The plot of The Beautiful and Damned is closest to the plot archetype tragedy. While it’s true that the protagonist, Anthony, doesn’t die in the book, he did start with everything he wanted, and through his own faults, lost his money, his friends, and the respect of his wife. Part of the tragedy archetype is that it is almost a relief that the main character dies, as opposed to enduring the pain of their own continued existence. This is the case in Romeo and Juliet and Anna Karenina, as well as one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s other novels, The Great Gatsby. At the end of The Beautiful and Damned, Anthony has nothing left, but hasn’t died. This is possibly an even more unfortunate resolution than if Anthony had died, either at war or due to alcoholism.
