Bernice Bobs Her Hair

This is one of Fitzgerald’s more recognizable stories. The story centers on Bernice, who is an awkward girl visiting her cousin’s family for part of the summer. Bernice’s cousin is a snobby girl who pretends to befriend Bernice in order to teach her about how to act in modern society, but then tricks Bernice into “bobbing” her hair – an act that meets much criticism from the boys who were once so captivated with her. As bobbed hair was a mark of a flapper, this story appeared in Flappers and Philosophers, and was inspired by a series of letters Fitzgerald had sent to his younger sister wherein he instructed her on how to be attractive to boys.