ipl-logo

The Theme Of Love In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms

1187 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Love as a separate piece in farewell to arms

Love is the one thing that can bring people together. All around the world, people find love in other people, material objects, or religion. In A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, two Americans stationed in France, Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, find love in eachother during World War 1. Their relationship is tested time and time again by the war, but their love for eachother is what motivates them to survive. At first, Frederic and Catherine’s relationship is based on physical attraction, but they quickly fall in love throughout the story. Some people would argue that Frederic and Catherine were never in love, they just felt the need to be in love. Their relationship is based on their desire to find meaning in a war that they …show more content…

Immediately they were attracted to one another, and from there their relationship progressed into something bigger than they could ever imagine. In the beginning, their relationship was based purely out of physical attraction. Catherine was engaged but when her fiancee died, she experienced the true horrors of the war. Frederic has never been in a meaningful relationship which is why he doesn’t understand why this has taken such an impact on her. In their second meeting, Catherine asks Frederic whether or not he will be good to her, and he thinks to himself, “What the hell” (23). This is just the beginning of their relationship, and Catherine is already developing it into something much more meaningful without Frederic realizing it. Catherine is trying to protect herself from being hurt again and she’s not fooled by his answers, but she accepts them because she knows that the risk is worth it. She believes that she can change his lifestyle and make him into a loyal man like her fiancee once was. Frederic, on the other hand, isn’t ready to commit and thinks that Catherine is crazy, but he’s attracted to her and will say anything he can to sleep with her. Frederic is naive and initially doesn’t want to fall in love as he admits, “I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was like a game of bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards” (26). Frederic is willing to say whatever it takes because he doesn’t expect things to work out. He’s so used to sleeping around with other women and saying things that he doesn’t really mean that he thinks he can do the same with Catherine. This quote foreshadows what their relationship is going to develop into, because it displays how innocent he is to the truth. Throughout the novel Frederic grows more mature and begins to understand what it means to really love someone. Their physical attraction towards each

Show More
Related
916 Words | 4 Pages

Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. (Chopin III)” Chopin uses the super detailed description of Edna crying to appeal to the audience and demonstrate how Edna’s current situation is exceedingly unpleasant. In both situations the authors use pathos to appeal to the audience and show the characters in dark and unpleasant situations to display how horrendous their situations

Read More
111 Words | 1 Pages

Chopin wants the reader to realize that in her time, women were stereotyped in a male dominated society. After hearing about her husband’s passing, Mrs. Mallard began to have a sense of peacefulness coming from the outside world. This doesn’t mean that she was happy about the death of her husband, but she felt a newfound independence. Stereotypically, married women were considered to be housewives during the early 1900s. Women were told by their husbands what to do because in those times it was believed that men had higher authority than women.

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

The struggles presented between these two characters bring to light issues in human relationships that weigh into everyday life. Hemingway’s short story reveals to readers how relationships affect communication, decision

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

In the seventh chapter, she is described as “not a woman given to confidences, a characteristic hitherto contrary to her nature” (Chopin 13). Though, it was the trip to the Grand Isle which had awakened many of her desires and caused her to question her role as a woman and go become her own person. Her transition into a new self begins when she first demonstrates resistance towards her husband. Her newfound intransigence towards Mr. Pontellier exhibits her realization that she is not inferior to and has no need to rely on him. In chapter thirty two, she moves out of her and her husband’s home and into the “pigeon house,” which shows that she has gained self-confidence and believes that she would “never again [...] belong to another than herself” (Chopin 80).

Read More
1061 Words | 5 Pages

Chopin demonstrates not only how men treat women, but also how important it was to be white in this post-civil war era. When Armand was the head of his house, he would not let Desiree make any changes to his house. He made sure that she knew that he was the alpha male. This is the thing that Kate hated the most as a woman was having no say in any part of the world. Kate as many other woman, even though they were white, still had no say.

Read More
1096 Words | 5 Pages

Chopin makes her strong statement in this quote from the story. Mrs. Mallard has no one to answer to but herself, and she feels liberated that her husband can no longer control her. During the late nineteenth century, women quite frequently had to suppress themselves to the will of their husbands, or to some other man who had a significant amount of control over their lives. Chopin successfully uses vivid imagery, point of view, and irony that gives a different view of marriage that is not typical of today.

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

"You are not thinking of what you are saying. You speak with about as little reflection as we might expect from one of those children down there playing in the sand. If your attentions to any married women here were ever offered with any intention of being convincing, you would not be the gentleman we all know you to be, and you would be unfit to associate with the wives and daughters of the people who trust you"”(Chopin, 27). This quote shows Adele argues that in order to avoid a bad reputation in society, Robert should drop his dream of

Read More
913 Words | 4 Pages

Chopin also describes Mrs. Mallard as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength”. At the beginning Mrs. Mallard is thought of as being controlled, and weak. In the 19th Century, when this story was written, husbands controlled their wives. Perhaps Mrs. Mallard wasn’t like most women of her time. After she hears of her husband’s death she morns for what feels like only a moment.

Read More
1857 Words | 8 Pages

Lieutenant Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley are the protagonists of Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms. Although there aren’t any other characters in the majority of the novel, there are a few that make an appearance every so often, like Rinaldi, The Priest, Helen Ferguson and Miss Gage. For the sake of this paper I will only be looking at the minor character Helen Ferguson, who is close friends with Catherine. Helen, who is often referred to as Ferguson or Fergy, is the voice of reason in regards to Henry and Catherine’s relationship.

Read More
654 Words | 3 Pages

After a series of unfortunate events, Desiree runs off with her baby into the Bayou killing both herself and her baby. This is quite relevant to Kate Chopin's own life, in the sense that Kate grew up in a rather wealthy household. Kate was bilingual, speaking both French and English, and soon married Oscar; a man with the similar characteristics of Armand.

Read More
918 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin informs the reader of an important note about Mrs. Mallard: “And yet she had loved him–sometimes. Often she had not” (Para. 15). This woman was not a woman of companionship; she would thrive on being single. However, considering the story’s setting, she would have hit rock bottom if she never chose to marry. Failing to find a husband could have resulted in her living in poverty and dying in extremely poor conditions.

Read More
897 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin wrote a story about Mrs. Mallard, a married woman who suffers from heart problems and also has to cope with her husband recent passing. Mrs.Mallard, she showed sincere grief about her husband passing. However, looking back at how controlling her husband Mr.Mallard were in their marriage, Mrs.Mallard felt a sudden joy when processing her husband death After her sudden emotional change, Mrs Mallard felt liberated when she started thinking about what her life would be like without Mr.Mallard, but regardless of the happiness she feels, she knows that once she sees her husband in corpse that sadness will return. Through her writing, author Chopin readers/ audience would be women who feel trapped and controlled in their marriage. Anger, loneliness and heartbroken are feelings that women who're coping with the death of their loved one feel.

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

However, because she modifies her statement with the suggestion that she will be “very nice” to him on his next visit, she may indicate that after overcoming her distrusts and her mental restrictions, she has decided to fill her desires in choosing of having an affair. Chopin deliberately leaves the meaning of this statement uncertain, but knowing what we know about her

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

The story also argues that freedom is a very powerful force that affects the mental or emotional state of a person. Chopin argues that only through death can one be finally freed. The author makes strong, yet subtle statements towards humanity and women’s rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin demonstrates how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a

Read More

More about The Theme Of Love In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms

Related Topics

Open Document