How would you interpret this sentence?
Young men in the Land of Sky seem to prefer the taste of old wine. A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior. The writer’s family tried to squelch the match with comely theater designer Aline Bernstein—that’s Mrs. Bernstein—and so did Mr. Bernstein, we’re guessing. But Wolfe carried the torch to an early grave. Now Harrison Shepherd is out to prove history repeats.

How would you interpret this sentence: A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame…?
Does it mean the writer became famous quickly because he fled from Asheville to Manhattan and the arms of a lady?

Question

How would you interpret this sentence?
Young men in the Land of Sky seem to prefer the taste of old wine. A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior. The writer’s family tried to squelch the match with comely theater designer Aline Bernstein—that’s Mrs. Bernstein—and so did Mr. Bernstein, we’re guessing. But Wolfe carried the torch to an early grave. Now Harrison Shepherd is out to prove history repeats.

How would you interpret this sentence: A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame…?
Does it mean the writer became famous quickly because he fled from Asheville to Manhattan and the arms of a lady?

Answer

"A decade ago in Ashville, North Carolina, young writer Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior."

The young writer named Thomas Wolfe became really famous (rocketed to fame).  He fled from Ashville, North Carolina (which is south from Manhattan) to escape some kind of southern scandal.  After he fled, he went to Manhattan to experience the "forgiving bohemian scene" (a community of people who also enjoy the arts) and found a lady seventeen years older than he was in Manhattan.

I think from this sentence, "for" applies to both "Manhattan's forgiving bohemian scene" and "the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior" - it would be "fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan's forgiving bohemian scene and for the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior."

This is just my interpretation, but I'm not sure whether it's completely correct, so someone might have a better answer.  But I hope this helps!

Answer

No, he fled because he became famous. At least, that's how i interpret it.

Answer

Present participles do not always have a "causal" relationship. They can also have a "resultative" relationship (and of course, simply a "temporal" relationship).

In the isolated sentence "Thomas Wolfe rocketed to fame, fleeing Southern scandal for Manhattan’s forgiving bohemian scene and the arms of a lady seventeen years his senior."

the participle "fleeing" could have a "resultative" relationship with the conjugated verb "rocketed." That is, "as a result of fleeing to Manhattan, he rocketed to fame."  But since the location of the fame seems to be "in Ashville," yes, "because he fleed to Manhattan" is the probable interpretation. The various relationships that participles can have with the finite (conjugated) verb is one reason I don't use participles much when I write. They are weak, and they work better in languages other than English, where they are used all the time (written Greek and Latin being two examples--although I just used a participle there, heh).

Answer

You are right, Gordon. That's what it means.