Rabbit Trail: Kingdom of Castile
Estimated Time: 10 minutes
In chapter 3, during the description of the elaborate parties, Fitzgerald writes,
"...the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and veranda are gaudy with primary colors, and hair shorn in strange new ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of the Castile."
Why the allusion to Castile? What is that? Read this short article to find out more.
SPANISH DOMAIN: FROM RICHEST TO POOREST EMPIRE IN 400 YEARS
For hundreds of years, Spain was ruled by outsiders including the Visigoths, the Moors and the Romans. Even in the late 1400s, Spain was really several nation-states. But within half a century, Spain became a massive power with a far-flung empire.
Read this short description about the importance of this allusion.
Allusion: a reference to something that all people will know, such as a person, place, thing or event
Purpose: to help the reader better understand a message without being provided a lot of detail.
In the text, Fitzgerald alludes to the Kingdom of Castile, a kingdom from the Middle Ages located in today’s Spain. This Kingdom is known for its power, and Fitzgerald connected it to one of Gatsby’s famous parties. For example, Fitzgerald writes, “shawls beyond the dreams of Castile”. This means that some party-goers’ attire is elegant and extravagant like the kingdom of Castile. This shows that Gatsby’s party-goers are very elite and their superior clothing makes them appear like the elitists of the Castile Kingdom. Fitzgerald describes the shawls as beyond Castile’s dreams, implying that these party-goers are even better than the people of Castile because of their wealth and what their wealth can buy. Therefore, the allusion proves that those that attend Gatsby’s parties are on a royal level of wealthy.
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