Babylon Revisted

In “Babylon Revisited,” Charlie’s loss happens on a physical and mental level.

Physically, he has lost his wife, money in the stock market, and custody of Honoria, his

daughter. Mentally, he has loss the luxury of happiness and replaced it with guilt. The

guilt stems from the loss of his wife as well from the gallivanting life he used to lead,

and the alcoholic he had become. Charlie knows he will never have the plans that

Helen and he had planned or the “normalcy” of a family unit. That is described in the

scene where Charlie visited his sister in law: “It was warm here, it was a home,

people together by a fire. The children felt very safe and important, the mother and

father were serious, watchful (Fitzgerald p. 361). He realizes his daughter will never

have the mother/father home. This is why Charlie quits drinking and works on being a

father to Honoria. He is trying to compensate for the absence of his wife. The story

progresses through his guilt and towards his redemption, Honoria.

Honoria plays a crucial role in this story. She represents Charlie’s salvation.

She is the only thing that can give Charlie peace of mind and ease his guilt. By

obtaining custody of her, he can be the father he should have been as well as the

mother Helen was not. She is the representation of Helen’s and Charlie’s love before

the wealth and extravagant life. She is the love and normalcy they had before the

wealth, the parties, and the drinking. Honoria is a symbol of the life Helen and Charlie

should have had. Honoria is the reason Charlie is still alive; she is his hope.

“Babylon Revisited” is a very interesting title for this story. Babylon was an

ancient city, beautiful in its splendor. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians, and

then later rebuilt. Its true beauty came about once it was rebuilt. The Hanging

Gardens