Ernest Hemingway is perhaps one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Known for his “sparing and rigorous journalistic style of prose,” Hemingway offers readers a simple sense of the complex lives of his characters. In his works, Hemingway deals with many issues. However, one of the most procreative is gender and the male-female relationship. In many of his early works, Hemingway explores the complexities of male identity and how women intervene in its formation.
Hemingway once said, “If a writer of prose knows enough about what he writes, let go of what he knows and the reader, if he is really enough of a writer, let her feel as much as if the writer had told them” (Reuben). Hemingway knew first hand the problems his male characters had with In his personal life, Hemingway dealt with the lives of many of his male characters about his ability to communicate effectively with women.
In these novels The The Sun Also Rises (1926) and his collection of short stories in our time (1925) ) and Men Without Women (1927), Hemingway portrays women as destructive creatures who, either intentionally or inadvertently, create problematic situations in people’s lives, leaving them to question their own identity.
Although many feel that his characters are based on malice against the sexes, Hemingway’s female characters are manifestations of his inability to find and maintain a strong relationship between the man and the women in his life.
Throughout his life, Hemingway had a difficult, but excellent, relationship with his mother. Grace Hall Hemingway and her husband Clarence “Ed” Hemingway had very different ideas about how to raise their children, especially their sons. A very independent and assertive woman, Gratia tried to teach Ernest about the joys of music and her chosen career. On the other hand, Ed wanted to promote his son’s interest in hunting and fishing (Gladstein 54).
Hemingway was sorry. The mother’s constant opinions about her father. Grace, a dominant personality, often makes sure that she faces disagreements with her husband. Grace also disagrees with Ernest in his tender years. At one time he criticized him in the letter for saying that he was a sign: “The world needs genuine men, men of morals as well as of physical lizards and muscles” (Gladstein 55).
He complained that Hemingway often referred to his mother as “that dog” and at least once as “the all-time, all-American dog” (Gladstein 55). He spared his mother’s comments and did not envy her for the rest of his life. He could never accept his mother which was probably because they were so essentially alike. But Hemingway could not see this.
He believed that his mother was eagerly seeking to transgress gender roles, and felt sorry for him: on the independent side, his dominance in the woman was threatened” (Kert 152). Hemingway believed that his mother had never been the person he needed to be. However, Hemingway never discussed his problems with his mother. He often failed to communicate his inability to do so effectively Hemingway’s life left an indelible mark on his father’s inability to communicate and stand up to his mother.
Hemingway’s feelings towards his mother, father and relationship were heavily influenced by short story “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife.” The story appears in the book Our Time, a collection of short stories that follow the life of Hemingway’s hero, Nick Adams. After returning home from an argument with some Indian workers, Dr. Nick Adams was asked about his work by his wife. When he tries to explain the events of the day, he is met with the words of Mrs. Adams, who seems to be his patron: “Remember, for greater is he who rules his mind than he who takes the city” (Hemingway 25). A religious Christian Scientist, Mrs. Adams, is portrayed as a woman who sees herself as a religious superior to her husband.
She even second-guessed her husband by asking whether the Indian’s intention was harmful: “His wife was silent… Then she heard his wife’s voice from the darkened room. “Darling, I don’t think so, I really don’t think anyone. to really do something like this. ‘No?’ said the doctor. Mrs. Adams does not support her husband in the way that a typical wife would. However, he holds his views and opinions about the situation.
Later in “Now I Lay Me Down”, Nick recounts another occasion about his mother’s contempt for his father and his feelings. Although the story Hemingway’s second short story appears in the collection Men Without Women (1927), the story takes place while Hannibal He is fighting in the war. In the story, Nick can’t sleep and starts reminiscing about the details of his childhood. In the story then it is told where the mother burned some of her father: “I remember my mother always cleaning everything and doing good cleaning … ‘I was cleaning the room, dear,’ my mother said from the porch.
My father looked at the fire … ‘Take the hoe, Nick,’ he said to me (Hemingway 148). Mrs. Adams can again do what she wants without consulting or even discussing it with her husband. Nick also claims that their house was “designed and built by his mother” (Hemingway 147). This statement proves that Mrs. Adams had all the power in their relationship, because traditionally, the man of the house would be responsible for decisions of that magnitude. Like Grace Hemingway, Mrs. Adams does not allow society to dictate her role as a woman in her marriage; but he does what is his own.
At the end of “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” Dr. Adams tells his son that his mother is looking for him. However, Nick insists, “I want to go with you” (Hemingway 27). Everyone, unlike the father, can reject the request of the mother. In this collection, there are never any direct conflicts between Nick and his mother. But his action is given to the mother’s treatment of the father. Just as Hemingway himself never fully and openly communicated with his mother, Nick Adams never really communicated with his mother.
