Babylon Revisited

“Babylon Revisited,” by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a short story that employs the techniques of Literary Modernism to tackle complex themes of The Quest for Personal Redemption, The Haunting Power of the Past, and The Fragility of Personal Reform. First published on February 21, 1931, in The Saturday Evening Post, the story is a reflective journey through the eyes of Charlie Wales, a remorseful man endeavoring to reclaim the pieces of a life shattered by excess and loss.

Unlike The Great Gatsby, which revels in the glitz of its era before revealing its hollowness, “Babylon Revisited” is imbued with a sense of reflection and sobriety. A reformed and repentant figure in the narrative, Charlie seeks to regain custody of his daughter, Honoria Wales, who is in the care of his sister-in-law, Marion Peters, after the death of his wife, Helen Wales.

This guide refers to the version of the text that is freely available on the Project Gutenberg Australia website.

Content Warning: This story discusses alcoholism.

Fitzgerald uses third person limited

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