A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms
First edition cover
Author	Ernest Hemingway
Country	American
Language	English
Genre(s)	War Semi-autobiographical novel
Publisher	Scribner's Magazine
Publication date	May–October, 1929
Media type	Print (Serialization)
Pages	336 pp (Scribner reprint ed)
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-684-80146-9 (Scribner reprint ed)
OCLC Number	32620387

A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1929. The novel is told through the point of view of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I. The title is taken from a poem by 16th century English dramatist George Peele.^[1]

The novel is said to have been written at the home of Hemingway's in-laws in Piggott, Arkansas^[2] and at the home of friends of Hemingway's wife Pauline Pfeiffer W. Malcolm and Ruth Lowry home at 6435 Indian Lane, Mission Hills, Kansas while she was awaiting delivery of their baby.^[3]

Plot summary

The novel is divided into five books. In the first book, Henry meets and attempts to seduce Catherine Barkley and their relationship begins. While on the Italian front, Henry is wounded in the knee by a mortar shell and sent to a hospital in Milan. The second book shows the growth of Henry and Catherine's relationship as they spend time together in Milan over the summer. Henry falls in love with Catherine and by the time he is healed, Catherine is three months pregnant. In the third book, Henry returns to his unit, but not long after, the Austro-Germans break through the Italian lines and the Italians retreat. Henry kills an engineering sergeant for insubordination. After falling behind and catching up again, Henry is taken to a place by the "battle police" where officers are being interrogated and executed for the "treachery" that supposedly led to the Italian defeat. However, after hearing the execution of a Lt.Colonel, Henry escapes by jumping into a river. In the fourth book, Catherine and Henry reunite and flee to Switzerland in a rowing boat. In the final book, Henry and Catherine live a quiet life in the mountains until she goes into labour. After a long and painful labour, their son is stillborn. Catherine begins to haemorrhage and soon dies, leaving Henry to return to their hotel in the rain.

Background

The novel is autobiographical and the real-life Kitty Cannell inspired the fictional Helen Ferguson; the priest was based on Don Giuseppe Bianchi, the priest of the 69th and 70th regiments of the Brigata Ancona. While the inspiration of the character Rinaldi is obscure, he had already appeared in In Our Time. A Farewell to Arms was published at a time when many other World War I books were prominent, including Frederic Manning's Her Privates We, Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, Richard Aldington's Death of a Hero, and Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That. The success of A Farewell to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.

Characters

This section requires expansion.

• Frederic Henry, often simply called "Tenente" ("Lieutenant"), is the narrator of the story. Henry is a volunteer ambulance driver from the United States. In Henry, we see the beginnings of what comes to be called Hemingway's "Code Hero": Henry is stoic under duress or pain; he modestly deflects praise for his contributions to the war; he is unflappable under fire; he does his work. He is a "man's man," in that his thoughts revolve on women ("girls") and drink. He participates in and seems to enjoy the banal, everyday conversation between the soldiers. He is attracted to the simple goodness of the priest, who, like Henry (who is not religious), sticks to his beliefs despite the war's constant presence.
• Catherine Barkley is an English V.A.D (which is similar to a nurse). She volunteered in the war at the same time her fiance of eight years joined the army. He was killed in the Battle of Somme. She is English, professional and deeply feeling. Her sexual desires and her simple desire for companionship are sometimes at odds with her needs to tend to the ill. Like the code hero, she handles conflicting needs with grace, giving to both, but shorting none. Feminist thinkers will see in Catherine Hemingway's perfect woman: wise and cynical in many ways, her wisdom cannot contain her desire. As Henry gives his health and youth to the war effort, Catherine's chief heroism is to accept the pain and death of childbirth stoically. Barkley has been "consistantly ignored" as a code hero, probably because she is a woman ^[4]
• Rinaldi is a physician through whom Hemingway draws his idea of an Italian male. Sketched somewhat jingoistically, Rinaldi is unfailingly exuberant, ignoring small details that would stop his large and giving gestures. He loves women and drinking, bearing a bottle of the latter and tales of the former to his friend Henry as Henry recovers from his wounds. He enjoys performing surgery, seeing it as an enjoyable challenge; he greets his friend Frederic Henry with a formal European-style kiss. He usually refers to Henry as "baby". Rinaldi is a form of the code hero as well. He allows Hemingway to explore another, non-Anglo-American, way of being male, of facing even a difficult world, an injured Italy, with joie de vivre, ignoring all danger, giving himself. Henry reunites with a tired and syphilitic Rinaldi in the middle of the novel, illustrating the flaws of this approach to the war and to life.
• The Priest The chaplain in Henry's unit. Baited by the other officers, he is befriended by Henry, to whom he offers spiritual advice. The last time we see this character, his faith is wavering. Can also be interpreted as a "Code Hero".
• Helen Ferguson Catherine's friend and fellow nurse.
• Passini and Bonello Ambulance drivers serving under Henry.
• Manera, Gavuzzi, Gordini, Piani and Aymo Other ambulance drivers.
• Mrs. Walker An American nurse at the American hospital in Milan.
• Miss Gage Another American nurse, sympathetic to Henry and Catherine's affair.
• Dr. Valentini A surgeon who is highly competent and full of joie de vivre.
• Meyers A gloomy American expatriate.
• Ettore Moretti An Italian-American Officer from San Francisco serving in the Italian army.
• Ralph Simmons An American student of opera and Henry's friend.
• Count Greffi An old but vigorous Italian whom Henry knows from Stresa and who serves as a mentor to Henry.

Censorship

As printed by Scribner's, a handful of obscenities (the words "shit", "fuck" and "cocksucker", to be precise) were excised from the printed text and replaced with dashes ("----") ^[5]. There are at least two extant copies of the first edition in which Hemingway re-inserted the censored text by hand, so as to provide a corrected text. One of these copies was presented to Maurice Coindreau; the other, to James Joyce ^[5]. Hemingway's corrected text has not been incorporated into any published edition of the novel.

Adaptations

• The novel was adapted for the stage by Laurence Stallings in 1930.
• The 1932 screen adaptation was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The screenplay was written by Oliver H.P. Garrett and Benjamin Glazer. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features the music of Richard Wagner. The movie stars Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou ^[6].
• A 1957 remake starring Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones and Vittorio De Sica was directed by Charles Vidor and John Huston. De Sica was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance ^[7].
• The BBC broadcast an abridged adaptation - written by Giles Cooper, directed by Rex Tucker and starring Vanessa Redgrave and George Hamilton - on February 15, 1966 ^[8].

See also

• Battles of the Isonzo

References

External links

• Ernest Hemingway Website
• Spark Notes: A Farewell to Arms
• Literapedia: A Farewell to Arms