Instead we see Nick and his father retreating into the woods looking for squirrels. Several characters retreat into the woods and nature as they try to escape the rest of the world, especially the female-dominated roles. For Hemingway, the woods and the fishing meant that there was only one chance that a man could be a man. For Hemingway, this was the only place where a man could truly assert his power: “Ernest’s perpetual assertion of male power stems from his own emotional need to exorcise the bitter memory of his mother, asserting superiority in his father” (Kert 21). This retreat becomes a common way of escape for people in Hemingway’s work.
Like a literary figure, Hemingway spent time as a soldier and served in World War I. After being wounded in Italy, Hemingway met and fell in love with nurse Agnes H. von Kurowsky. His first adult love, Agnes Hemingway, was five years older. After she recovered, Agnes encouraged Hemingway to return to the Order. Hemingway proposed to Agnes; but he could not commit to a relationship which was never consummated. Her divorce and subsequent battle with another husband devastated Hemingway (Gladstein 56-7).
Later, Hemingway began a serious affair with Mrs. Duff Twysden, who married women similar to him. He introduced Duff’s then wife, Hadley, and the two became friends. Duff often used this friendship as an excuse not to sleep with Hemingway. Despite her fling with several men, Duff and Hemingway never shared a sexual experience. Despite this, like many around her, Hemingway was infatuated with Duff: “When she turned to him for help and pulled him into orbit, he was pushed away.”
When he solemnly tells her that his sexual magnetism has tested his restraint, he is much more aroused by her (Kert 161). For in his life Hemingway could not have a second thing, that he loves the woman of his dreams. Losing a real life fight, Hemingway created one of the most recognizable female characters in modern literature and modeled it after the two who stole his heart, but could never commit to it.
Mrs. Brett Ashley appeared in Hemingway’s first novel, The The Sun Also Rises (1926). The story follows the escapades of several expatriates and their roommate, Brett, as they search across Europe. good time In typical Hemingway style, SAR features several male characters who carry the weight of the novel. Both of their experiences deal with experience and the past that they are trying to either change or escape from. Each also has different ideas of what it means to be a man and how he asserts his masculinity and masculinity.
In SAR Hemingway tackles the complex question of gender role reversed. Although he hated his mother’s female character, Hemingway created a woman with similar traits in Brett. But men seek humanity in the novelty, there is no man at all who has contact at all with the masculine side. For in the history of Britain perhaps the strongest men of all lead a woman. Ironically, Brett is the common thread that weaves people together and it is his presence that creates the most confusion and discord between people.
Brett seems to be fully in touch with that masculine side and is described as having masculine mannerisms. For example, he wears short hair as a boy, and cooks in men’s hats and sweaters. She even goes around referring to herself and others as “heads”: “Brett came up to the bar. “Hello, cut.” “Hello, Brett,” I said. “Never be tied down again.” (Hemingway 29). Even his name “Brett” a considered by many to be a man’s name.Despite this masculine disposition, Brett also appeals to a sexual aura that masculine characters cannot resist.
Almost everyone in the novel, at one time or another, is infatuated and captivated by Brett and his unmistakable sex appeal. Brett is a sexually balanced character unlike any before her. He does what he wants, when he wants, and with whom he wants. On the surface, she doesn’t seem to care what others think of her and her actions and continues to do as she pleases, despite being called a “dog” for her actions.
When she is first introduced to Brett, it is revealed that she is in the divorce process and is already engaged. another man Brett’s fiance, Mike Campbell is described as a drunkard. Like many of the characters in the novel, Mike uses alcohol to escape his problems. Brett desperately wants to get married, but his insatiable appetite for affairs with other people is often fueled by jealousy. One character that moves Mike more than any other is Robert Cohn. During his first meeting with Brett, Cohn was completely infatuated with her. Although she initially rejects his request to dance, he still fears her: “Santorium, I looked over Brett’s shoulder and saw Cohn, standing in the hall, still looking at her” (Hemingway 30).
In the novel, Cohn shows his feelings and ideas about what a person is and what he does. He always displays his spirited and strong talents. An aspiring writer, Cohn embodied the spirit of the ideal romantic suitor. With sincere faith, she believes that she loves Brett and in time will grow to love him too: “Cohn’s love … is an illness. It affects the soul and the body. It dominates and serves it. It is one in love. With love” (Louis XXIII). Cohn is blinded by love and cannot recognize Brett’s true feelings for him.
The only Jewish character, Cohn, who is different from other people in history is ever mentioned. He doesn’t use alcohol to treat his problems and is usually the only sober one in the bunch. Unlike others, he wears his heart on his sleeve. He cannot and will not conceal his feelings for the Brettos. Cohn was constantly ridiculed and attacked for his opinion. More often than not, the joke comes from a drunk Mike;
“‘Do you think something, Cohn?
