A giant
in the field of American literary modernism, Ernest Hemingway has long been
called an important spokesman for the “lost generation” of
disillusioned, war-torn young Americans. In ‘A
Farewell to Arms’, Hemingway uses his
characteristic unadorned prose, clipped dialogue, and understatement to convey
an essentially cynical view of the world.
It is
the title of the novel, A Farewell to Arms,
itself that first catches the attention. Critics
are basically in agreement that there are two straightforward interpretations
of ‘A Farewell to Arms’, with
a pun on the word 'Arms'. The hero, Fredrick Henry, bids farewell to 'arms', as
in weapons, and also, when Catherine dies, to the loving 'arms' of a human
being.
Hemingway consciously
borrowed his title from the 16th century English poet
George Peele. He did refer to the Peele’s poem intentionally to pay ironic
homage to the war. Since Frederic deserts the army during the retreat, and then
flees with Catherine to Switzerland, the title can refer specifically to
Frederic’s good-bye to the weapons of war. A Farewell to Arms could
also refer to the loss of the loving arms of Catherine, as Fredrick was
compelled to say “a farewell” to them by the inevitable fate: death.
Thus, on one hand, the farewell voluntary and almost calculated step, while on
the other hand, the farewell is not at all, an act of volition.
The title “A farewell to Arms” puts Henry’s disillusionment with
the war and love.War is made odious in the very first chapter which discloses
the death of seven thousand men. Catherine’s fiancé has already been blown ‘all to
bits’ in the battle. Henry himself gets wounded by mortar-shell in the
war. War has affected the spirits of Rinaldi and priest as well. The climax of
the horror is reached in the account of Caporetto retreat. The
scene of the Italian army’s retreat remains one of the most profound evocations
of war in American literature:
“In the
night, many peasants had joined the column of retreating multitude, and in the
column there were carts, loaded with household goods… On some carts women sat
huddled from the rain and others walked besides the carts keeping as close to
them as they could.
The
inhumanity reached its climax when Henry was arrested by the battle-police.
Officers were being shot after a summary trial. Ironically Henry comments, "The
questioners had all the efficiency, coldness and command of themselves of
Italians who are firing and are not being fired on." Henry
made for the river and the shots rang after him. He took a support of a timber
and drifted along with it. Having immersed in the river he was purified of all
the sins. His “anger was washed away in the river along with any
obligation." He was already through with the patriotism. He had suffered from
exhaustion, hunger and fatigue. All his bravery had been evaporated. He escaped
from Italy with his beloved into a neutral country -Switzerland. He had got "a
separate peace."
Escaping from the war, what he could do was to turn to Catherine
to find his medication. Only from Catherine, Henry was able to find his
spiritual prop. But the reality of Catherine's death destroyed Henry's fantasy.
Upon that moment, Henry came to realization that such positive forces as love
and courage cannot neutralize the grim reality of life.
Already
simplistic throughout the novel, Hemingway is even more taciturn on the subject
of death. Indeed, the protagonist is indifferent to death. As a result of
seeing a great number of comrades falling on the battlefield, Henry has come to
a crude conclusion about death: only the living counts, and mourning the dead
is utterly futile. Shortly after the death of Passini, Henry remains unmoved by
his death. Similarly, the death of
Aymo in the latter part of the novel is dealt with the same
coldness. Ultimately, it is such a crude perception of death that prevents
Henry from mourning the death of Catherine or harbour any funereal feeling. He
bids farewell to the dead Catherine as he puts it:
“It
was like saying goodbye to a statue. After a while I went out and left the
hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.”
The title of the novel is the masterstroke of irony and one must think in terms of offering an ironic interpretation of the novel as well. Fredrick has always tried to run away from the obligations and responsibilities of life. He did not want to fall in love and yet he fell in love with Catherine. He deserted the army in the hope of leading a idyllic life , yet Catherine’s death at the end of novel suggests that he cannot escape harsh reality of death and sign a ‘separate peace’.
One may
conclude that the subliminal messages that fill ‘A Farewell to Arms’ make it an
exceptional piece of art. It is ironic that whereas Peele’s knight is rooted in
the war which he fights, his “duty, faith and love are evergreen”, Hemingway’s hero, on the other hand, casts his doubt upon such romantic ideals as glory and honor.
He is “always embarrassed by the words sacred,
glorious, and sacrifice.” He is
disgusted with the war, serves his time and does everything he can, to run away
from the perils of war.