In his novel A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway tells the story of an American ex-lieutenant Frederick Henry looking back on his life and relationship with Catherine Barkley. The lovers first meet outside a villa-turned-hospital and almost immediately begin playing, as writer Ernest Lockridge wrote, a “game of cat-and-mouse” with one another (Hemingway 18, Lockridge 72). Lockridge argued that because of this game, it appears as if Hemingway wrote Frederick to be an ignorant, naive lover, and Catherine as deceiving him by “making love to a fantasy-fiancé in her mind” (74). In the beginnings of both the novel and their relationship, Catherine manipulated Frederick and formed him into the fiancé she lost the year before, asking him questions
…show more content…
Later in the novel, Frederick says farewell both the arms of war and the arms of Catherine. In regards to the novel’s allusion to Shakespeare, I believe that the title also foreshadows to the losing of his occupations as soldier, father, and husband, just as Othello lost his occupations of soldier and husband when he killed Desdemona. This allusion to Shakespeare’s Othello can be read as Catherine jokingly foreshadowing her death because of Regarding this foreshadowing of Catherine’s death, another parallel between A Farewell to Arms and Othello focuses on the relationship that Catherine and Desdemona have to their respective spouses. Just as Catherine would not have died had Frederick not pursued her, Desdemona would not have been murdered by Othello had he listened to her and had he not believed in Iago’s lies. Seeing as Catherine’s former fiancé was killed in action, I think she would have thought her death as being imminent and inevitable and did not want to face this reality; hence, why Lockridge stated that she made Frederick a “fantasy-fiancé”, kept him ignorant of her motives, and why she tried to use humor to mask her real emotions. Catherine wanted to be in control of her life and her relationship with Frederick by living in the past and not worrying about the future. Regarding Catherine’s omniscience and Frederick’s ignorance, I believe Hemingway wrote them as such in order to fully encapsulate his allusion to Othello and create a novel that incorporated his famous ‘Iceberg Theory’ into character development. For without Frederick’s ignorance, the allusion would have no proper foundation in the novel to be seen as
Later in the novel, Frederick says farewell both the arms of war and the arms of Catherine. In regards to the novel’s allusion to Shakespeare, I believe that the title also foreshadows to the losing of his occupations as soldier, father, and husband, just as Othello lost his occupations of soldier and husband when he killed Desdemona. This allusion to Shakespeare’s Othello can be read as Catherine jokingly foreshadowing her death because of Regarding this foreshadowing of Catherine’s death, another parallel between A Farewell to Arms and Othello focuses on the relationship that Catherine and Desdemona have to their respective spouses. Just as Catherine would not have died had Frederick not pursued her, Desdemona would not have been murdered by Othello had he listened to her and had he not believed in Iago’s lies. Seeing as Catherine’s former fiancé was killed in action, I think she would have thought her death as being imminent and inevitable and did not want to face this reality; hence, why Lockridge stated that she made Frederick a “fantasy-fiancé”, kept him ignorant of her motives, and why she tried to use humor to mask her real emotions. Catherine wanted to be in control of her life and her relationship with Frederick by living in the past and not worrying about the future. Regarding Catherine’s omniscience and Frederick’s ignorance, I believe Hemingway wrote them as such in order to fully encapsulate his allusion to Othello and create a novel that incorporated his famous ‘Iceberg Theory’ into character development. For without Frederick’s ignorance, the allusion would have no proper foundation in the novel to be seen as