Do you think you are here with us? People who have a good time? For God’s sake don’t be so loud Cohn!’…’ Do you think Brett wants you here? Are you thinking of adding to the party?’…’ Why don’t you see when you’re not, Cohn? Get out. Go for God. Get rid of that sad Jewish face. (Hemingway 181) But Cohn did not go down from Mike or any other challenge to Brett. Like a soldier in shining armor, willing to fight to the death for Brett. Cohn lives by a different code than the other men in the novel.
Brett seems to be using both Mike and Cohn to his advantage. Although they both love her, neither of them has a true sense of it. Brett ultimately leads both of them down destructive paths. Mike is in a constant drunken stupor over Brett and is rarely seen sober or rational. Brett challenges his humanity by holding all the cards in the relationship. If he wills to be with him, he will be, if he will not, you will not. He is unable to stop his sexual flight, and he has repeatedly betrayed it in his face. He does the same thing with Cohn, Brett. She never had any desire to have a relationship with him.
The stuffing of Sebastian was simply, a batke. It’s not until after a fight with any other male character that Cohn realizes he could never have Brett: “‘I just couldn’t stand Brett. I’ve been through hell, Jake. It’s been simply hell. When I met her down here Brett treated me like I was a stranger. I just didn’t I could stand. After the last victory, Peter, realizing that he would not back down, throws Cohn in the towel. Brett and Cohn were both part of the relationship he opposes and asserts his liberty, his power, and his impotence to be subdued by one man.
Perhaps the one person who influences Brett the most is Jake Barnes. Jake is Cohn’s polar opposite. They are completely different imaginable, even their own views of masculinity and masculinity. When Cohn rejects the conventional notion of a macho man, Jake desperately tries to save her. Jake struggles with his identity as a man and searches for his masculinity. Because of an accident he cannot lie down. This one trait becomes the center of their identity, or lack thereof. Throughout the novel, Jake questions his worth and value as a human being. In order to escape doubts, he self-medicates with constant meets both men while nursing them back to health from the injuries they received from the war. She also nurses Peter after the fight with Cohn. Brett is known to enjoy taking care of others: “Brett would rather cut. But he loves to look after people” (Hemingway 206). This is not representative of the quality of the so-called dog. His desire to care for others, although often veiled, lies at the heart of Brett and represents his true nature. Also, serving as a nurse during the war, Brett witnessed many of the same horrors and tragedies that expatriates died. In a similar way, the society after the war distorts and leads the life of a lost soul.
Although Hemingway openly stated his assertion of his abstinence, at an early age he was still attracted to women who had many of the same characteristics. As a member of the lost generation, Hemingway is torn between his love for women and his inability to live with them. his life. His inability to fully understand them led to some negative ideas. But Hemingway really loved women and always had them in his life. Although he constantly questions women and their actions, behaviors and motives, Hemingway could never learn to live without them in his life in one way or another. In his writings, Hemingway often shows his frustrations with the opposite sex. Although many perceived Hemingway to be a misogynist, the man simply could not find the balance between being a man and living positively with women.
Sources
Blackmore, David. “‘In New York’d Mean I Was…’: Masculinity Anxiety and the Period Discourse of Sexuality in The Sun Also Rises.” Hemingway Review. 18.1 (1998). 01 October 2003. http://weblinks2.epnet.com. – NC Central University, Academic Research Database
Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. The incorruptible woman in Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1986. – Taken from the Perkins Library at Duke University
Hemingway, Ernest. In our times. New York: Scribner, 1953. – Purchased from booksamillion.com
– – -. Men Without Women. New York: Scribner, 1955. – Purchased from booksamillion.com
– – -. The sun also rises. New York: Scribner, 1954. – Purchased from NC Central Book Store
Kert, Bernice. The Hemingway Women. Dutch Lyon: W.W. Norton and Company, 1983. – Courtesy of the Perkins Library at Duke University
Lewis, Robert. W. Hemingway on Love Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965. – borrowed from the Davis Library at UNC-Chapel Hill
Report:
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Works of David “‘In New York’d Mean I Was …’: Masculinity Anxiety and the Period Discourse of Sexuality in The Sun Also Rises.” Hemingway Review. 18.1 (1998). 01 October 2003. weblinks2.epnet.com. Gladstein, Mimi Reisel. The incorruptible woman in Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1986. Hemingway, Ernest. In our times. 1925. Berlin: Scribner, 1953. – – -. Men Without Women. 1927. Berlin: Scribner, 1955. – – -. The sun also rises. New York: Scribner, 1954. Kert, Bernice. The Hemingway Women. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1983. Lewis, Robert. W. Hemingway on Love Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965
