Is Alix a Bartender? Reconsidering the Opening of Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited”

Abstract This article theorizes that the character of Alix in Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” has long been misinterpreted as a bartender at the Ritz when he is in fact a fellow patron of Charlie’s. Close reading of various versions and drafts of the story reveal, at best, contradictory intentions for the character on Fitzgerald’s behalf. Some potential thematic ramifications of this theory are touched upon in the article’s conclusion.