Question

How did alcoholism play a role in the destruction of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald's lives?

Answer 1

F. Scott Fitzgerald struggled with addiction for most of his life. When he matriculated in Princeton in 1916, he had already been struggling with alcohol for a while. His problem increased with each passing year. He had many traits that we nowadays associate with addiction, such as reckless behaviour, excessive risk taking and several emotional problems. Between 1933 and 1937, he was hospitalized for alcoholism eight times. This made him unable to deal with the emotional problems that Zelda's illness brought (she was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1930). The combination of the illness and the alcoholism, enhanced by the fact that neither one could make significant progress on their artistic careers, led to their estrangement and to Scott's death.