Why are we so fascinated by Zelda Fitzgerald?

Because Zelda is endlessly fascinating in a way that most women just aren’t. (Harsh, I know.)

It’s 2023 as I write this, and women as a majority are just starting to get the nerve to be zany and unique and interesting. (Thank God, for Tik Tok. It’s only OK to be unique if everyone else is being unique too.) There’s so many women who brand themselves as “relatable mom” or “relatable wife.” They joke about how doing the dishes sucks or how they *gasp* eat chocolate for lunch, or allow their kids to watch an ipad! But if you notice, the buck stops there. Women never toe the line, too much.

And if they do, it’s a painfully contrived effort.

“I’m like in this photo smoking a cigarette and I don’t even know where my kids are playing, man. Aren’t I edgy?”

For the love of God, isn’t there a genuinely free spirited woman that we can all look and pray to in times of crisis when we want to stop being so good all the time and worried about what our communities might think about us!?

Enter: Zelda Fitzgerald.

In the 1920’s, being a zany woman was hardly in vogue. Especially in the old south where family lineage and reputation mattered a lot. And yet there was Zelda: swimming nude in public view and drinking too much. Not because it increased her Instagram following, but because that’s just who she was.

It’s more than that though.

We romanticize crazy. We are endlessly fascinated by people who act on their base desires and impulses. We are both terrified and obsessed with uninhibited women.

Zelda Fitzgerald spent her free time running around cemeteries. And learning ballet as an adult to a point of obsession and burn out. She likely had extramarital affairs and she probably drank entirely too much. We love imagining the raucous evenings when she and her husband would go to exclusive parties, get totally trashed, and come home arguing — their fights fueled by jealousy and infidelity. Maybe they’d have a luxurious and decadent hook up session after. Or maybe, they’d call their lover of the week to like, vent, about their impossible spouse.

How crazy. How wild. How utterly un-lady like. 

A world where convention is a suggestion. Where taboo is tantalizing. Where reality and delusion are blurred, maybe you even make your own reality. What is it like to be free? 

Painful, I think.

For a good portion of her life, while married to F Scott, Zelda was pain personified covered with glitter and wrapped in glamour. F Scott Fitzgerald became a nasty alcoholic. He left Zelda and ran off with some new woman. Zelda’s life ended with her burning to death in a psychiatric facility.

Montgomery, Alabama is a fantastic place to learn more about Zelda, it’s where she grew up! Read below to see where you can go to learn more about her life and more importantly, walk in her footsteps!

1.) The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum

This is the only museum in the world that’s dedicated to the lives of both Zelda and her husband. I’ve been to a ton of museums, but this is one of the most touching. I think the curators have done a remarkable job of capturing not just the lives of the literary duo, but some of the most intimate parts of their lives. You can get up close to the exhibits and just simply marvel and imagine.

There’s plenty of hand written letters on display that the couples wrote each other. The flask that Zelda had inscribed for her husband is one of my favorite artifacts in the museum. There are glimpses into their artistic hobbies before they became famous as well. A page in Zelda’s yearbook tells us that she was a member of the Dramatic Club in school. There’s also a crystal clear photo strip of scenes from a drama that Scott produced in school.

Great Gatsby fans won’t be disappointed as there’s an entire room dedicated to its success and publicity.

But really, I was mostly happy to see how much of the emphasis was on paying tribute to Zelda. There’s photos of her as a mother, playing with their daughter Scottie in the ocean. These were some of my favorite as Scottie seems to be close to an age that my own son was at the time of our road trip. Photos like these make Zelda really relatable despite her almost mythic status in American lore.

There’s plenty of an homage to Zelda’s creative work too. An annotated copy of the first two pages of Save the Last Waltz is on display.  Her paintings, absolutely breath taking and worthy of display in any art museum are featured as well.

For those who are interested in the glamorous side of Zelda, you can see her cigarette holder and a flapper headband that she not only wore, but designed.

2.) The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald AirBnB

Staying here is one of the single most rewarding experiences that you will have if you’re a fan of the Fitzgeralds. We stayed in the Zelda suite, and I’m not at all embarrassed that I set up my own photo shoot (and my family was very patient as I did!)

The home definitely feels sumptuous, but also, as though little has changed. The rugs, the record player, the cans of 1920’s produce, the plumbing. It’s both remarkable and eerie to stay the night.

After my husband and son fell asleep, I laid on the couch trying to read, but the creaks ringing out from the floorboard at random definitely spooked me, and so I didn’t last long on my own.

The entire building was the home of the Fitzgeralds and they both wrote novels here — Save Me the Last Waltz for Zelda and Tender is the Night for Scott. The home was divided once they moved out. Downstairs is now the museum and there are two apartments upstairs. We stayed in the Zelda suite. All of the gorgeous living room furniture was donated by a family who were childhood friends of Zelda’s.

There’s no wifi or TV, so you really get a feel for the time period. However, there’s a beautiful magnolia tree outside of the living room window that has been there since the couple owned the home.

Bonus: If you look in some of the closets, there are patches of original wallpaper left behind!

3.) Chris’ Famous Hotdogs

During the 1920’s Zelda and her husband were frequent guests at this no frills hotdog restaurant. The place opened in 1917 and it feels as thought little about it has changed, which is a good thing. I placed my order, sat down at a booth while I waited for it to be ready, and wondered if I sat in the same exact place as the infamous literary couple. I mused over what they may have talked about or what they might have ordered. There’s a gnawing, tug at one’s heart strings feeling that comes with sitting in a place that has seen so much history. It felt as though at any moment the pair might come strolling through the front door, ready to continue living their lives.

Recommendation: The Cheese Dog! A hot dog with American cheese, mustard, onions, kraut, and chili sauce. It’s messy, but really good. Like, you’ll never forget this hot dog.

4.) Oakwood Cemetery

Zelda used to meander around this cemetery. She liked admiring the tombstones, especially those of the soldiers from years ago. While many of the young men liked to dare her to go there to “test her nerve” she actually found it to be quite peaceful. Here’s an excerpt she wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald regarding her thoughts on the cemetery.

“I’ve spent to-day in the grave-yard — It really isn’t a cemetery, you know — trying to unlock a rusty iron vault built in the side of the hill. It’s all washed and covered with weepy, watery blue flowers that might have grown from dead eyes — stick to touch with a sickening odor — The boys wanted to get in to test my nerve — to-night– I wanted to feel…Why should graves make people feel in vain? I’ve heard that so much, and Grey is so convincing, but somehow I can’t find anything hopeless in having lived — All the broken columnes and clasped hands and doves and angels mean romances and in an hundred years I think I shall like having young people speculate on whether my eyes were brown or blue — of course, they are neither — I hope my grave has an air of many, many years ago about it…Old death is so beautiful — so very beautiful! — We will die together — I know — Sweetheart.” 

5.) Court Square Fountain

This beautiful fountain which bubbles dutifully is a great place for a photo op if nothing else. Zelda is said to have jumped in the fountain and splashed around (a few times) during her high school years. Rumors fluctuate if she was wearing a swimsuit, regular clothes, or was entirely nude — but maybe that’s best left to your imagination. However, conjuring up images of her doing something that would *shock* those around her can easily kill a few minutes. After all, that’s why we love Zelda! She marched to the beat of her own drum for sure!