Trimalchio: An Early Version of the Great Gatsby

Beneath the cobwebs of my soul, the dark corner of almost forgotten dreams bears the mark of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Great Gatsby nearly faded softly into obscurity—it wasn’t until World War II that it gained an unstoppable momentum, blasting to a spectacular stratosphere of popularity.

Before publication, Fitzgerald struggled to select a title for Nick Carraway’s tale. He considered an assortment of titles, and the galley proof such as this one was titled Fitzgerald’s Trimalchio.

Other titles considered:
Trimalchio in West Egg
Gold-Hatted Gatsby
The High-Bouncing Lover
On the Road to West Egg
Gatsby
Under the Red White and Blue

This is the version of The Great Gatsby before it was published. Fitzgerald took this print and marked it up with his revisions. You can view this remarkable version online for free through Princeton University.

Of course, as an extraordinary Fitzgerald scholar, I required a copy. Out of 500 copies, mine is 496. The sheets are unbound and measure 24 inches long—not the best for travel!

When I was in high school, my teacher treated The Great Gatsby as the pinnacle of literature, and if a book of this caliber didn’t magically flow from the tip of our pens on the first try we were utter rubbish as writers (paraphrasing slightly).

By studying the early versions, although The Great Gatsby remains a masterpiece, it is less intimidating. And to my high school teacher—Fitzgerald didn’t even write this book on the first try!

Most of the changes between Trimalchio and The Great Gatsby are rather minor; however, Daisy seemed more into Gatsby in Trimalchio and expressed more certainty in their future together.

A glimpse of Trimalchio:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father told me something that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

“When you feel like criticising any one,” he said, “just remember that everybody in this world hasn’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

Compared with the published novel:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

“Whenever you feel like criticising any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you’ve had.”

“Gave me some advice” is much stronger than “told me something.” In his letters, Fitzgerald wrote about how verbs carry the sentence. This tip has proved invaluable.

Viewing the Princeton copy is an unforgettable experience. Prepare to never be the same.

The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Unbound Text – $148.71 on eBay
Electronic Text – Free through Princeton

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Trimalción es la antesala de El gran Gatsby.
Hace poco leí un artículo de Juan Forn donde habla de esta primera versión de El gran Gatsby que yo desconocía. Ese texto es también el prólogo de mi edición.
En El gran Gatsby no sabemos casi nada de Gatsby, solo hay rumores sobre su pasado. Fuera de la novela hay leyendas también sobre el origen de la novela. Cuenta Forn que dice la leyenda que al editor le pareció un error que no se supiera nada de Gatsby y convenció a Fitzgerald de dosificar información a lo largo de la novela. El escritor agregó unas líneas por aquí y por allá y mandó el libro terminado. Pero esto no es cierto, en el anteúltimo capítulo de Trimalción hay un monólogo donde Gatsby cuenta su pasado a Nick:

n  “—Voy a contártelo todo —dijo con súbita decisión—. La historia completa, como nunca se la he contado a nadie, ni siquiera a Daisy. No creas que he mentido tanto; sólo cambié unas cuantas cosas de lugar, para generar un poco de misterio”.n

Ese monólogo fue partido en pedazos y esparcido por el libro. En ese monólogo hay más Gatsby que en El gran Gatsby y hace que lo sintamos más cercano, más triste, más querible pero también más patético, quizá porque lo percibimos todo de una vez.
Hay otros cambios que Forn menciona pero no corroboré, me debo una lectura comparada de ambas versiones. El cambio de título fue sugerido también por el editor. Trimalción es un personaje del Satiricón de Petronio. Es un esclavo que obtiene la libertad, se enriquece y da banquetes con manjares exóticos para invitados desconocidos. Claro que Trimalción se parece a Gatsby, demasiado, este es también un personaje satírico, un representante del glamour de los años veinte con todos sus excesos y esplendorosa vulgaridad como lo es Trimalción de la época de Nerón. El título que eligió Fitzgerald es apropiado, pero suena mal y es muy rebuscado, no me gusta. Pero sí me gusta el resto de Trimalción.
Muy linda esta versión que permaneció inédita hasta el año 2000. Puede ser interesante tanto para quien leyó El gran Gatsby como para quién no lo hizo, porque ahora queda la pregunta de cuál es el auténtico Gatsby, el que conocimos primero o el que no fue retocado por el editor. Yo me quedo con este.

