Throughout the novel he compensates for a lack of vocation with parties and ingravescent alcoholism. His expectations of future wealth make him powerless to act in the present, leaving him with empty relationships in the end. Gloria Gilberta beautiful flapper and "jazz baby" from Kansas City whom Anthony marries. She contributes to his decline through her extravagant spending. Self-absorbed, her personality revolves around her beauty and a belief that this quality makes her more important than everyone else. The character was loosely based on Fitzgerald's wife Zelda. Fitzgerald wrote a letter to his daughter Scottie delineating the differences between Gloria and Zelda: "Gloria was a much more trivial and vulgar person than your mother. I can't really say there was any resemblance except in the beauty and certain terms of expression she used, and also I naturally used many circumstantial events of our early married life. However the emphases were entirely different. We had a much better time than Anthony and Gloria had". Richard "Dick" Caramelan aspiring author who is one of Anthony's best friends and also Gloria's cousin. He is the one who brings Anthony and Gloria together. During the course of the book he publishes his novel The Demon Lover and basks in his notoriety for a good amount of time after publication. Joseph Bloeckmana Jewish film producer who is in love with Gloria and hopes she will leave Anthony for him. Gloria and Bloeckman had a budding relationship when Gloria met Anthony. He continues to be friends with Gloria, giving Anthony some suspicion of an extramarital affair. Dorothy "Dot" Raycrofta lower-class Southern woman with whom Anthony has an affair during his army training. She is a lost soul looking for someone to share her life with. She falls in love with Anthony despite learning that he is married, causes problems between Gloria and Anthony, and spurs Anthony's decline in mental health. Writing and production Following the success of his debut novel This Side of Paradise in March 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald became a household name. His new fame enabled him to earn much higher rates for his short stories, and his increased financial prospects persuaded his fiancée Zelda Sayre to marry him as Fitzgerald could now pay for her accustomed lifestyle. Although they were re-engaged, Fitzgerald's feelings for Zelda were at an all-time low, and he remarked to a friend, "I wouldn't care if she died, but