Brett, Punishment, and Freedom in The Sun Also Rises

By: Danielle Walsh

Id like to thank Professor Valerie Rohy for all of her help as my thesis advisor. Id also like to thank Professor Robyn Warhol-Down and Professor Emily Manetta for their contributions to my defense committee. Finally, Id like to thank Mary Stewart for all of her peer-editing help and my parents and roommates for all of their support.

Table of Contents Preface 4 9 19

Chapter 1: Brett as a Figure of the New Woman Chapter 2: Bretts Power in The Sun Also Rises Chapter 3: Brett and Containment Chapter 4: Punishment as Suffering Conclusion Works Cited 51 53 28 44

Preface I thought I had paid for everything. Not like the woman pays and pays and pays. No idea of retribution or punishment. Just exchange of values (Hemingway 152). In this passage from Ernest Hemingways The Sun Also Rises, Jakes recognition of the societal need for the containment of women becomes apparent. Here, Jake realizes that women are engaged in a system in which they must constantly pay for what they receive. From this notion of constant payment, Jake then makes a sharp contrast with the system that he himself is a part of where payments are a simple exchange of values. This contrast highlights the way in which women are part of a system where payments are founded on ideas of retribution and punishment. The woman must not only give to receive, but she must also be punished in her payments. It is then from Jakes recognition of this universal need for women to not only pay, but be punished, that the novel begins to explore issues concerning the containment of Brett, the novels leading lady. It is this issue of containment as a societal construct and the novels addressing of this issue that this paper will predominantly explore. In this paper I will use containment to refer to the way in which the novel deflates Bretts power by trapping her in her own cycle of beginning and ending relationships with men. However, before further developing this idea, it is important to note that, in The Sun Also Rises, Brett Ashley emerges as a representative of the New Woman of the 1920s. As an embodiment of the New Woman, a historical figure that, by the 1920s, embodied aspects of androgyny that were perceived as threatening by patriarchal society (Smith-Rosenberg 265), Brett is assertive and displays a significant amount of sexual freedom in her ability to move from one man to the next as the narrative progresses. What is not initially as obvious is the

manner in which Brett ultimately pays for her sexual freedom. This payment is enacted by Brett being trapped in a cycle of relationships that ends in her own emotional pain. Essentially, Brett uses her relationships as a means of purposefully inflicting emotional suffering on herself, and the novel comes to explore issues of containment by having Bretts freedom come at a price. In other words, much as Jake notes, Brett pays and pays and pays in a manner that is not an equal exchange of values, but is rather a system of punishment. However, the novel frames this system of punishment in a manner that does not endorse it. Rather, by portraying the emotional suffering that stems from Bretts selfpunishing behavior as tragic, the novel does not provide blanket support of Bretts containment and, correspondingly, questions societys containment of the New Woman. In this complex, interrelated web of Bretts own intentional self-punishment and the novels framing of that punishment, it is important to remember that the text is working on two different levels. In other words, the text works both on the level of its characters and on the level of the novel as a construct itself. Thus, the fact that Brett intentionally uses her power in her relationships with men as a means of punishing herself does not mean that the novel is also punishing her. Instead, the novel has the option of framing Bretts behavior in a way that allows the novel to make Bretts pain tragic. It does this by establishing Brett as part of the society of Hemingways suffering heroes. In other words, by carefully drawing out Bretts suffering, the novel is able to create empathy between the reader and Brett which connects Brett to other Hemingway heroes, like Jake, who endure similar emotional turmoil. However, the way in which Bretts tragedy also causes Jakes suffering further complicates how the novel constructs Brett. Thus, in the end the novel presents an ambiguous portrayal of Brett that feeds back

into Bretts connection to the New Woman by questioning the similar containment of the New Woman that was being enacted by society. The importance of examining this issue of Bretts power and containment in the text as part of her connection to the New Woman rests primarily in the present gap in the existing criticism. Essentially, very few critics seek to discuss Brett as being on a par with Jake in terms of emotional turmoil, and those that do tend to frame Bretts suffering as being simply some aspect of the lost generation, as opposed to being a price that the New Woman has to pay. Also, the critical view of Brett as bitch is not too far removed from contemporary criticism. In 1984, Roger Whitlow still commented that conventional critical wisdom tells us that Brett Ashley, Margot Macomber, Helen, and Dorothy Bridges are Hemingways bitch-women (148).This comment highlights the fact that Brett was still being framed as a bitch as late as the 80s. Considering that Whitlow goes on to trace what he terms the Brett-the-bitch school (149) of criticism back to Edmund Wilsons 1941 The Wound and the Bow, it is apparent that the criticism on Brett as a bitch is not a brief moment in the history of criticism on The Sun Also Rises, but rather spans across more than 40 years. The length of this period suggests that the view of Brett as a bitch is one that is deeply engrained into the critical consciousness to this day. This is especially true when considering some of the critical comments that come from the Brett-the-bitch school. For example, Leslie Fiedlers reference to Brett as the bitchgoddess with a boyish bob (28), elevates Brett out of the realm of mere bitch to an entirely new level of negative portrayal. This degree of negative portrayal sets up a critical discourse that is difficult to break from. Thus, even after Whitlow begins arguing against the identity of Brett as a bitch, other critics, like Milton Cohen, continue to frame

Brett in these types of terms. Cohen compares Brett to Circe, as Cohn does, and focuses in on how both are witches who emasculate men (304). These examples all highlight how pervasive the criticism of Brett as a bitch has been and, correspondingly, how it has shaped the critical discourse surrounding Brett. Thus, even though literary criticism on Brett has come a long way from the portrayal of Brett as simply a bitch, Brett is still frequently seen in a negative light. As Lorie Watkins Fulton argues in her article Reading Around Jakes Narration: Brett Ashley and The Sun Also Rises, Brett is one of the most misread Hemingway women. Fulton tries to address this issue by looking at the ways in which Jakes narration of Brett is tainted by Jakes own emotions. Fulton then goes on to portray Brett as a character of exceptional depth in the novel by systematically refuting common criticisms of Brett such as the portrayal of Brett as a bitch. However, Fulton seeks to frame Bretts sexual relationships in a positive light by viewing them not as an act of manipulation, but rather as a quest for meaning. Similarly, Linda Wagner-Martin also views Brett as misread and argues that Hemingway had never intended Brett to be an affront; she was to have gained readers sympathy and admiration, and thereby buttressed the positive elements of Jake Barnes persona (142). Also, Wagner-Martin implies that Hemingway actually intended Brett to be a warm, believable, brave woman (142). Thus, more recent criticism has sought to deny the existence of negative qualities in Bretts interactions with men as it moves away from the prototype of Brett as bitch. Part of this denial of the negative aspects of Bretts interactions with men is the fact that most previous criticism focuses on Jakes self-punishing behavior instead of Bretts. For example, Richard Fantinas article Hemingways Masochism, Sodomy, and