Ho letto il Grande Gatsby quattro volte trovandolo sempre diverso. In questo caso lo era davvero, infatti Trimalcione è la bozza grezza e il titolo provvisorio di quello che diventerà uno dei libri più letti del novecento.
La prima volta che lo lessi ero troppo impegnato a vivere per apprezzarlo, la seconda lo rivalutai completamente, la terza arrivai a definirlo IL ROMANZO per eccellenza.
Trimalcione pur essendo già un buon libro non è il prototipo del romanzesco.
Perché lo diventasse Fitzgerald fece tesoro dei consigli del suo editor e tagliò, omise, evitò spiegazioni dettagliate. Trimalcione non è Gatsby, lo contiene per eccesso, in alcuni casi vi si sovrappone come in

Se era vero, deve aver capito di aver perso il suo vecchio caldo mondo, di aver pagato a caro prezzo per aver vissuto troppo a lungo con un unico sogno

In Gatsby il sogno è il vero protagonista, nel Trimalcione il narratore lo intervalla con la propria vicenda personale togliendogli la potenza che avrà nella stesura definitiva.

Credo di aver letto il libro perché mi desse la scusa per riaprire il mio vecchio commento al Grande Gatsby e fare ciò che andava fatto, ovvero accendere anche l’ultima stella disponibile. Se non lo avete ancora letto, leggetetene la stesura definitiva e non questa bozza che è da cultori del libro, un po’ come la versione restaurata di C’era una volta in America, con ventisei minuti in più, è da cultori di quel del film.

“Trimalción” es la idea original que tenía Francis Scott Fitzgerald y que luego, tras una serie de modificaciones que le sugirió el editor, se convirtió en la famosa “El Gran Gatsby”. La intención del autor era hacer la versión norteamericana de la novela de la que todos hablaban en aquel tiempo: “Ulises” de James Joyce. Al igual que el escritor irlandés, Fitzgerald parte de un mito: Trimalción era esclavo en la Roma de Nerón. Gracias a los grandes consejos financieros que dio al Emperador, este último, en forma de agradecimiento, le otorga la libertad. Trimalción sigue teniendo éxitos en sus negocios y se hace de una fortuna considerable. Para celebrarlo, organiza un gran banquete; un bacanal orgiástico que superaba incluso a los estándares de la Roma de su tiempo, que no eran para nada despreciables. Los invitados a medida que transcurre la celebración empiezan a sentir envidia, al punto que prenden fuego la casa del anfitrión y tras las ruinas, descubren el cuerpo sin vida de Trimalción. La historia de Gatsby sigue la misma línea. Esta versión de la novela tiene un gran interés, incluso para los que ya hayan leído “The Great Gatsby”. Es cierto que la última es una novela perfecta, pero esta tambíén tiene su encanto. El modo que al lector le es descubierta la verdadera identidad de Gatsby es diferente y es, en definitiva, el misterio sobre el que se construye la trama.

An absolute must for anyone who loves "The Great Gatsby". This was Fitzgerald's earlier version, and two of the chapters are substantially different, with other changes throughout, including the title, of course. This slight volume is comprehensive, pointing out factual errors, comma changes, and everything else one might wish to know. Can't believe I've owned it for years and just now read it!!

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is rightfully acclaimed as an American classic. If you’re curious about Fitzgerald’s writing and editing processes, you may enjoy reading Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby. Published in 2000 as part of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and edited by Fitzgerald scholar James L.W. West III, Trimalchio presents the reader with the galleys of Fitzgerald’s third novel.

Trimalchio was for a time Fitzgerald’s preferred title for the novel. (He also considered Trimalchio in West Egg.) Trimalchio was a character in the Satyricon by Petronius, written in the first century, CE. Trimalchio is a giver of ostentatious parties, but ironically enough, those who attend his parties make little attempt to learn anything about their host. Sounds like a certain someone who lives in West Egg, doesn’t it, old sport? The allusion would have required an explanatory note, and I think it’s best that Fitzgerald went back to his original title for the novel, The Great Gatsby.

