Existentialism In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms

First, Ernest Hemingway shows a tendency toward existentialism. The existential hero presents itself best in Frederic Henry. When thinking about the war, Henry states, “Well, I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me” (Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, 37). Because it he had nothing “to do with the war,” Henry becomes philosophically detached from the cause. Because of this detachment, Henry believes that he cannot die. If Henry in his eyes is detached, he remains completely free from any outcomes. According to Edmund Wilson, a renowned literary critic, A Farewell to Arms “is a tragedy, and the lovers are shown as innocent victims with no relation to the forces that torment them.” Henry remains …show more content…
After leaving Catherine for the day, Henry thinks, “I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow” (FTA, 41). “Lonely and hollow” gives the idea that he is empty without her, or even has little meaning outside of her. Henry only begins to have meaning once he meets Catherine. As he spends more time with her Henry begins to create new meaning for himself. Henry’s new created meaning demonstrates the tenet of inner meaning found in existentialism. For example, Jean-Paul Sartre explains, “Essence—that is, the ensemble of both the production routines and the properties which enable it to be both produced and defined—precedes existence.” According to Sartre, humans exist before they develop their own meaning. Henry existed in the war but did not have his own meaning until he met Catherine. Once his love begins, then Henry begins to have meaning within himself. In contrast to the emptiness of war, Henry makes his own meaning with Catherine. And when he creates that new meaning of love, Henry demonstrates the core of existential