the Dominant Woman focuses on the ways in which Jake perpetuates a cycle of selfpunishing behavior while ignoring the possibility that a similar argument could be applied to Brett. In this article, Fantina argues that men like Jake are masochistic in that they allow themselves to be dominated by women. For Fantina, Brett is then a dominant force in the novel that functions to humiliate Jake by taking over the traditionally masculine role in their relationship. Correspondingly, Jakes embracing of this domination and humiliation becomes masochistic, in Fantinas view, while Brett is the dominating agent and not subject to similar behaviors. From this foundation of previous criticism, I will offer a view of self-punishment as being as much Bretts as it is Jakes. While this may seem to cast Brett in a negative light, it is not in fact inconsistent with a feminist reading of Brett. Essentially, I will not be trying to deny the negative aspects of Bretts relationships and imbue them with a false positive aspect. Rather, I will embrace the flaws of Bretts relationships as being a manifestation of the inevitable consequence of societal pressures placed on the New Woman. In this way, I will show that Brett, as a representative of the larger group of the New Woman, is the equal of some of the novels men in her self-punishing behavior. Furthermore, this connection to the New Woman is significant in that it will provide a new way of understanding the New Woman by showing an example of suffering that is inherently tragic. Additionally, such a new understanding will be instrumental in providing an alternative view about the necessity for the containment of the New Woman.

Chapter 1: Brett as a Figure of the New Woman Ernest Hemingways The Sun Also Rises was originally published in 1926, a time at which the historical figure of the New Woman was gaining a lot of notice. The New Woman was a historical figure that became prominent in the public eye as she began to redefine gender roles, go to college, and start working in the male world. The presence of this historical New Woman then generated a certain amount of masculine anxiety as women began to take over typically masculine gender roles and spheres (Schneider 16). Based upon this prevalence both of the New Woman and of masculine anxiety, it is not surprising that both of these topics become thematically important in The Sun Also Rises. In terms of the presence of the New Woman, Brett emerges as an embodiment of this historical figure in the novel. Correspondingly, Brett inspires a similar type of anxiety, which seemingly sets up the opportunity for masculine anxiety to contribute to containment. Essentially, Bretts identification with the New Woman creates a circumstance in which the expected conclusion of The Sun Also Rises would involve Bretts punishment; however, this connection ultimately functions as a means of exploring issues of masculine anxiety and the containment of women without condoning either. The term New Woman is one with a diverse array of meanings that warrants further definition. The New Woman initially emerged as a figure in the 1890s who began going to college and infringing on male-dominated careers (Schneider 16). This, in turn, began generating masculine anxiety as many men feared that women would take their jobs or would lower the wages by being willing to work for less which caused men to cling to the domestic ideal (Schneider 51). However, this New Woman was slightly

different from the New Woman of the 1920s, who will here after be the focus of this paper. This later New Woman pushed past the example of the preceding generation by infringing on the masculine in her physical appearance as well as in her level of education and career choice by combining masculine and feminine traits. The portrayal of Brett in the novel functions to draw out the connection between Brett and this historical figure of the New Woman. The most important of these shared characteristics is the previously mentioned blending of the feminine and the masculine in both appearance and displays of power as seen in her role in relationships. Carroll SmithRosenberg identifies this gender role blending as a trait of the New Woman saying that the New Woman violated normal gender categories and fused the female and the male (Smith-Rosenberg 265). Brett shows her physical presence to be a similar fusion as Hemingway describes her both as a bit of a boy with her hairbrushed back like a boys and as a woman with curves like the hull of a racing yacht (Hemingway 30). Here, it is Bretts hair that most clearly evokes the masculine, especially considering the proximity of this period to the preceding Victorian era where long hairwas the symbol for woman (Wylder 31). The novel itself is then aware of the importance of Bretts haircut as a symbol of the New Woman taking on masculine qualities through its note that She [Brett] started all that (Hemingway 30). This idea that Brett started the trend of short hair positions Brett as not simply a symbol of the New Woman, but rather as an influential symbol within the realm of the novel. This masculine physical trait is then coupled with the feminine physical trait of curves being like those of the hull of a racing yacht, which Jake shows a particular appreciation for through his note that you missed none of it with that wool jersey (Hemingway 30). This second note highlights the

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importance of Bretts feminine physical traits just as the note about Brett originating the style of her hair emphasizes the masculine traits. Thus, the way in which both the masculine and feminine aspects of Bretts physical appearance are emphasized, reveals the overall importance of the way in which Brett, like the New Woman, is androgynous in many ways. In addition to these aspects of Bretts physical appearance, there are also elements of Bretts behavior that further make her a symbol of the New Woman by inserting her into typically masculine spheres. As Smith-Rosenberg notes, The New Woman challenged existing gender relations and the distribution of power (243). Therefore, the New Woman was not only androgynous, but she also challenged patriarchy. In a similar way, Brett most notably asserts herself in a masculine sphere through her behavior at the bullfights. The first manifestation of Bretts ability to assert herself in the sphere of the bullfights occurs before the first actual fight when the bulls are being brought into the corrals. Brett stands with Jake to watch the bulls come in, and Jake shows his concern for Bretts ability to cope with the bulls goring the steers by telling her, Dont look (Hemingway 145). However, Brett continues watching, fascinated, which forces Jake to state, Fine,If it doesnt buck you (Hemingway 145). Here, Jakes perception of Brett as being incapable of tolerating the violence of the fights is completely overturned as Brett enthusiastically watches the charge and even notices the way in which the bull uses his horns like a boxer, just as Jake has been pointing out. Just as Jake doubts Bretts suitability for the masculine realm of the bullfight, so do the other male characters and even Brett herself, with the same results. Thus, prior to the first bullfight, Mike thinks that Brett had best sit high up for her first time

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(Hemingway 165) as a means of physically distancing her from the arena. Even Brett herself expresses similar concern, telling Jake that Im a little nervy about it.Im worried whether Ill be able to go through with it all right (Hemingway 166). All of this talk before the fight reflects the belief that Brett, as a woman, will struggle to handle the graphic nature of the bullfights more than any of the other characters will. However, Brett surprises everyone by being completely unfazed by the fights. As she tells Jake, I didnt feel badly at all (Hemingway 169). Delbert Wylder makes this connection between Bretts behavior and that of the New Woman even more explicitly by stating that [Brett] is obviously, the new woman or the twentieth century woman, breaking from the stricture of Victorianism as much as most of the expatriated males in the novel (29) In all of these examples, Brett asserts herself in a primarily male arena, which further connects her to the historical figure of the New Woman who also asserted herself in primarily male fields. From these connections to the historical figure of the New Woman, the opportunity for masculine anxiety to attach itself to Brett arises. In the 1920s, the figure of the New Woman inspired a fair amount of anxiety in patriarchal society because of the New Womans tendency towards androgyny and her movement into previously maledominated careers. This anxiety in terms of androgyny was manifested in the concerns of physicians about this new emerging class of women: British and American physicians and scientists insisted that unmarried career women and political activists constituted an intermediate sex. They violated normal gender categories.The were Mannish Lesbians, the embodiment of social disorder (Smith-Rosenberg 265). In this passage, it is particularly telling that physicians and scientists identified the New Woman as the