Trimalchio is not radically different from The Great Gatsby. The events of the finished novel are all still here. There’s still a green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Gatsby still wears a pink suit for the confrontation at the Plaza Hotel, and he still calls people “old sport.” But there are details here and there that are different. Fitzgerald did a significant amount of editing and rearranging in between sending Trimalchio off to Maxwell Perkins, his editor at Scribner’s, at the end of October 1924, and the publication of The Great Gatsby on April 10, 1925.

Reading Trimalchio you see how Fitzgerald kept paring down the language, refining it. The party at Gatsby’s that Daisy and Tom attend becomes streamlined. In Trimalchio, the man “with the sort of blue nose” is identified as “’Augustus Waize,’ said Gatsby. ‘Oh, he’s just a small producer. He only does one play a year.’” (p.82) In Gatsby, it changes to: “Gatsby identified him, adding that he was a small producer.” (p.105) The language just keeps tightening as Fitzgerald removes anything extraneous from his narrative.

A change that I found fascinating occurs near the end of Trimalchio, as Nick visits Meyer Wolfshiem:

“I wondered if this partnership had included the World’s Series transaction in 1919—and what else it included. I kept wondering until last winter, when Wolfshiem was tried (but not convicted) on ten charges ranging from simple bribery to dealing in stolen bonds.” (p.138)

The same passage in Gatsby is shortened to this:

“I wondered if this partnership had included the World’s Series transaction in 1919.” (p.171)

Fitzgerald is content to let the reader wonder about Wolfshiem’s shadowy activities, thus further shrouding him in mystery.

Race in The Great Gatsby is a fascinating plot point, and there are scholars who have theorized that Jay Gatsby and Jordan Baker are both light-skinned Blacks “passing” as white. It’s a fascinating way to interpret those characters, and there are two passages in Trimalchio that were cut before publication related to race.

In Gatsby, Jay and Daisy sit in front of Nick’s cottage for a while during Gatsby’s party that Daisy and Tom attend. Nothing is said about their conversation at the cottage. In Trimalchio, Nick goes over to tell them that Tom is looking for Daisy.

Daisy tells Nick, “We’re having a row.”

“What about?”

“’Oh, about things,’ she replied vaguely. ‘About the future—the future of the black race. My theory is we’ve got to beat them down.’

“’You don’t know what you want,’ said Gatsby suddenly.” (p.84)

Daisy’s comment “we’ve got to beat them down” is exactly what she says in Chapter I of both Trimalchio and Gatsby when Tom starts ranting about other races gaining dominance over whites. Is this Daisy’s way of awkwardly joking whenever the subject of race comes up? In Chapter I Daisy is obviously goading Tom. But Gatsby wasn’t present for the conversation that occurred in Chapter I, so while the reader and Nick might get Daisy’s call-back, Gatsby doesn’t know that Daisy is referencing that earlier conversation. If you think that Gatsby is passing, that helps to explain his harsh comeback “You don’t know what you want.” Even if Daisy is making a joke, Gatsby would still be tremendously wounded by her comment, and it might be an indication to him of her true feelings towards Blacks.

During the confrontation at the Plaza Hotel, Tom goes on a rant about modern morals. His dialogue is the same in Trimalchio and Gatsby:

“Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.”

Jordan Baker’s response in Gatsby is: “’We’re all white here,’ murmured Jordan.” (p.130)

Her response in Trimalchio is: “’We’re all white here,’ murmured Jordan. ‘Except possibly Tom.’” (p.103)

If you don’t think any of the characters are passing, Jordan’s response in both books is quite hilarious. It would be akin to a character saying the same line in a Woody Allen movie. But if you think Jordan is passing, then her line could be a slightly defensive deflection, meant to steer the conversation away from race. And her extra line in Trimalchio becomes an especially hilarious attempt to annoy Tom by suggesting that he might be passing. In both versions of the novel, none of the characters respond to Jordan’s line.

One thing that didn’t change in between Trimalchio and The Great Gatsby were the final seven paragraphs of the novel, beginning with “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left” and closing with that beautiful, haunting, final line. Fitzgerald didn’t change anything about those seven paragraphs—they were already perfect.

good! i think i prefer the biased nick better ngl - makes for a more intere story rather than telling it how it is?? i don’t know?? anyway there were some sweet moments between gatsby and daisy in here that weren’t in the end version but gatsby was also much more cynical.

Probably won't read this, bc I'm not a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I'm adding it to the queue anyway.