A Farewell to Arms
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| Image:Hemingway farewell.jpg First edition cover | |
| Author | Ernest Hemingway |
|---|---|
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| 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) |
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway in 1929. Much of the novel was written at the home of Hemingway's in-laws in Piggott, Arkansas. Considered by many critics to be the greatest war novel of all time,[citation needed] 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.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The novel is divided into five books. In the first book, Henry meets 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 Germans break through the Italian lines, and the Italians retreat. After falling behind and catching up again, Henry is taken to a place where officers are being interrogated and executed for the "treachery" that supposedly led to the Italian defeat. However, Henry escapes by jumping into a river. In the fourth book, Catherine and Henry reunite and flee to Switzerland in a rowboat. In the final book, Henry and Catherine live a quiet life in the mountains until she goes into labor. After a long and painful labor, their son is stillborn. Catherine begins to hemorrhage and soon dies, leaving Henry to return to their hotel in the rain.
[edit] Characterizations
| This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2007) |
- American Lieutenant Frederic Henry often called simply Tenente ("Lieutenant"), is the consciousness through which the novel is told. 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 an atheist), sticks to his beliefs despite the war's constant presence. Rinaldi's exuberance amuses him, but he quails over the Italian male greeting of the kiss.
- Catherine Barkley has been used hard by life. She declined a proposal of marriage, and then her love was killed in the war. She is British, professional, 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 ignore the dangers of unprotected sex and to accept the pain and death of childbirth stoically.
- Rinaldi is a physician through which 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 drink, 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. 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 of himself.
[edit] Adaptations
- This film adaptation was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1932. 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.[1]
- A Farewell to Arms (1957 film)
- The film was remade with the same title in 1957, starring Jennifer Jones, Rock Hudson and Vittorio De Sica and was directed by Charles Vidor and John Huston. De Sica was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this version.[2]
- Directed by Richard Attenborough, this film is a more biographical work, based on the same background as A Farewell to Arms.[3]
(In the opening credits to the 2007 Bruce Willis film Live Free or Die Hard, the screenplay is said to be inspired by an article entitled "A Farewell to Arms". This is a reference to a 1997 Wired magazine article about the use of technology as a weapon. This film is not based on Hemingway's novel.)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
bn:আ ফেয়ারওয়েল টু আর্মস de:In einem andern Land es:Adiós a las armas fr:L'Adieu aux armes hr:Zbogom oružje it:Addio alle armi (romanzo) nl:A Farewell To Arms ja:武器よさらば no:Farvel til våpnene fi:Jäähyväiset aseille sv:Farväl till vapnen zh:永别了，武器
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since January 2008 | Articles that may contain original research since November 2007 | Articles with sections needing expansion | 1929 novels | Anti-war novels | World War I novels | Novels by Ernest Hemingway | Serialized novels | Autobiographical novels | 1932 films | Public domain films | Black and white films | 1957 films | Film remakes | World War I films | Films based on Ernest Hemingway works | Films directed by Frank Borzage