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embodiment of social disorder, revealing the extent of anxiety felt about this figure. In other words, the emergence of a figure that refused to remain confined by the previously prescribed female gender roles was so threatening that educated medical professionals sought to neutralize this threat by identifying these women as the source of social disorder. In addition to these fears surrounding gender expression, the mention of these women as having careers highlights the ways in which both gender identity and the introduction of women into the job market played into patriarchal fears. In addition to this focus, physicians further contributed to the interplay of gender and careers in their expounding of the belief that educating women would lead to hysteria. Essentially, it was thought that while In men, the brain and heart dominated, in women, the reproductive organs (Brown 35) were dominant. Correspondingly, To educate women with the same rigor as men would divert needed energy from the uterus, and The over stimulated brainwould become morbidly introspective. Neurasthenia, hysteria, or insanity could result (Brown 35). These scientific opinions functioned as a means of undermining the ability for women to attend colleges and then to use their educations to find jobs in previously male careers. In this way, the patriarchal order worked to limit the power of the New Woman by recasting her as a danger to society and fighting against women receiving higher education. Additionally, all of these attempts to contain the historical New Woman reveal the intensity of the anxiety that her figure generated. Just as the historical New Woman was seen as threatening, Brett as is also threatening to the novels men. In terms of this masculine anxiety, Cohn emerges as the character that is the most transparent about the fear that he feels concerning Brett. The

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first articulation of the degree of fear that Cohn possesses is in his reference to Brett as Circe. As Mike explains, He [Cohn] calls her Circe,He claims she turns men into swine (Hemingway 148). In this moment, Cohn is attempting to defame Brett by casting her not as the hysterical woman, but essentially as the bitch who ruins men. Much as Wylder accuses Mark Spilka, Cohn is here guilty of believing that freedom and mobility automatically destroy the natural warmth of women and of leaving the reader to suppose, then, that once a woman leaves the cave in primitive society, or the drawing room in Victorian society, she is no longer capable of loving or being loved (29). He is showing how afraid he is of Bretts power by desperately trying to discredit her. Similarly, after the bullfights Cohn tries to portray Bretts insertion of herself into the masculine world of the fights as a negative thing by portraying Brett as a sadist. As Mike again announces, He [Cohn] said Brett was a sadist.He said Brett was a sadist just because she has a good, healthy stomach (Hemingway 170). Here again, Cohns negative labeling of Brett reveals his own fears concerning her presence in the patriarchal society of the fights. This is best revealed by the reason that Mike attributes to Cohn for calling Brett a sadist, i.e. because she has a good, healthy stomach. This reason shows that Cohn does not want Brett to be able to handle the bullfights, and if she is able to do so it must be because there is something sadistic about her. Both of these examples then come to function as a means of showing Cohns masculine anxiety about Brett as a figure of the New Woman. Much like Cohn, Romero exhibits some aspects of masculine anxiety in his interactions with Brett. Romeros anxiety is revealed primarily through his concerns about Bretts hair. As previously mentioned, Bretts boyish haircut is one of the things

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that identifies her with the New Woman as it creates a certain amount of androgyny in Bretts physical appearance. Thus, Romeros desire that Brett grow her hair out reflects a desire to force her back into her societally prescribed gender role. In fact, when Brett explains the situation to Jake, she makes a point of noting that Romero wanted her to grow out her hair so that she would be more of a woman: He [Romero] wanted me to grow my hair out. Me, with long hair.He said it would make me more womanly. Id look a fright (Hemingway 246). This explicit reasoning of the long hair making Brett more of a woman shows how Romero is trying to defuse the threat of Brett by transforming her back into a woman and no longer allowing her to be an example of the New Woman who blends the genders. As Wylder notes, Romeros desire for Brett to have long hair is fundamentally about him wanting her to fit the stereotype (31). Additionally, the fact that Brett mentions that Romero wanted her to grow out her hair in the sentence after first noting that other people ragged him about me at the caf, I guess (Hemingway 246) shows how Romeros desire for her to have long hair is not simply about him wanting her to fit the stereotype, but rather is about a broader societal pressure for her to fit the stereotype. The end result of both Cohn and Romeros behavior is to show how though Brett is tremendously attractive and sexually stimulating, she is also a threat (Wylder 32). Based on this prevalence of masculine anxiety in the text and the societal concerns with the New Woman, an expectation of the novel to contain Brett emerges, which is highlighted by the tendency of other novels from the period to contain similarly threatening women. An example of such an attempt to defuse the threat of a woman asserting herself into the masculine order is apparent in F. Scott Fitzgeralds Tender is the

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Night. In Tender is the Night, the plot centers on the relationship between Dick Divers and his wife, Nicole. Ultimately, the novel comes to contain Nicole not by ruining her in the narrative, but by making her responsible for Dicks ruin. Essentially, Dick emerges as a tragic hero and Nicole merely becomes the vehicle responsible for his fall as she rises out of mental illness only to drag Dick down. Nicoles existence as the vehicle of Dicks fall is evidenced by Nicoles own belief in her culpability: Some of the time I think its my fault Ive ruined you (Fitzgerald 267). Furthermore, Nicoles declaration that she is responsible for Dicks descent is met with Dicks sarcastic reply of So Im ruined, am I? (Fitzgerald 267). This lack of resistance to Nicoles self-deprecating claim reflects Dicks belief in its truth and, since there is no other resistance to Nicoles claim, allows it to stand completely uncontested. Additionally, both Dick and Nicoles belief that she is at fault for Dicks fall is only endorsed by the novel in its foreshadowing of this moment. Earlier in the novel, Dick tells two other doctors that he is half in love with her and that the question of marrying her has passed through my mind (Fitzgerald 140). In response to these professions, one of the doctors responds by exclaiming, What! And devote half your life to being doctor and nurse and all never! I know what these cases are. One time in twenty its finished in the first push better never see her again! (Fitzgerald 140). Essentially, this doctor is predicting that Dicks marrying Nicole will only led to his own ruin as he brings her to a place of mental health. The realization that this foreshadowing is true is revealed in the fact that, at the end, Dicks response to Nicoles question of After all, what do you get out of this? is Knowing youre stronger every day. Knowing that your illness following the law of diminishing returns (Fitzgerald 267).

