Shattered Reflections: The Looking-Glass Self in The Beautiful and the Damned (Marie Cluff)

*This post contains spoilers to a really good book 


A few months ago, I read The Beautiful and the Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a reckless story about two lovers, Anthony and Gloria, whose whirlwind romance spirals into alcoholism and financial ruin as they painfully age. At the time, I put the book down without giving it more thought. But when we discussed Charles Cooley’s concept of the “looking-glass self”, the novel immediately came to mind. For the past few days, I’ve been trying to articulate and make sense of this connection. At first glance, Fitzgerald's story seems to illustrate the turmoil of love and money, which is all true and good, but beneath the surface, much of Anthony and Gloria's downfall can be traced to their looking-glass selves. Cooley’s theory suggests that one’s sense of self is shaped by how one assumes others view them. For the couple, this perceived judgment dictated nearly every choice they made. 

Anthony, the grandson of a wealthy and influential man, believed that society saw him as destined for affluence. Viewing work as beneath him, he lived as though his inheritance were guaranteed. Striving to live up to his fabricated sense of self, Anthony brought financial despair upon himself and Gloria. They often attended fancy events and regularly entertained guests, not because they necessarily enjoyed it, but because they felt compelled to. 


Gloria on the other hand, was admired not for wealth but for beauty. Because she assumed her value lay in her looks, she did everything she could to keep up appearances, often by spending Anthony's dwindling funds on high-end clothes and skin products. 


As Anthony’s savings and status deteriorated and Gloria’s youth faded, the mirror of society reflected back something far less flattering. Their attraction to one another, rooted in status and appearance, curdled into resentment. Anthony no longer saw Gloria as the epitome of youthful beauty, but as a cause of his debt. While Gloria blamed Anthony for failing to deliver the wealth she believed she deserved. When acquaintances finally voiced what the couple had tried to deny, that they were not, in fact, admired members of high society, their carefully constructed self-images shattered. The collapse of this looking-glass left them with nothing but disillusionment, alcoholism, and despair.


Although Fitzgerald’s illustration of the dangers of the looking-glass self speaks to the realm of personal identity, I believe it can also be applied more broadly to our relationship with the environment. Several questions arise, such as: do we perceive the environment as it truly is, or only as we wish to see it? Is it even possible to encounter the environment on its own terms, away from our biases? And, how have our cultural histories shaped the way we relate to the environment? In the coming posts, I will explore these questions through both a communication and an anthropological lens. 


- Marie Cluff



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