The disappearance of Dick and Nicole in Tender is the NightWhen we refer to the disappearance of Dick in Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, I think it is impossible not to consider the disappearance of Dick and Nicole as a couple. They begin the book as a rather Chinese dragon-like unit with Dick leading the way and Nicole following them, both covered in the decorative cloak of appearances they've kept. There are several transitions they go through that upset the balance that has allowed them to maintain a functioning marriage. I believe that although there were several factors that influenced their relationship, it is Nicole's growing independence and strength that ultimately ends the marriage and severs the bond that allows Dick to maintain his identity. In Italy, after starting his relationship with Rosemary, Dick is disappointed in her. He discovers that Rosemary belongs to other people. In his disillusionment, his thoughts turn to Nicole, and how she is still "his girl - too often he was sick of her, and yet she was his girl" (213). The rosemary is no longer just his and this cracks its surface. He returns to his love for Nicole like a guard, because without it he is weak. He refers to it as “a darkening dye” (217). He is Nicole, and Nicole is him, and at this point the line between them has been blurred to unite them. Dick doesn't realize that as much as he thinks Nicole depends on him, he depends on her. It depends on your need to define it. Dick knows, however, that Nicole is important to him and that the thought "of her dying, sinking into mental darkness, loving another man, made him physically ill" (217). Not only is this excellent foreshadowing on Fitzgerald's part, but it gives us a measure of just how dependent Dick is. Physical illness is uncontrollable. If even just the thought caused him psychosomatic symptoms, it is imaginable what the reality would entail. Dick desperately needs Nicole, more than ever at this point. Nicole on the other hand starts to grow stronger within herself at this point. Nicole takes action on her own to go to her father when she believes he is dying. Franz tells her "I need to talk to Dick on the phone first" (250).