Catherine Barkley Love

People tend to search for the love they once had in someone new. This can be considered a battle within the person’s mind, as they are fighting for what they want. A person who doesn’t know what they want can be searching for love in all the wrong places, and craving the affection someone else gave them. Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is an example of battling herself for love. Hemingway chooses to show the readers how craving love can lead to one losing their own mind and settling for someone who might not be who they really want or need. Being in love with her previous fiance, but choosing to pursue a relationship with Henry, Catherine puts herself into a position where she can’t move past her dead fiance but …show more content…
It is a chance to feel wanted and loved, which is why Catherine chose to stay with Henry. Hemingway writes how Catherine loses the man she loves, and then conveniently runs into Henry. While Catherine is searching for the love she lost, Henry is searching for a girl to only have a physical relationship with. This factor of meeting somebody who wants her just as bad as she wants him sends Catherine in the direction of pursuing a relationship with Henry. This unhealthy relationship shows how intentions can change throughout the course of time. As time went on, Henry grew attached to Catherine, but wasn’t in love. He just didn’t want to feel lonely. Catherine on the other hand craved the otherworldly love she had with her fiance. She was willing to stay with Henry so that she could pretend that she was loved and appreciated. As a result, Catherine and Henry maintained an unhealthy relationship. Hemingway’s way of showing an unhealthy relationship without physical abuse shows how a person’s mentality can affect a relationship. Catherine is searching for love in all the wrong places, and is in a constant fight of what she wants and what she feels she needs, and Henry is convenient to