The following version of this story was used to create this study guide: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Rich Boy.” All the Sad Young Men. Alma Classics, 2013, p. 3 – 41.

The narrator begins by describing the difference between poor and rich people, which leads to his introduction of Anson Hunter, who is the narrator’s friend.

Anson spent his childhood in Connecticut, where his family connections gave him a high social stature. After spending his teenage years in New Haven, he moved to New York, where he would spend his adulthood. Anson met the narrator at Yale in 1917, and the narrator noted Anson’s penchant for conversation; Anson’s logical demeanor and storytelling skill made him a protagonist at parties.

Anson fell in love with a woman named Paula Legendre. For weeks they were in a “dialogue” (6), until they finally became lovers. Some time later, they decided to get married, pending the approval of Paula’s family. They visited Paula’s family’s home, and when Paula’s family learned of Anson’s family’s social stature, they approved of the marriage. Paula wanted to get married immediately, but Anson insisted on keeping the engagement a secret, and he had no desire for an immediate marriage.

Paula’s cousin was staying at the Ritz with Paula and Anson. Paula and Anson were preparing to go to a party, and Anson was drunk and disorderly after having drunk at the Yale Club. This was off-putting to Paula and her cousin, and when Paula and Anson left for the party, Paula’s cousin told Mrs. Legendre, Paula’s mother, about Anson’s behavior. Later, Mrs. Legendre called Hempstead, where the party was, to tell Paula about how drunk Anson was. Mrs. Legendre began to express her doubts about Anson, and Paula tried to calm her down. After the phone call, she found Anson upstairs in a drunken stupor. He had gotten too drunk at the dinner party, and he was finally starting to stir when Paula approached him.

On the way home from the party, Paula expressed her concerns about Anson’s reasoning, but Anson managed to convince Paula that she was being unreasonable, so she forgave him. The next day, Anson tried to explain his behavior to Mrs. Legendre, and after a sincere apology, Anson was forgiven.

Throughout their relationship, Paula was conflicted about the duality of Anson’s personality. He was a different person alone versus in social situations. This filled her with “anxiety” (11). It affected her to the point that she almost considered an affair, but her attraction to Anson made her disinterested in other men.

Some time later, Anson was called abroad for the war for a few months. Eventually, he got anemia, and the time apart gave Paula feelings of inner turmoil. When Anson returned, their relationship became tense, and as Paula travelled around some months later, she wrote letters to Anson. Paula’s letters had tones of lamentation at the distance between them at first, but later, she began to include stories about male acquaintances to make Anson jealous. Meanwhile, Anson was coming to the realization that he and Paula should not be engaged. He wrote a letter to break the news to her. However, seeing news about Paula’s male friends changed his mind.

By 1920, Anson had built a successful career for himself on Wall Street. He heard rumors that Paula had been dating a man named Lowell Thayer in Florida, so he travelled there to meet Paula. He played Bridge with Paula and Lowell, but when Paula and Anson were alone, they embraced and expressed their love for each other. They both felt that this was the time to get married, but Anson hesitated. He relished the fact that Paula wanted him, so he wanted to savor this feeling, and he decided against proposing. However, this was too much for Paula, and her love for Anson vanished.

Over the next couple of years, Anson continued to flourish professionally, but the hole that Paula left led him to more drinking, multiple flings, and obsession with social events. Eventually, Anson began dating Dolly Karger, and he seduced her by pretending that he was not interested in her to attract her attention. Despite their long and sexually charged relationship, Anson never loved her.

Anson told the narrator that he would break up with her, and when he was about to do it, he received a letter from her. It said that she was abandoning an event with him because of Perry Hull, a man who wanted to marry Dolly. Filled with anger, he set up a meeting with her. When they met, he used his charm to make her interested in him again, but when they went to his hotel room, there was a picture of Paula on the wall.

Dolly and Anson went out to the country for a few days. They went to parties and socialized, but when Anson had been drinking, he went into Dolly’s room and told her that he could not continue the charade, and he told her that they could not be together.

Dolly married someone else a year later, much like Paula had done. That year, Anson was in New York. He heard a rumor about his aunt Edna cheating on Robert, Anson’s uncle, with a man named Cary Sloane. Anson met with Edna and Cary, and he forced them to end their affair after days of working to convince them to admit the affair. The day after the admission of their guilt, Cary Sloane committed suicide. To Anson’s surprise, he was never welcomed in his uncle Robert’s house again.

As Anson’s mother retired, his family’s estate dwindled. As he reached the end of his twenties, Anson became depressed because of his loneliness. He reflected on all the marriages he attended and officiated as he wandered the streets of New York. He wanted to socialize, but all of his friends were busy or out of town. After getting drunk at the Yale Club, he became desperate at the thought of spending the night alone. As he entered a hotel, he stumbled upon Paula and her husband, Peter Hagerty. They invited him over to their house, where they had dinner together. Paula and Anson talked about their past, and Paula reflected on how much Anson hurt her over the years. After dinner, Anson slept over. The next day, Anson and Paula talked about how great Peter was.

Back at work, the older members of his firm told Anson that he should take a vacation. He told them that he would never return if he went, but he eventually agreed. A few days before his trip, Paula died in childbirth, and the narrator spent time with Anson. Instead of expressing grief, Anson merely expressed concern that he was thirty. Eventually, he decided not to leave on his vacation, and he stayed with the narrator at the bar, pointing out women he found attractive.