The confused artist motif
Fitzgerald includes in Anthony Patch a portrait of the troubled artist. As a motif, the basic idea is simply that the artist in question is a genuine artist, but without the life experience which would help them to channel their passion into something productive and whole. Since he has not discovered his artistic process, the pressure of his family on him to write is archetypal and frustrated. As it intensifies, his desire to write wanes, so that under financial pressure and the shame of his father, he feels he cannot create at all.
Gloria as a symbol
Gloria represents something done naturally by desire, which for the puzzled artist is something that seems obvious but isn't. Instead of bothering himself to impress him father, he can suddenly enjoy a cathartic experience where one thing naturally follows the other. He finds an outlet for his passion, but in venting his energy into the relationship, he realizes that there is something not quite right. In psychological language, he has projected his anima, and in the narrative, this amounts to the symbolism of the femme fatale. He is on a path of tragic catastrophe which will awake his taste for artistic glory through pain.
Alcoholism
The Oepidal quality of the artist is evident in his obsession with drink. He drinks to have something to do, to occupy his mouth and throat. That symbolically connects his drinking with a need for comfort and satisfaction. Whatever he longs for in the innocence of his childish past, he finds it in alcohol which slowly makes him forget his responsibilities, attain a state of bliss is a way that leads to chaos and downfall. He doesn't thrive, and so he doesn't impress his wife, and the Oedipal trap increases its gravity on him because as his wife shows less approval, he begins to crave emotional comfort more.
The cost of the good life
Through allegory, we learn that Gloria and Anthony have a lesson they can teach the audience. The allegory is that their private life continues to spiral as their social lives thrive and grow. The reason for this is that they both betray themselves at these parties by wearing clothes they cannot afford and by indulging in lifestyle decisions that they cannot sustain. They are having fun "on credit," a major theme of literature in this time, and so their private strife is prophetic evidence against them that their irresponsible control of money is going to be an issue in their marriage.
The allegorical spiral
In what sense is Anthony Damned in this novel? He is certainly convicted by his own character throughout the book, and one could easily essay about his lack of resolve and his secret battle with self-esteem issues. But, other than those fairly normal aspects of artistic life, what is his condemnation? His condemnation is the hopelessness which is portrayed allegorically to end the movement of the plot. As he spirals, he drinks himself not into states of drunkenness, as before, but into states of delirium. His condemnation is suicidal depression, but with alcohol, he can stave off the hopelessness by reaching states of emotional detachment only available through extreme inebriation. The allegorical quality is a warning against alcoholism in the artistic pursuit.
