She feels she has to be prove her worth for Henry which eliminates her purity of being a “good girl” and highlights her persistently needy nature. Her constant pursuance of Henry makes readers see her as desperate rather than pure as Hemingway intended. But haven’t I always been a good girl until now?” (Hemingway 138). This is shown when she states, “I know I’ve made trouble now. She was always trying to prove to Henry she was a “good girl” which made her noble but desperate for Henry’s acceptance. Catherine Barkley wants to be the good wife and Frederic’s other half” (Recla 21). Recla notes, “The women are constantly reassuring their men that they are good girls and normal. The image of pureness is supported by this white attire as it serves as “a symbol of her purity” (Recla 14). Additionally, being a nurse subjects her to being a noble woman who is always dressed in white. Being unmarried builds on her image of purity even though she grieves her fiancé’s death. ![]() Hemingway describes Catherine as a hardworking nurse and even explains that she was once engaged. Hemingway tried to convey Catherine with purity by giving her redeeming qualities that reflected feminine concepts but her submissive traits ultimately made her look desperate. Hemingway made Catherine weak and submissive in order to satisfy his fantasy since the modern women in his life could not achieve these standards. He portrayed that women need a man to depend on so, in turn, they do not mind being subordinate. Many demeaning traits including helplessness and submission were shown in Catherine’s character to reflect Hemingway’s paragon. Henry is able to act like her knight in shining armor and ultimately rescue her from herself because, as she has shown, she is nothing without him. Catherine is the portrayal of this ideal woman because, as shown in this quote, she willingly sacrifices herself in order to devote herself to Henry, like a religion where one would sacrifice for a god. You’re all I’ve got,” he supports the point that women want and need men by their side (Hemingway 116). When Hemingway writes Catherine explaining, “You’re my religion. She will be able to serve some use with a man by their side so she must act accordingly to obtain a man. This ideal points out that a woman’s ultimate goal should be to get a man so they will not be helpless anymore. ![]() This states, women act weak in order to get what they “ought to want,” or, a man. According to Hemingway’s ideals, a perfect woman is one who is “unduly coy, whose posture of trembling helplessness is simply a way of disguising what she… ought to want” (Fetterley 58). Hemingway’s paragon women for men were characterized with weak traits as shown through Catherine. Hemingway’s masculine view of “the perfect woman,” shown through A Farewell to Arms by the weak and underdeveloped character Catherine Barkley, was a product of his failures with women in his life and his quintessential vision of a woman’s role towards a man. In this way, Hemingway sought to create a picturesque relationship between a man and a women but in doing so he disregarded feminist ideology to create his own perfect woman. However, Henry only saw her as an escape from his troubles and used her as a distraction to avoid his problems throughout the novel. She sacrificed much of herself for the promise of being with him. ![]() Throughout the story her ultimate goal was to be in love with and be loved by Frederic Henry, the main protagonist. The main female role, Catherine Barkley, is used as a major plot element for the development of the main character, yet, she is portrayed as a desperate and frail woman, making her a representation of sexist beliefs. In his novel A Farewell to Arms, his female characters are shown as subordinate objects who are helpless without a man by their side. Ernest Hemingway is praised for his mastery of language and descriptions but his shortcomings are prevalent in his portrayal of female characters that are constantly defiled by his male ideals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |