"Tender is the Night" is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1934.
This novel is about a squandered creative
opportunity. Dick Diver, a young American psychiatrist in the prime of his life, is a medical student in Zurich in 1917. He becomes interested in the case of Nicole Warren, a beautiful and wealthy American suffering from
schizophrenia. As she recovers and becomes dependent on Dick, they also become more romantically involved. Eventually they marry.
The doctor-patient relationship, however, becomes strained. Being a husband at the same time taking care of Nicole as her psychiatrist, prevents Dick from further pursuit of his career. The couple leads a leisurely life on the Riviera and hosts parties. The couple have two children. Their friends include a composer, Abe North, who has become an alcoholic. Like Dick, Abe failed to fulfill a career of his creative passions. Abe's dreams came to a complete halt when he is killed in a Paris bar.
As the couple's turbulent life continues, Dick becomes infatuated with Rosemary Hoyt, an American actress much younger than himself. He also begins to drink heavily, even gets involved in a brawl in Rome. At this point, his medical career is on the brink of ruin. Nicole falls in love with Tommy Barban, a member of the Riviera circle. She eventually divorces Dick. Eventually, Dick returns to the United States, and starts a new life with his medical practice in a small-town.
It's interesting to note that two years before Fitzgerald published this novel, his wife Zelda was hospitalized for schizophrenia in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tender is the Night would be F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel in nine years, and the last he would complete. The sad plight of the Divers' marriage much reflected the Fitzgeralds' own marriage.
The book was made into a film in 1962. It starred Jason Robards and Jennifer Jones as the Divers. The theme song is simply beautiful and haunting, also with the same title, "Tender is the Night."