Horrific as it is, war makes those who fight in them feel
alive. It is the close proximity to death and shared traumatic experience that
brings men together in comradery. Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises is set in the aftermath of World War I, during
the early 1920s, a time of excess and exuberance. The men in the story, with
the exception of Robert Cohn, and one woman, Brett (Lady Ashly), has survived
the ordeal of a world war. Jake, the story’s narrator, has been rendered
sexually impotent as a result of a war injury, perhaps resulting in castration.
Presumably, Brett, who was his nurse during the war, knows the full extent of
Jake’s injury and its implications for his masculinity. As a result of war, a
fraternity has formed between the main characters, including Brett and Jake.
Jake, Brett, Mike, and Bill, disillusioned with war, were
living in Paris and fly fishing in the Basque region of Spain. They attend
boxing matches, bull fights, and other blood sports that are traditionally associated
with masculinity. These are war-like sports that test a participant’s courage
and define his masculinity. Indeed, war is a form of hyper-masculinity. All of
the primary characters—with the notable exception of Cohn—are heavy drinkers. People
drink to numb their pain and to forget. Although none of them probably realizes
it, they are looking for a substitute experience that can make them feel as alive
as they did in the war.
That could also explain Jake’s infatuation with Brett, a
woman who makes him feel alive but also, like war, causes pain and suffering. This
is confirmed when Jake pleads with Brett: “Couldn’t we live together, Brett?
Couldn’t we just live together?” She responds: “I don’t think so. I’d just tromper you with everybody. You couldn’t
stand it.” Jake’s conundrum is that he can never consummate his love for Brett.
It is this deprivation that draws him to her and causes the kind of pain and
suffering that is equivalent to castration. Love can be a blood sport, too.
I completely agree with you, Charlie. I really like the points that you made in this post, especially the last line, "Love can be a blood sport, too." It reminds me of the saying, "Love is a battlefield." Often, as human beings, we find ourselves wanting to be with someone who we can't have, and I feel that explains Jake when it comes to his situation with Brett.
ReplyDeleteJessica: I, too, identify with "Love is a battlefield." I think all of us have probably been down that road a time or two. Life is complex and all of us are flawed characters.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that his relationship with Brett is sort of like the war. Very interesting!
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