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Here it becomes clear that Dick has fallen while trying to rescue Nicole, just as predicted. Additionally, the fact that at the novels close Dick is both without his family and any form of sustainable employment only acts to emphasize both the reversal that has taken place with Nicole in terms of traditional gender roles and Dicks existence as a tragic victim (Fitzgerald 315). In these ways, the novel positions Nicole as responsible for Dicks downfall, which functions to contain Nicole by portraying her negatively. This need to make Nicole responsible for Dicks fall is clearly attributed to her movement into the masculine realm. Essentially, the fact that Nicoles rise out of the depths of mental illness involves a simultaneous movement into what had formerly been Dicks world triggers the need for Nicole to be demonized in the text. The most obvious example of Nicoles entrance into the masculine world is her pursuit of an affair with Tommy Barban. Nicole herself even recognizes that having an affair is something that only men are really permitted to do, as she notes after overhearing two men discuss their own affairs, it seemed all right what they were saying one thing was good for one person, another for another. Yet it was a mans world she had overheard; going back to the house she became doubtful again (Fitzgerald 277). Thus, Nicoles final decision to pursue a relationship with Tommy, and to ultimately leave Dick for Tommy, reflects her placement of herself in a masculine world. Essentially, it is by occupying a position in which she has the freedom of a man and by leaving her husband that Nicole threatens the heteronormative, which then results in her being contained by being negatively portrayed. Tender is the Night was published in 1933, which makes it roughly contemporaneous with The Sun Also Rises; however, while Tender is the Night treats Nicole in an expected way, The Sun Also Rises does not follow a similar pattern with

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Brett. The way in which Tender is the Night treats Nicole logically follows from masculine anxiety. In this way, Tender is the Night does what is expected. The Sun Also Rises, on the other hand, explores issues of masculine anxiety and the push to contain the New Woman without portraying Brett in a negative way. Bretts connection to the historical figure of the New Woman is clearly drawn out in The Sun Also Rises. By highlighting her androgynous physical appearance and intrusion into patriarchal society, the text connects Brett to the New Woman and the masculine anxiety and societal attempts at containment that accompany this figure. Based upon this connection, it seems logical that Brett would meet a similar fate as Nicole, but instead of using Bretts connection to the New Woman to condemn her, the novel will ultimately come to merely explore and question this cultural phenomenon.

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Chapter 2: Bretts Power in The Sun Also Rises The fact that Brett Ashley has power over the men in The Sun Also Rises is something that contributes to the anxiety about her in the text, as has been discussed in the previous chapter. It also is a fact that has often been commented on by critics. In fact, criticism that focuses on Brett as a bitch focuses primarily on the ways in which she dominates the various male characters. Thus, it is generally accepted that the nature of Bretts power is in her ability to control her relationships with the men that she interacts with. To be more specific though, Bretts power is manifested in her ability to both initiate and terminate her affairs. Throughout the novel, Brett selects the men with whom she desires to have a sexual relationship and then pursues them only to later forcibly end the affair. This pattern, with some variations, is seen in her interactions with both Romero and Cohn in a more obvious way and with Jake and Michael in a less direct fashion. Ultimately, the only notable deviation from this pattern is in her decision to return to Michael at the novels close, reflecting an inability to act as the terminator of that relationship. However, this deviation becomes significant in the way that it reveals how Bretts source of power also figures into her punishment. In other words, it is through this specific act of initiation and termination that Bretts principle source of power is manifested, and by examining the reiterations of this cycle of initiation and termination as well as deviations from it, the connection between Bretts power and punishment can begin to be drawn. The first example of Bretts ability to function as both the initiator and terminator of her relationships can be seen in her interactions with Jake Barnes. In this relationship, it is Brett who repeatedly attempts to initiate an affair with Jake. In fact, in Bretts first

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scene, it is she who says to Jake, Lets get out of here (Hemingway 31) and before they enter the cab in which Jake kisses Brett, Jake notes that Brett pressed my hand hard (Hemingway 32). Thus, Brett is soliciting the ensuing romantic encounter with Jake by first removing him from the party and then by initiating physical contact. However, once Jake attempts to gain control of the relationship in the cab, Brett quickly terminates the encounter by moving away from Jake: I kissed her. Our lips were tight together and then she turned away and pressed against the corner of the seat, as far away as she could get. Her head was down. Dont touch me, she said (Hemingway 33, emphasis added). It is significant that here the trigger for ending the encounter is Jakes own attempt to control the terms of the relationship. His move to kiss her forces Brett to reinstate her control over the encounter by ending it. Therefore, her ability to end this encounter is an example of how her power is manifested in her complete control of relationships. Thus, on the microcosmic level, Bretts interactions with Jake fit within the initiation/termination model in that Brett initiates and terminates would-be sexual encounters with Jake. The way that Bretts would-be affair with Jake then seemingly breaks from this model is on the macrocosmic level. Unlike in her affairs with Romero and Cohn, Jakes war wound prevents any sexual relationship from actually occurring based on the novels, and apparently Bretts own, phallocentric ideology. Thus, on the macrocosmic level Brett continues to try to initiate a relationship with Jake, but cannot consummate it, and thus never manages to truly terminate the relationship. In fact, it is Jake who, arguably, ends the sexual game that he and Brett play throughout the novel at the books close. In this final scene, Brett again tries to initiate a sexual exchange with Jake saying, Oh,

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Jakewe could have had such a damned good time together (Hemingway 251). This is a moment that is charged with an implicit allusion to Jakes impotence as a policeman raises his baton while Brett talks about what could have been, thus reflecting Bretts phallocentric ideology and causing Jake to respond with, YesIsnt it pretty to think so? (Hemingway 251). This response provides Jake with a means of refusing to continue with the cycle of initiating and terminating sexual encounters by dubbing Bretts attempt to begin another cycle as just a pretty thought. As Milton Cohen argues, it is only through Jakes realization that he and Brett have reached the end of the line that he can free himself of the illusion of the damned good time they could have had together, with the dripping irony of his final response: Isnt it pretty to think so (Cohen 304). Similarly, Wolfgang Rudat argues that Hemingwayhints that in the closing lines Jake is finally killing his love for Brett (77). Thus, it is Jake that is terminating the relationship and not Brett. In fact, as Jake terminates the relationship, Brett continues to cling to the idea of what could have been. However, despite the seeming deviation from the model of Bretts autonomy in relationships, the end of her relationship with Jake may be more Bretts than is initially obvious. Essentially, this example may actually more accurately be seen as a case in which Brett is using Jake as a tool to end the relationship. As Rudat again argues: [Brett] is rubbing in his impotence for the following reason: after she has on several occasions tried in vain to tear herself away from Jake,she finally forces him to terminate a relationship whose sexually frustrating nature she can no longer endure (77). Essentially, the fact that Brett terminates encounters with Jake throughout the novel only to initiate new encounters later culminates in this final initiation attempt that becomes a

