This whimsical picture reminded me why I loved reading “Love in the Night”, a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, earlier this week. The story completely ferried me to the southern coast of France in the spring of 1916, a year before the Russian Revolution. With Fitzgerald’s vivid imagery, it is hard not to be transported into another world. “Love in the Night” basks in all the romantic heart-string pulling and discovery of “First Love.” I would describe it as “Young Love” where everything feels perfect for one brief moment, resulting the desire to recapture that feeling again and again.
I read reviews calling Fitzgerald’s love story “cheesy” and “unrealistic”. Admittedly, I am a romantic, but I don’t devour Harlem Romance novels or “live” for the next Hallmark movie. So, why did this love story touch me? It is as the whimsical song represented above says, “I hope for the best”. I chose to see the world through rose-colored glasses. As children, we are born believing in the rosy view of life. Little kids see the wonder all around, waking up each day to happily embrace new possibilities. But over time, we start to remove our rose-colored glasses for periods of time. And eventually some of us begin forgetting to pick them up from the nightstand in the morning. Some might argue that “society is broken” and putting on those glasses blinds you to happenings in the real world. But, rose-colored glasses aren’t blindfolds. They don’t prevent you from seeing sadness or pain. Choosing to wear the glasses isn’t an act of denial, but a deep belief in hope.
In Fitzgerald’s story, a moment of true happiness was created by the couple’s love. And reflecting that they once knew happiness, inspired them to want to feel that love again. It was hope that crossed their paths again several years later. Perhaps ironically, Fitzgerald’s life was darkened by alcoholism, money problems, and the mental illness of his wife. But I think that when Fitzgerald wrote this story, he willingly slipped on colored glasses. Like me, he chose to see the world through rose-colored glasses deciding to hope for the best.
By Tiffany Walters (@thelaststoryguard)
Hi Tiffany, I love the way you tied in your appreciation for “Love in the Night”, your knowledge of the author’s life, and your thoughts on wearing rose colored glass in real life to expand the meaning of them all. Your writing together with the image and sound clip caused me to stop and think about hope…and to dig around on my nightstand for those glasses.
Hi Tiffany, I’m leaving a comment here since one of my team members didn’t post, and also because I found your post quite interesting. I was attracted to the image and the feminity of the work. Then I played the audio and felt a sense of hope and comfort, and that’s not something you get every day. Also, I’m a hopeless romantic. Even though I believe in love, I find myself unlucky sometimes. It would be great to read “Love in the Night”, a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Overall, your post is very beautiful, and I will choose to see the world through rose-colored glasses as well and hope for the best.