The Sentimental Education of Frederic Henry (Hemingway’s...

Ernest Hemingway’s protagonist Frederic Henry says A Farewell to Arms with a double meaning. The novel title is word play reflective of first, Frederic’s desertion of the war. His second farewell is to the arms of his beloved, Catherine Barkley after her death in childbirth. Wandering stoically through life, looking for some natural progression, Frederic lets one circumstance lead him to the next. At first, Frederic exhibits the hedonistic aspirations of a college fraternity pledge, motivated only by drinking and sex. His selfish motives take him into a courtship with Catherine and they fall in love. He displays apathy and has no passion or conviction until the accidental attraction. The relationship matures him. It becomes his†¦show more content†¦Frederic knows he doesn’t love her and is playing â€Å"a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards† (30). Craig Kleinman studies Catherine’s participation of a â€Å"yes-no-yes†¦dialectical bouncing.† Her approach is like a seductive game (54). Yet, Frederic pursues her knowing she is vulnerable from the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a casualty of war. They begin seduction in mutual gain. He wants to gain a â€Å"clean† partner to engage in sex with and she wants comfort from her sorrows. He reluctantly goes to see her one night after drinking but she has a headache and can’t see him. He has an epiphany of his feelings towards her then, â€Å"but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow† (41). The affair becomes serious when Frederic is wounded at the front and sent to the hospital in Milan. Catherine is his nurse and offers him direct care. She has previously been initiated into the cruelties and absurdities of life through her previous loss. As a type of â€Å"survival tactic† Catherine instantly falls in love with Frederic at the hospital (Spanier). He is wound ed but alive, which is enough for her. Frederic adds his love of Catherine to his list of coping methods as he describes, I was not made to think, I was made to eat. My God, yes. Eat and drink and sleep with Catherine (233). He notes the internal change when, after deserting, he is riding in a train car with a group of