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means for Brett to force Jake to end the relationship. The fact that Brett does this by making sexual demands on Jake that he knows he cannot keep is highlighted in the final scene. To be more specific, it is the juxtaposition of Bretts comment with her being pressed against Jake as the policeman raises his baton, a phallic signifier that reminds Jake of what he cannot do, that acts to reveal the way in which Brett is making demands that she knows Jake cannot satisfy. Here, the underlying demand that Brett makes is highlighted by actions occurring outside of the conversation that Jake and Brett are having. Thus, despite the seeming break in the model of Brett controlling the relationship from start to end, Jakes break from Brett may conform to this model through Bretts ability to force Jake to make the decisive break. Similarly, in her affair with Robert Cohn, Brett quickly emerges as the party in control of the relationship. Just as in her relationship with Jake, it is Brett who initiates an affair with Cohn by selecting him to go with her to San Sebastian. Furthermore, when Brett repulses Cohn following the San Sebastian trip, it is Cohn and not Brett who is left pining for the relationship to continue. As Michael, Bretts fianc, is quick to point out, Cohn is the one behaving like a steer, following Brett around and obsessing about his relationship with her long after she has moved on: Tell me, Robert. Why do you follow Brett around like a poor bloody steer? Dont you know youre not wanted? I know when Im not wanted.You came down to San Sebastian where you werent wanted, and followed Brett around like a bloody steer. Do you think thats right? (Hemingway 146). This insult is especially poignant when read through the lens of an earlier conversation between Jake and Cohn: Do they [the bulls] ever gore the steers? Sure. Sometimes they go right after them and kill them.

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Cant the steers do anything? No. Theyre trying to make friends (Hemingway 138). Here, a steer is revealed as a pitiful sort of animal that is so interested in making friends with the bulls, that they often are gored by those same bulls. Additionally, steers are castrated. Thus, Michaels equation of Cohn with a steer functions both to show how Cohn cannot help but follow Brett around trying to make friends and to emasculate him. Therefore, here Cohn is seen as pitifully trying to hold on after Brett has evidently ended the relationship and no longer wants Cohn around. In addition to behaving like a steer, in Cohns final encounter with Brett, Brett is the one who is in control while Cohn is sobbing and having his attempts to make amends forcefully rejected by Brett. As Michael explains, Cohn was crying, and Brett had told him off, and he wanted to shake hands.Brett wasnt having any shaking hands, and Cohn was crying and telling her how much he loved her, and she was telling him not to be a ruddy ass (Hemingway 206). Much like in the previous passage, Brett is being resolute in her termination of her relationship with Cohn in that she will not so much as shake his hand, while Cohn is continuing to declare his love for her and is seeking some type of contact with her. Furthermore, Cohn is again clearly emasculated here as he sobs in front of a resolute Brett. The best example of Bretts ability to function as both the initiator and terminator of her relationships can be seen in her interactions with Pedro Romero. In this affair, Brett holds the role of the initiator of the relationship by commissioning Jake to help her find Romero so that she can begin an affair with him. Her intent in finding Romero is clear in that before telling Jake that they should go and find him, Brett says, Im mad about the Romero boy. Im in love with him, I think (Hemingway 187). Therefore, it is

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clear that Brett intends to begin a sexual relationship with Romero. Bretts role as the terminator of her relationship with Romero is revealed in the fact that she ends the affair by making Romero leave her in Madrid: He [Romero] only left yesterday. I made him go (Hemingway 245, emphasis added). Here Brett is revealed as the one who is controlling the end of the relationship in that she is forcing Romero to leave her. Additionally, the fact that Brett makes Romero leave shows that Brett is completely in control of the terms upon which the relationship ends; this is evidenced by the fact that she can persuade Romero to leave instead of just leaving herself. All of these different displays of Bretts power in relationships reveal that Brett finds her primary source of freedom in her complete autonomy in her affairs. It is worth noting that while Brett dictates the terms of her relationships and thus has autonomy over her partners, she herself becomes trapped by her own initiation/termination cycle. For example, the same moment that Brett is controlling the beginning of her relationship with Romero by intentionally seeking him out, she is also denying her autonomy. This can be seen when Jake tells her that she ought to stop it and she replies by saying, How can I stop it? I cant stop things (Hemingway 187). This disavowal of her own authority does not alter the fact that Brett is still controlling the terms upon which her relationship with Romero begins. It is Brett who is still pursuing Romero and employing Jake to help her, and it is Brett who will ultimately make Romero leave her. Instead, it reveals the manner in which the novel begins to confine Brett within her sexual freedom by having her doubt her own control and thus feel merely the victim of her relationship problems. Therefore, Brett is still controlling the terms upon which the affair begins despite her protesting that she is not, in fact, in

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control because she can control the terms of the relationship even as it compels her to initiate it. Bretts affair with Mike further comes to highlight how Brett becomes trapped in her own cycle as she cannot ultimately break away from Mike. Thus, Bretts relationship with Mike resembles her affair with Jake on the microcosmic level, but on the macrocosmic level it breaks from the model of initiation/termination in a way that begins to reveal how Bretts power is also her punishment. Essentially, Brett continues to follow the cycle on the microcosmic level as she initiates a relationship with Mike only to leave him for other men. This is a cycle that Mike himself is well aware of as he explains to Jake, Mark you. Bretts had affairs with men before. She tells me all about everything (Hemingway 147). Thus, Mike knows that Brett comes to him to leave him for other men only to return to him again in a continuing cycle of initiation and termination. However, unlike the case with Jake, on the macrocosmic level Brett does not terminate her relationship with Mike despite leaving him for both Cohn and then Romero during the course of the novel. In fact, after ending her relationship with Romero, Brett tells Jake that she is going to go back to Mike: Im going back to Mike. I could feel her crying as I held her close. Hes so damned nice and hes so awful. Hes my sort of thing (Hemingway 247). Thus, at the novels close, as Jake is finally being pushed into ending things with Brett, Brett seems unable to either break from Mike or to force him into breaking from her. In this way, her affair with Mike is unlike her affairs with any of the other men in the novel. The reason for this notable difference can then be extracted from Bretts proclamation that Mike is so awful followed by the assertion that hes my sort of thing. In other words, Brett does not break from Mike because he is something

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awful that she can continue to return to. He is something that can contribute to her pain. Additionally, the assertion that he is her sort of thing implies that Brett views herself as deserving awful. Therefore, this break from the initiation/termination model on the macrocosmic scale can be explained by Mikes role in perpetuating Bretts suffering. The fact that Bretts power originates in her ability to control her relationships with men, which, in turn feeds into her ultimate punishment, as can be seen in this final scenario with Mike, relates back to Bretts connection to the New Woman. Like the culturally constructed New Woman, Bretts power comes across as threatening to men. By controlling the terms of her relationships, Brett becomes dominant over the men that she has relationships with which threatens the patriarchal order. Thus, by originating Bretts power in her ability to control men, the novel sets up the potential for Bretts punishment and the ultimate reinterpretation of that punishment. In all of these examples, the same cycle of initiation and termination establishes itself in the text. From the clear examples of Romero and Cohn to the more convoluted examples of Jake and Mike, the same pattern asserts itself to at least some degree in each of Bretts affairs. The ubiquitous presence of this model reflects how Bretts power is expressed more in her ability to control her affairs by controlling their beginning and end than in her ability to simply debase and emasculate men. Furthermore, the ultimate break from this model in Bretts relationship with Mike effectively shows how Bretts power in her relationships begins to become her punishment through the fact that Brett cannot terminate her destructive affairs with men completely, much as she cannot terminate her relationship with Mike. Her own reasons for why she cannot break away from Mike show how Brett is trapped by her own power to control her relationships with men more

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generally in that Brett cannot ultimately break away from her own cycle of initiation and termination. While able to effectively leave some men or push them to leave her, Brett is in a perpetual cycle in which her ability to begin affairs leaves her always starting something only to end it and begin anew, thus trapping her in her own cycle and generating the potential for her suffering.

