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Randy Joly

5/9/2016

Lost Aesthetic

In F. Scott Fitzgeralds Winter Dreams, we see the character of

Dexter pining after a girl named Judy Jones. Dexter is often portrayed

describing her in illustrious and majestic terms that accentuate her

beauty. Yet, Dexter also slides terms into his descriptions that belie

these previous claims and call in to question her true attractiveness .

We see Judy performing actions and acting in ways that are obviously

characteristic of a spoiled rich child. She nearly beats her nurse, is

unconcerned with others qualms or matters, and toys with men on a

habitual level. But Dexter seems to glaze over these facts and see a

woman that is irresistible to both him and a number of other suitors

calling to her. So why do all these men, Dexter included, find such

charm and attractiveness lying within the beautifully ugly Judy

(Fitzgerald 660)? I am arguing for the existence and use of aesthetic

realism within Winter Dreams to explain Dexters attraction towards

Judy and his overlooking her many inherent flaws . This aesthetic reality

that Dexter sees through accentuates Judy into what he wants to see

leaving her in a world all her own that he can admire her by without the

harsh censures of the real world. I will use two outside sources to back
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up and explain my claims and to better solidify the finer details of

aesthetic realism within the short story. I will then compare the

characters of Winter Dreams to the characters of Henry James

Daisy Miller, displaying their potential similarities in character, and

highlighting the essential differences between their motives and beliefs .

By the end of this essay, you will have a better understanding of the

cause and nature relating to the use of aesthetic realism within the

story, and will have a clear conception of Dexters views towards Judy

and his true purpose behind his supposed infatuation .

To begin, aesthetic realism is the method of using realistic

qualities within a subject to form a false reality without their persona .

Edward Green writes, [Aesthetic Realisms] core principle is that there

is no fundamental difference between the structure of reality and the

structure of beauty (439). That is to say, those who are faced with the

harsh reality of their subject may take certain qualities of that subject

and accentuate or isolate them into their own separate actuality . By

doing this, they can either drown out the ugliness presented to them in

the real world by focusing only on the beauty that can be found in it

instead (as Dexter does), or they can use those qualities found within

their subject to base the surrounding world upon. As Eli Siegel puts it,

The large difference between Aesthetic Realism and other ways of

seeing an individual is that Aesthetic Realism makes the attitude of an

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individual to the whole world the most critical thing in his life (2) . In this

same way, Dexter makes the viewing and pleasure of Judy Jones the

most critical thing in his life. In doing this, he forms a pedestal under

Judy that sets her apart from the world and gives himself a goal and

purpose within his own life. But by doing this, Dexter also bars himself

from his own sense of reality and forms Judy into a hollow shell that

accentuates the features he looks for while ignoring the parts of her

that displease his aesthetic tastes, thus leaving no actual depth to her

character.

Aesthetic Realism states that ethics begins with the human

obligation to see everything, living and not living, as well as one can

(Spiegel, 2). To begin to see the aesthetic realities of his world, Dexter

must first take in everything of his world and contrast it Judy. He does

this quite often, most notably when he compares her to the house she

lives under, where he describes her as slight and fragile as compared

to the strong and sturdy house (Fitzgerald, 672) . By contrasting Judy to

her surroundings, Dexter can further heighten her sense of beauty as

compared to his aesthetic world. No disillusion as to the world in which

she had grown up could cure his illusion as to her desirability (669) .

Dexter is set in his understanding of Judys beauty in the reality of his

views upon his sense of aesthetics, and uses this sense of beauty to
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shape his world by accentuating their ugliness in comparison with her

attractiveness.

Aesthetics are driven by the mutual understanding and

acceptance of the complimentary factors involved with opposite forces .

Spiegel makes the point that, The only reason why people think that

freedom and order can't go together is because they look on opposites

necessarily as antagonistic, not as useful to each other, or kind to each

otherEvery aesthetic thing, or beautiful thing, or artistic thing, has

freedom and order; has to have it, or it wouldn't be aesthetic (28) .

