scene Amory completely disregards this fact and views kissing Isabella just as a deed, or better yet, as a sign of egotism and male dominance.

Soon, Amory realizes that he doesn’t love her and the fiery flame of love is quickly put out.

The biggest irony of all is that fact that the root word in Amory’s name is “amor,” with in Spanish means “love.” Fitzgerald cleverly names Amory for this reason to point out his lack of outside awareness and his inability to love others. For example, the subsequent death of Amory’s father does not seem to affect Amory very much.

This again, emphasizes the naivety and egotism that envelops the young man.

In the end it was not Isabelle’s feisty attitude that brought an end to the relationship, but rather Amory’s vanity and internal struggle.

While looking at the bigger picture, it seems as though Amory’s failed romance with Isabelle and his inability to show concern for others represents one of Fitzgerald’s themes which is the hollowness of the “new world” (the new world can be seen as college or even the current era of the times).