The Bridal Party is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and featured in the Saturday Evening Post on August 9, 1930.
It is Fitzgerald's first story dealing with the stock market crash and celebrates the end of the period when wealthy Americans colonized Paris.
The main character, Mike Curly, is introduced, along with the news that his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Dandy, whom he dated for two years, is engaged and will be getting married in Paris.
Michael arrives and overhears Hamilton talking to another man about how easy it is to control a woman, and that you cannot stand for any nonsense—adding, that there hardly any men who possess their wives anymore and that he is going to be one of them.
Michael attends the ceremony, and he learns from an acquaintance, George Packman, that a man had offered Hamilton a substantial salaried job right before the wedding.
"[4] One life event relatable to "The Bridal Party" occurred when his then-fiancée, Zelda Sayre, broke off their engagement because of Fitzgerald's poor economic status.
Although this was one of the earliest examples of biographical correlations found in Fitzgerald's work, his novels This Side of Paradise, Tender is the night, and many others contain more similarities to his life—particularly the tumultuous relationship he had with his schizophrenic wife Zelda.
Michael Curly's statement, "I don't want to live—I used to dream about our home, our children," accurately reflects the mindset of American people during and after the stock market crash of 1929.
"[8] "The Bridal Party" is Fitzgerald's first story that touches on the dramatic effects of such a devastating event as the stock market crash.
Though other themes are evident throughout the story, such as the effects of wealth on society, and excessive parties set in the Roaring Twenties, the relationship between Mr. Curly and his ex, Caroline can easily be compared to the stock market crash.
It is assumed that Michael and his ex-girlfriend had a great relationship before their separation, but the reader finds that he "lost her slowly, tragically, uselessly, because he had no money.
Even Michael's view of Caroline's appearance as "strained and tired—shadows under her eyes" is reminiscent of Dorothea Lange's documentary photographs from the Great Depression.
Luckily, Franklin D. Roosevelt's plans for a New Deal and the economic resurgence provided by World War II pulled the country out of its rut.
Though Michael is initially heartbroken, his "New Deal" is finding inner peace by realizing how happy the two are and that he would not be able to have a good future by dwelling on the negative past.
While this story possesses significant ties to the stock market crash and the Great Depression, it is relevant today because of the current concerns about recession.