Charlies Regret of Past Behaviors in Fitzgeralds Babylon Revisited :: Babylon Revisited Essays

Charlie's Regret of Past Behaviors in Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited Charlie Wale's character seemed to get the raw end of the deal throughout the entire story. He was trying to redeem himself as a good father and a good citizen. He had many regrets of his past actions and behavior, especially those regarding his deceased wife, Helen. The events that occured during his visit to Paris, however, were detrimental to his intentions. His desire to have his daughter, Honoria, return with him to Prague, was sincere, and as a reader, I could almost feel his pain and disappointment at the disastorous end results. Marion's decision to not allow Honoria to return was merely based on Charlie's "past". Once his old acquaintances, Duncan Schaffer and Lorranine Quarrles, surfaced at the home of Linclon and Marion Peters, there was almost no chance of redemption. Marion could only see the "old" Charlie, and not the man who longed to care and provide for his daughter. Marion also seemed to hold a grudge against Charlie for the death of her sister, Helen. Charlie had begun many preparations to bring Honoria home with him. The hiring of a governess and the lease on a new apartment are just two examples of his attempt at trying to convince Marion and Licoln of his seriousness of resuming the responsibilty of being a parent. To be a father to Honoria, would also entail being a mother to her in some ways, due to the fact that Helen's death had been a part of the past Charlie was trying so hard to recover from.. Charlie's personal strentgh is shown by only having one drink a day, compared to the noted many drinks, and possibly other paraphernalia he may have encountered in his colorful past. At this point in his life, he