4th Post: Farewell to A Farewell to Arms

                Very few stories have left me with burning questions and thoughts bouncing through my head like Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.  I would recommend this story to anyone interested in easily one of the best romance stories around.  Even after I put the book down I still had to process the ending alone in silence for a good thirty minutes because of the culmination of so many elements that Hemingway built up throughout the book.  With great tense moments, and fantastic descriptions of mundane moments that would otherwise be dull, Hemingway created a beautiful book that anyone who appreciates a good story will fall in love with.

            With a story as deep as Hemingway’s, I found myself quite close to falling into some bad-reader traps, simply because I could not put the book down.  As time progressed, I would have to do temporary reality checks to stop myself from identifying with Henry, or recount the events that just occurred.  Reading too much in one sitting was definitely one of my shortcomings as a reader, at least at first, partially because I had not developed good habits for remembering details.  To cure this, I used post-it notes to mark key details which helped me sustain my addiction.  I tried my best to clear my mind before every new chapter, but I found that I enjoyed some sections, like the retreat and the final hospital scene more when I read through them altogether at once.  The mental strains of reading for a longer time helped me better process the stressful atmosphere of the story.  In summary, while I made some mistakes as a reader at the outset of the story, I corrected a lot of my poor habits by the end. 

            As I mentioned in previous posts, Hemingway’s use of rain and weather in general is a phenomenal symbol that helps amplify the tension, sadness, or in some cases bluntness, of any event.  Rain is used throughout the story at some many various times, but some particularly varying mentions of rain are during the couple’s entrance to Switzerland as Catherine says “They never had rain like this in Italy.  It’s cheerful rain” (278), as well as the use of rain during Henry’s escape from the Italian soldiers.  The variation in the weather itself is not different in the slightest, but the contributions to the tone and mood could not be more different.  Hemingway’s ability to use such a simple environmental feature as a versatile tool is a legendary ability.  In one context, rain reflects the equality between Henry and the men who serve under him, while in another it shows the cleanliness of starting a new life in a new country with Henry’s wife.  Ultimately, I really enjoyed the use of weather throughout the story, because not only does it enhance the imagery of the situation, but the contribution to the emotions of the scenes is fantastic.

            Love is something absolutely quintessential to this story, and Hemingway has a lot to say about it.  The ending of the story is the culmination of so many emotions and ironies in simple short sentences that define love in an absolutely beautiful way.  Hemingway shows that love is pure, rich and comprised of service, while detailing the vulnerability, and infectious spirit of it at the same time.  Henry’s history of lustful relationships yield no emotional gain, but the ironic nature of Henry staying alive at the front and escaping death to love, only to lose his only love in perfect safety is profound and oddly beautiful.  In the final lines of the story, Hemingway writes “It was like saying good-by to a statue…I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain” (332).  This is the ultimate destination of Henry’s character: being ruined by tragedy with every tribulation overcome and every trial complete.  But Hemingway doesn't hesitate to reveal the joys of love, as he describes the relationship between Catherine and Henry beautifully throughout the text, even describing their love in the quiet Swiss home as a practically magical experience.  Hemingway’s description of the connection between the two characters is perfectly tragic and pure at the same time.  There is no grand finale of goodbyes and kisses and promises, there is calm conversation and death, followed by simple the simple act of entering a room and losing a connection.  Hemingway’s story defines love in all aspects; as we see the strong connection emerge from lust, endure under duress, blossom in reunion, and die, in absence.