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Chapter 3: Brett and Containment Bretts connection to the New Woman and to masculine anxiety through the nature of her power generates a need for her containment in the novel. In other words, the threat that Brett poses towards the men with whom she interacts through her connection to the New Woman creates a need for the text to neutralize this threat by containing Brett. This act of containment is achieved by turning Bretts source of power into her source of pain, and, in so doing, making Bretts freedom come at a price. This transformation of power into suffering is achieved through that fact that Brett continually engages in relationships that ultimately result in her emotional turmoil. In other words, she continually initiates relationships with men that cannot and do not reach any satisfying conclusion for Brett. Thus, while the fact that Brett terminates most of her relationships imbues her with a certain amount of power and agency, this power comes at the price of suffering as Brett continues to find herself in misery instead of satisfaction. In fact, it is Bretts own cycle of initiation and termination from which she ultimately cannot escape. Moving from man to man, and, in the end, returning to Mike, Brett shows that she cannot free herself from the very cycle in which she displays her greatest power over men. In this way, Bretts source of freedom ultimately comes to function as the means of containing Brett in the novel. The connection of masculine anxiety to Bretts power being transformed into pain can be seen in Cohns own assessment of Bretts power. As Mike relates to Jake, He [Cohn] calls her Circe,He claims she turns men into swine (Hemingway 148). Here, Cohns equation of Brett with Circe functions to reframe her power from being simply that of initiation/termination to one of degradation of the men that she has affairs with.

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However, as I mentioned in Chapter 1, this moment is truly about Cohens own anxiety. In fact, a closer examination of the Circe myth allows for Cohns bias to provide interesting insight into why both Cohn and the novel at large seek to frame Bretts power as corrupting. In other words, while Cohns damning conflation of Brett with Circe seems to only suggest that Brett abuses the men whom she interacts with, a more detailed examination of the nature of the Circe myth reveals how this comment truly speaks volumes about Cohns fear about the nature of Bretts powers. One manner in which Cohns equating Brett with Circe comes to tell more about Cohns own fears than about Bretts debasing powers, is through the inherent flaws in Cohns analogy. Cohns comparison suggests that Bretts sexual affairs are what transform men into swine. He implies that she seduces men, just as she seduced him, and then abruptly ends the affair thus transforming men into swine, or, as in his case, steer. However, what Cohn seems to be unaware of is the fact that in the Circe myth it is explicitly not sex that is the vehicle through which Circe turns men into swine. While seduction does play a part as Circe sings with a sweet voice (Homer 362) to lure the men into her house, once inside she merely drugs the men and then she smote[s] them / with her wand, and pen[s] them in the sties, (Homer 363) thus turning them into swine. Unlike with Brett, it is a seduction that is unconsummated. In fact, sex only manifests itself in the story as a means through which Circe can be overcome: When Circe shall smite thee with her long wand, then do thou draw thy sharp sword from beside thy thigh, and rush upon Circe, as though thou wouldst slay her. And she will be seized by fear, and will bid thee lie with her. Then do not thou thereafter refuse the couch of the goddess, that she may set free thy comrades, and give entertainment to thee (Homer 367).

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Thus, to overcome Circe, Odysseus must sleep with her, something that none of her menturned-swine do. While Hermes does warn that Odysseus must Bid her swear a great oath by the blessed gods, so that she will not plot against thee [Odysseus] any fresh mischief to thy hurt, lest when she has thee stripped she may render thee a weakling and unmanned (Homer 367), the actual transformation of men into swine that Cohn refers to does not involve sex. Therefore, Cohns analogy is inherently flawed in that Circes actions that produce swine are not comparable to Bretts actions. In addition to the flaw in the analogy itself, Cohns statement ends up revealing more about his own bias through the fact that it assumes that Brett debases men. Cohns claim suggests that Cohn was explicitly not a swine before he met Brett, and that sleeping with, and then being dumped by, her has transformed him into a swine. However, Cohns character is already suspect long before his affair with Brett. In the first description that Jake gives of him, he notes that Cohn was married by the first girl who was nice to him and that just when he had made up his mind to leave his wife she left him and went of with a miniature-painter (Hemingway 12). Thus, right from the beginning Cohn is at least somewhat emasculated in that he is taken advantage of by a woman. Notably, Jake does not talk about how Cohn married the first girl who was nice to him; instead, Jake notes that Cohn was married by the first girl who was nice to him. Here, the phrasing reveals that Cohn already has no agency in his relationships and that all of the agency belongs to the woman that he is involved with. Furthermore, it is Cohns wife who leaves him, and not he that leaves her. Additionally, Cohns relationship with Frances is one in which Cohn is essentially kept by her: He had been taken in hand by a lady who hoped to rise with the magazine. She was very forceful, and Cohn never had a chance of not

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being taken in hand (Hemingway 13). Here again, Cohn is quickly taken in and ruled over by a woman. Thus, any emasculation that Cohn experiences happens before his relationship with Brett. Therefore, the only argument that can be made in favor of Brett actually turning Cohn into a swine is that his attachment to her makes the break more than he can bear. However, the fact that Brett is not responsible for Cohns emasculation suggests that his swine-like or steer-like qualities are not directly attributable to her either. Consequently, his comparison of Brett to Circe is also false in the fact that Brett does not turn Cohn into a swine. Based on these flaws in Cohns comparison, his statement provides little valuable information about Bretts character; however, the nature of his bias speaks directly to his own anxiety about Bretts power. The aspect of the Circe myth that directly relates to turning men into swine is marked by the use of a wand. This wand functions as a phallic signifier, which makes Circes power to turn men into swine not about sex but rather about her ability to lay claim to masculine roles. In other words, Circe debases men by symbolically becoming a man through the phallic symbol of her wand. Essentially, Circe usurps the traditional masculine-aggressors role (Cohen 295), and it is this fear of Brett taking over masculine roles that Cohns comparison implicitly draws out. Cohn is most afraid that Brett, like Circe, will use her seductive powers not to sleep with men, but rather to take over their roles in society. In this way, Cohns attempt to reflect discredit on Brett is really his own attempt to contain her as a result of his masculine anxiety. It is then from this example of Cohns masculine anxiety and attempt to contain Brett that the texts attempt to also use Bretts power to contain her can be understood.

