In the novel, The Sun Also Rises, there is a numerous amount of gender roles being played by the opposite sexes. There is a vast complication with the new forms of women that come about in the early twentieth century. Hemingway uses Brett, or Lady Ashley, as a primary example, she tries to escape the typical lady-like, feminine side of women and be more like a man, not so much a man, but a tomboy. Hemingway uses Jake in a form of feminism but not just because of his injury but also because of the way his emotions are and the way he acts.
Brett has a countless number of manly characteristics that in the nineteenth century would have made her unattractive to most men, but in the twentieth century her style added to her sexual appeal. Jake, the …show more content…
His weakness to leave Brett after countless incidents of her emotional affairs and Brett’s reason for not staying with him are both ways that Hemingway subjects Jake as a non-typical male. Jake and Brett's relationship is different because they can not have children even if they wanted to. This is due to Jake's war wound which forces Jake to look at Brett as being more than a sexual object. Therefore, their friendship is based entirely on their emotions that they offer to one another and this makes it impossible for them to live up to the traditional expectations of society. Jake tries to be intimate with Brett but she reacts in a way that no one would expect, she says to Jake “Don’t touch me” … “Please don’t touch me” (33). Brett knows about Jake’s injury and simply cannot face the fact that he can’t make her happy in that way. Jake values Brett enough to drop any false sense of power that he could have over her because their friendship is worth much more than just sex. Jake knows that Brett will never love him in that way, but since he’s such a worthy friend he sticks around to help her through any hardships. Jake develops a new outlook on gender roles when he realizes that women make great friends, he states that “Women made such swell friends. Awfully swell. In the first place, you had to be in love with a woman to have a basis of a friendship”
Brett has a countless number of manly characteristics that in the nineteenth century would have made her unattractive to most men, but in the twentieth century her style added to her sexual appeal. Jake, the …show more content…
His weakness to leave Brett after countless incidents of her emotional affairs and Brett’s reason for not staying with him are both ways that Hemingway subjects Jake as a non-typical male. Jake and Brett's relationship is different because they can not have children even if they wanted to. This is due to Jake's war wound which forces Jake to look at Brett as being more than a sexual object. Therefore, their friendship is based entirely on their emotions that they offer to one another and this makes it impossible for them to live up to the traditional expectations of society. Jake tries to be intimate with Brett but she reacts in a way that no one would expect, she says to Jake “Don’t touch me” … “Please don’t touch me” (33). Brett knows about Jake’s injury and simply cannot face the fact that he can’t make her happy in that way. Jake values Brett enough to drop any false sense of power that he could have over her because their friendship is worth much more than just sex. Jake knows that Brett will never love him in that way, but since he’s such a worthy friend he sticks around to help her through any hardships. Jake develops a new outlook on gender roles when he realizes that women make great friends, he states that “Women made such swell friends. Awfully swell. In the first place, you had to be in love with a woman to have a basis of a friendship”