Brett: The New Woman
Ernest Hemingway once stated that, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.” This quote can be applied to the new woman and how she may feel in the transitioning world she lived through. The new woman sees herself as free and just as able to engage in fun activities as any man. She sees herself as strong and independent and successful in realizing that she has conquered a world where men rule over women and where women have strict jobs to stay quiet and do what they’re told. The female protagonist in the novel, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Lady Brett Ashley follows this idea to a T. She is rebelling against the traditional role of a woman and being her own independent woman with the intention of working for and pleasing only herself. The new woman is a huge theme within the novel, being explained through Lady Brett Ashley’s image, promiscuity, and independence.
Before the 1920’s gender roles were plain and simple; the man worked and the woman stayed home to cook, clean, and raise the family. Throughout the novel The Sun also , we see a dramatic shift between these roles played out but the character of Lady Brett Ashley. From her introduction to the novel’s end she is out-spoken and taking charge. Brett follows the new
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This type of behavior becomes a pattern throughout the story. Secondly, with Jake’s friend, Robert Cohn. Brett and Cohn traveled together and when he became very clearly too attached to her, she no longer wanted him around. Then, with her fiancé Mike and again with her bullfighting lover, Pedro Romero, whom she meets in Spain. When Romero tells her to change, she leaves, continuing to show her independence. This side of Brett comes directly from the definition of the new