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Similarly, Cohns reference to Brett as a sadist (Hemingway 170) functions in a similar way. As I discussed in Chapter 1, Cohns reference to Brett as a sadist, like his reference to Brett as Circe, is fundamentally more about his own fear than about any legitimate fault in Brett. By examining this scene in more detail, this becomes even more explicit through the fact that Cohen, unlike Brett, cannot handle the bullfights. As Mike again announces immediately following Bretts assertion that she didnt feel badly at all, Robert Cohn did,You were quite green, Robert (Hemingway 169). This claim forces Cohn himself to admit that The first horse did bother me (Hemingway 169). This juxtaposition of Bretts assurance that she was unfazed with Cohns reluctant confession that it did bother him all leading up to Mikes announcement that Cohn called Brett a sadist, functions to reveal that Cohns comment is more vengeful than legitimate. Not wanting to seem like less of a man than Brett, Cohn attempts to make Bretts fortitude seem unnatural/unwomanly and thus sadistic. Both of these examples then work to reveal more about masculine anxiety than about Bretts flaws. The text, like Cohn, attempts to contain Brett by tainting her power through the use of it to inflict suffering upon her. In the novel, this is accomplished by having Bretts freedom to initiate and terminate relationships ultimately lead to her suffering through the fact that she begins relationships with men that are bound to fail. In other words, the text functions to set Brett up for punishment by having her knowingly chose men with whom she cannot have lasting, satisfying relationships. This trend of Brett selecting and actively pursuing men whom she recognizes as being unable to make her happy can be seen in her affairs with each of the novels male characters, beginning with Cohn.

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Just as Cohn himself attempts to undermine Bretts power by framing her as Circe, Bretts pursuit of Cohn also undermines her power by tainting it with aspects of her suffering. In the case of Cohn, Bretts power of choosing to begin the relationship is tainted by aspects of emotional turmoil in that Brett chooses to begin the relationship not because she has any illusions of it being good for her, but rather because she believes that it will be good for Cohn. In fact, Brett explains to Jake during their conversation about Bretts trip to San Sebastian with Cohn that I rather thought it would be good for him (Hemingway 89). As this is the first time that Bretts affair with Cohn is being made explicit, this explanation that Brett thought it would be good for him functions as her only stated reason for starting the affair. Thus, Brett does not even attempt to suggest that she is having the affair for her own benefit. From this start of the relationship, Brett continues to be more concerned about Cohns well-being than her own. In fact, she begins this conversation with Jake about Cohn by asking him, Dont you think it will be a bit rough on him [Cohn]? (Hemingway 89) in reference to Cohn going to Pamplona with Jake, Brett, Mike, and Bill. Here, Brett is again expressing no concern about the possibility of things being a bit rough on her during this trip. Instead, she is only concerned with Cohn and his own feelings, which highlights the fact that her affair with him is not designed to supplement her own happiness, but is instead likely to occur at the expense of it. The fact that Brett starts the relationship without intending to gain anything from it becomes apparent later in the novel when she tells Jake that Cohn cant believe it didnt mean anything (Hemingway 185), implying that to her the affair was not designed to and did not mean anything. Based upon the fact that Brett initiates the affair with Cohn explicitly for his

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own good and without any hope of a meaningful relationship for herself, it becomes apparent that Bretts power to start this affair is bound to figure into her suffering because she is not seeking to obtain any happiness for herself. Bretts affair with Romero emerges as an even more explicit example of Brett entering into a relationship with the apparent knowledge that it will end with Bretts own pain. Prior to entering into a relationship with Romero, Brett admits to Jake that starting an affair with Romero may not be a sound plan declaring that I dont say its right (Hemingway 188). In this statement, Brett reveals that she is cognizant of the fact that the right thing to do is to not begin an affair with Romero. However, the use of the word right in this sentence is particularly ambiguous. Brett could be referring to notions of conventional morality and the fact that her running off with such a young boy flouts these moral conventions; however, it is also possible that Brett is referring to the fact that having an affair with Romero will lead to her own suffering. Thus, when Brett goes on to say that It is right though for me. God knows, Ive never felt such a bitch (Hemingway 188), she is effectively acknowledging that she is using her power as a form of self-punishment. In other words, Brett is stating that her current station as a bitch being consumed by guilt for what she is about to do is right for her, as is the suffering that will come following the termination of her affair with Romero. In this way, Brett articulates her anticipation of punishment prior to her affair with Romero. In addition to this direct articulation, the location of this scene in the text also functions to suggest that Brett anticipates the punishment that will follow her affair with Romero. This conversation with Jake falls immediately after Jake and Brett have a confrontation with Cohn. In this confrontation, Brett tells Cohn to go off somewhere

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(Hemingway 184) before going on to declare that If youre tight, go to bed. Go on to bed (Hemingway 185). Bretts efforts to get rid of Cohn reflect her growing irritation with his behavior following the termination of their relationship. This irritation only becomes more apparent as Brett goes on to exclaim that Im so sick of him! (Hemingway 185) and that I hate him, too.I hate his damned suffering (Hemingway 186). The fact that the very next page begins the discussion about Romero functions to frame the entire conversation through this lens of Bretts current troubles with Cohn, a previously failed affair. Thus, the discussion is founded in issues of failed relationships and the suffering that Brett endures under them. With this type of an undercurrent in the conversation, Bretts concerns about what is right seem to be founded in questions of Bretts own turmoil in relationships. Thus, with the initiation of her affair with Romero falling so closely after her confrontation with Cohn, the text effectively highlights Bretts awareness of the emotional pain that she is setting herself up for. Like the case of Romero, Brett is explicit about her awareness of the ineffectuality of continually trying to begin an affair with Jake. This awareness is perhaps the most explicit when Jake asks Brett, Couldnt we live together, Brett? Couldnt we just live together? to which Brett replies by saying, I dont think so. Id just tromper you with everybody. You couldnt stand it (Hemingway 62). Bretts simple statement of I dont think so reveals that Brett is aware of the fact that she cannot be happy with Jake. This notion is only further highlighted by her assurance that she would behave poorly were they to live together, which is emphasized by her us of the French tromper, meaning to deceive or be unfaithful to (Larousse English-French Dictionary). This idea is then made

