Trudell is a freelance writer with a bachelor's degree in English literature. In the following essay, Trudell discusses the significance of Monsignor Darcy and the theme of religion and tradition in This Side of Paradise.

Sigourney Fay, the person to whom Fitzgerald's novel is dedicated, was a brilliant priest whom Fitzgerald met while he was in preparatory school in New Jersey, and with whom he remained close friends until Father Fay's sudden death in 1919. Fay is, of course, the basis for the character Monsignor Darcy, and although the purpose of this essay is not to speculate about the particulars of Fitzgerald's real life and their impact on This Side of Paradise, it is worth noting that Fay made an extraordinary impression on Fitzgerald. Their discussions greatly affected the author's intellectual and artistic development, and Fay's premature death assumed a unique significance in Fitzgerald's symbolic world.

Monsignor Darcy's...