Dexters aesthetic reality is hinged upon this complimentary

relationship between freedom and order. The order that Dexter finds is

based upon the beauty that Judy brings to his world . In contrast,

Dexters freedom is bound to the ugliness he perceives in the world

when compared to Judys beauty. In essence, Dexter feels a sense of

order in the fact that he understands the nature of beauty in his world

and feels free knowing that the world is ugly in comparison to the

beauty that he holds knowledge over. By using this balance between

freedom and order, Dexter can find a sense of his own self . This is the

nature of aesthetic realism.

Moving to the story, we can see that Dexter and Judy are very

clearly different in their sensibilities toward the world and its beauty .

Because there is a clear class difference between Judy and Dexter, we

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see that Judy acts high above the people below her and gives no

thought to what she does to or who she hurts . Meanwhile, as Dexters

was born into a lower social stratum, he can only aim up from his

upbringing by pleasing those higher than himself . His only thoughts

turn to satisfying Judy and pulling in her attention for himself . Judys

primary source of enjoyment and power comes from her perceptual

beauty and the need her suitors pour onto her. Yet we briefly see that

this power does not ultimately fulfill her pleasure . Im more beautiful

than anybody else, she said brokenly, why cant I be Happy?

(Fitzgerald, 672). As Dexter begins to pull away from Judys charm she

begins to need the attention he brings more, wishing for the brief

happiness that his neediness brings to her. As mentioned before,

Dexter contrasts Judys house, which is described as strong and

sturdy, to Judy herself, describing her as a butterflys wing,

insinuating that although her outer beauty is exquisite and regal, her

looks cover her own fragility and weakness.

In a very different way, Dexter does not need the attention of

Judy herself at all. Although he seemingly needs her in a perceivably

physical sense, what he really longs for is the idea of her beauty; he

lusts after his aesthetic perception of her. Siegel says, The moment

when beauty comes to be in a mind, is a moment where unconscious

and conscious have met well. Beauty shows what we want; and the
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unconscious is, most deeply, what we want which we don't know we

want (12). Aesthetic realism shows us what our unconscious mind

wants from reality through our perception of beauty and personal taste .

Fitzgerald uses the reality of Dexters desires to display his

unconscious, despite the fact that his conscious mind should reject

Judy despite her beauty. Dexter is seen recognizing the insincerity of

Judys actions and feelings by describing her as blatantly artificial and

describing her shows of affection as mere acting (Fitzgerald,672) . But,

although recognizing these flaws, Dexter chooses to look past them to

realize his own aesthetic reality. Its even stated, Dexter had no desire

to change her. Her deficiencies were knit up with a passionate energy

that transcended and justified them (667). By casting her as a perfect

subject for his adoration, he casts the world into a negative light that

purely focuses on beauty and allows Dexter to feel he understand and

connects to the world through this knowledge .

After Dexter has returned from the war and learned that Judy

had married and that her beauty had faded, it is not the fact that she

had married that affects him but the idea that her beauty had faded that

sends him into depression. The dream is gone. Something had been

taken from himWhy these things were no longer in the world (674-

675). Dexter comes to the conclusion that his aesthetic world has been

crushed with the loss of the beauty that Judy held . Without these outer
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qualities, Dexters aesthetic world had no realistic basis to draw from

and his inner reality finally crumbled. As such, he must face the truth

that Judy was never as truly beautiful as he perceived, and that the

world was, by contrast, never as ugly. He has lost his balance of

freedom and order in the world. The beauty he once held so high has

vanished, and took with it Dexters understanding of the world around

him. Dexter has thus become disillusioned from his aesthetic

sensitivities and must either come to terms with the intrinsic beauty

found within all things, or focus his sights on a new subject to form his

aesthetic reality upon.

Now, to compare the characters found within Winter Dreams to

the characters of Daisy Miller. Like Judy, the character of Daisy Miller

is set on a pedestal by the male lead of the story. But unlike Dexter,

Winterbourne sets Daisy away from himself not because he is holding

her on a higher level, but because he is fascinated by her personality

and finds her a social oddity to be questioned and explored . Daisy is

rich and flirtatious like Judy, but their shared characteristics all but end

there. Daisy is described as tranquil and agreeable by

Winterbourne, and she seems to be rather pleasant in nature (albeit a

bit nave and shallow). Although she is flirtatious like Judy, Daisy never

seems to string along the men she beguiles and she actually seems to

show interest in their actual persons. In addition, Daisy is not set apart
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completely from society by Winterbourne as Judy is by Dexter, but is

instead described in ways that call in to question her societal image

and standing. As such, Daisy plays a completely different role in

forming Winterbournes own form of aesthetic realism .

Winterbourne clings to Daisy as a study subject more than a

person of adulation. Miss Daisy Miller looked extremely innocentHe

was inclined to think Miss Daisy Miller was a flirta pretty American

flirt (James, 427). We see here that Winterbourne is perplexed by the

nature of Daisys personality and character. Winterbourne implies his

influence is ultimately to help Daisy, but he truly wishes to unravel the

mystery to suite his own pleasure and curiosity. This is very similar to

the way Dexter uses Judys beauty to satisfy his own personal

aesthetic reality, giving no mind to Judys true nature . As Winterbourne

sees more and more of Daisys actions and associations, he begins to

form opinions and conclusions regarding her true innocence, although

never really coming upon any solid facts. It is in this way that

Winterbourne and Dexter truly contradict each other . Winterbourne is

seen throughout his story as attempting to discover the mysteries

hidden within Daisys true self and find a conclusion that settles his own

aesthetic reality of her. Meanwhile, Dexter already knows Judys true

nature and covers this up with his aesthetic reality formed from her

beauty and charm. As Spiegel writes, There are two means, as

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Aesthetic Realism sees it, of bringing some satisfaction to ourselves .

The first is the seeing of somethingwhich can stand for the world and

which pleases us through what it isThe other victory is our ability to

depreciate anything that exists. To see the world itself as an impossible

messand this is often not difficult at allgives a certain triumph to the

individual (25). Winterbourne studies Daisy to see if she can fit into his

own aesthetic reality and fulfill his own sense of the world around him .

On the other hand, Dexter sets Daisy apart from the cruel world he

lives in, creating her as the one true beauty within the world he has

perceived within his mind.

By the end of the story, Winterbourne has concluded his study of

Daisy following her and seems to have lost interest in her . This is much

like how Dexter has lost his interest in Judy by the end of Winter

Dreams. Yet Dexter has lost his focus because his aesthetic reality

has been crushed, whereas Winterbournes aesthetic reality seems to

have manifested with his seemingly found knowledge of Daisy upon

her death. By combining his newfound aesthetic realism found through

his understanding of Daisy with his own unconscious desires of the

world, he has formed a new aesthetic upon his sense of the world . This

is a total contrast with Dexter who has lost his aesthetic reality with the

loss of his subject. As Siegel puts it, According to Aesthetic Realism,

the self is trying to come into composition with the world, and at the
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same time be different, individual, separate, free (17) . Winterbourne

feels like an individual of the world by finding balance in his own

understanding of the composition of the world . Meanwhile, Dexter lost

his aesthetic grasp on the world when the freedom lent to him by his

perception of true beauty within the world was taken away from him .

In conclusion, we can finally see that Dexters sense of aesthetic

realism was a way to fully depreciate the world around while placing

emphasis upon true beauty within a particular subject, which allowed

him to feel distinctive in his understanding of the balance within his

sense of reality. Through this satisfaction within his aesthetic reality, he

could find a sense of self within his environment that led him to accept

his place within the world and find the beauty placed there . As Green

states, the very nature of self is aesthetic (439). Thus, when Dexter

learns that Judys beauty has faded, not only does his perception of the

world shatter, but so too does his sense of self. The world, art, and self

explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites

(Spiegel). The combination of his perceived world, understanding of

beauty, and his own sense of self all acting against each other formed

his aesthetic reality, and when one of those pieces was lost, the others

quickly followed suite. Thus, as Dexters world came to a close, his true

understanding of himself and beauty in general came to an end .

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Citations

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Winter Dreams. The Norton Anthology Vol.

D. New York, NY; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012. Print.

Green, Edward. "A Note On Two Conceptions Of Aesthetic

Realism." British Journal Of Aesthetics 45.4 (2005): 436-440.

Academic Search Elite. Web.

James, Henry. Daisy Miller. The Norton Anthology Vol. C. New

York, NY; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012. Print.

Siegel, Eli. SELF AND WORLD: An Explanation of Aesthetic

Realism. New York: Definition Press, 1981. Print.