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even more explicit when Brett assures Jake that I couldnt live quietly in the country (Hemingway 62). Essentially, Brett knows that she cannot have a satisfying relationship with Jake, and, at least in this scene, clearly articulates that knowledge and uses it to pull away from Jake: Im going away from you.Better for you. Better for me (Hemingway 62). However, this knowledge is not enough to keep Brett from Jake as she continues to return to him in futile attempts to enter into a relationship with him. As previously explored, this pattern continues right through to the end of the novel when Jake finally makes the break from Brett that Brett is never able to truly make from Jake. Therefore, the fact that Brett knows that her relationship with Jake cannot reach a satisfying conclusion but continues to try to begin one any way reveals that Brett is using her relationship with Jake to punish herself. In addition to this explicit evidence that Brett knows that her interactions with Jake will never produce a successful relationship, her interest in Jakes happiness over her own implicitly suggests that she is using her power to generate punishment. In this respect, Bretts affair with Jake is similar to her affair with Cohn in that she does not act in her own best interest, but rather focuses on what is best for each of the men. In the case of Cohn, this leads to Brett beginning a relationship that she does not expect to lead anywhere simply because she believes that it will be good for Cohn. With Jake, on the other hand, Brett focuses on Jakes interest over her own in her attempts to terminate the affair. Thus, when trying pull away from Jake, Brett focuses on how Jake couldnt stand it (Hemingway 62) if they were to live together and places her own concern that she couldnt live quietly in the country (Hemingway 62) after her concern for Jake. Similarly, Brett first notes that it would be Better for you [Jake] if she goes away for

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a while before noting that it would also be Better for me [Brett] (Hemingway 62). Even though in this case Brett is forwarding Jakes interests in an effort to terminate the affair, her interest in Jake feeds into her punishment in that it is Bretts attempt to deny what she wants as a means of making things easier for Jake that ultimately keeps forcing her back into a relationship with him. In other words, Brett cannot break from her cycle of initiation and termination with Jake because she does not own her feelings about the situation. By concerning herself with Jake and then molding her own desires around his, Brett does not provide herself with a means to truly emotionally distance herself from Jake, which results in her continuing to fall back into her own cycle of initiation and termination. In this way, her power to make decisions feeds into her punishment in her inability to escape the cycle that she begins. Finally, Brett also offers an explicit statement of her knowledge that her relationship with Mike will not make her happy towards the end of the novel. Throughout the novel, Brett continual leaves and returns to Mike, much like how she leaves and returns to Jake. However, at the end of the novel, as previously discussed, Brett decides to return to Mike again, saying, Im going back to Mike.Hes so damned nice and hes so awful. Hes my sort of thing (Hemingway 247). It is in this moment of deciding to return again to Mike that Brett acknowledges that this decision will lead to her unhappiness by acknowledging that Mike is in fact awful. Granted, Brett also claims that Mike is so damned nice, but what the reader has seen of Mike throughout the novel acts to discredit this assertion even before Brett goes on to qualify it with the admission that hes so awful. In other words, the fact that Mike is an alcoholic who goes out of his way to reflect discredit on Brett, as reflected through the fact that it is Mike who

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continually repeats every negative thing that Cohn says about Brett, suggests that he is not all that nice. Thus, Bretts statement that he is nice can be better read as her attempt to convince herself that returning to Mike is not a bad idea. However, the ruse quickly collapses as she admits that he is, in fact, awful. Based on this admission, Bretts decision to return to Mike is another case of her using her power to figure into her own punishment. The consciousness of this act is only further highlighted by her statement that Mike is her sort of thing, which suggests that Brett is not only conscious of how her power is being used to figure into her punishment, but is also convinced that she deserves this punishment. From this tainting of Bretts power with punishment, Bretts power ultimately becomes suffering as each of her relationships end in misery. In the case of Cohn, this is seen in her emotional turmoil while in Pamplona. After ending her affair with Cohn, Cohn accompanies Brett to Pamplona where, as previously mentioned, he behaves like a bloody steer (Hemingway 146). It is this behavior on the part of Cohn that sets up Bretts suffering as he creates conflict for Brett. In fact, the pain that continued interaction with Cohn causes is great enough to push Brett to stop trying to protect Cohn and repulse him instead. Thus, Brett finally reaches a point at which she becomes rude with Cohn as a means of forcing him away from her. For example, Brett snappily replies to Cohns assurance that hell stay here with you [Brett] by saying, Oh, dont!...For Gods sake, go off somewhere. Cant you see Jake and I want to talk? (Hemingway 184). Similarly, when Cohn fights Romero and then attempts to reconcile with Brett, Brett does not have any shaking hands and tells him not to be a ruddy ass as Cohn is crying and telling her how much he loved her (Hemingway 206). Considering Bretts

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almost maternal concern for Cohn both before and after the affair, this repulsion reflects the extent to which Brett suffers following the termination of her relationship with Cohn. In addition to Bretts repulsion of Cohn, Mike provides more direct evidence of Bretts emotional turmoil as he notes after Cohns fight with Romero that Bretts rather cut up (Hemingway 206). From this outside assertion of Bretts suffering, the reality of her distress only becomes more pronounced as she shows a crack in her faade a few pages later: The beer came. Brett started to lift the glass mug and her hand shook. She saw it and smiled, and leaned forward and took a long sip (Hemingway 210). Here the slight shake in Bretts hand shows just how affected she has been by Cohn. From feeling the need to repulse Cohn to direct examples of Bretts emotional turmoil, it is clear that Bretts affair with Cohn only ends in her own agony. Much as Bretts affair with Cohn ends in misery, so does her relationship with Romero; however, in the case of Romero, Bretts ultimate anguish has less to do with Romeros bad behavior than in the case of Cohn. Unlike Cohn, Romero leaves Brett after she ends their relationship. Thus, with Romero out of the picture, Brett is at liberty to make herself miserable by blaming herself for the failed affair. Her suffering after the end of her relationship with Romero is correspondingly focused on Bretts view of herself as a bitch. Brett continually tries to console herself with assurances that she is not going to be one of these bitches that ruins children (Hemingway 247). However, the continued repetition of this proclamation reflects how concerned Brett is with the possibility that she is one of these bitches, and it also reflects how desperate she is to pull away from this bitch prototype. Also like in the case of Cohn, these attempts to end this painful association of herself with an identity as a bitch is only one way in

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which the turmoil associated with her affair with Romero is revealed. In addition to this evidence, there is also the more direct evidence of Bretts actions. When Jake first arrives in Madrid, his first interaction with Brett involves her trembling in my [Jakes] arms (Hemingway 245) much like how the glass shakes in Bretts hand. From here Brett goes on to have a much more noticeable breakdown as she begins to cry: Then I saw she was crying. I could feel her crying. Shaking and crying (Hemingway 247). In these ways, Bretts relationship with Romero ends in the anticipated agony as is evidence by her concern with being a bitch and by her displays of emotion. The misery in Bretts relationship with Jake is the most pronounced in the way in which their final interaction follows on the dismissal of Romero. Essentially, the fact that Brett has just forced Romero to leave and is suffering because of it provides a reading frame for her interactions with Jake. Based on Bretts current turmoil due to a failed affair, it seems as though she would be wary of starting another affair. However, Brett seems unable to refrain from torturing herself over what could have been with Jake. Correspondingly, she ends the novel by bringing up the possibility of happiness with Jake, proclaiming, Oh, Jakewe could have had such a damned good time together (Hemingway 251). Much like in the case with the conflict with Cohn preceding Bretts solicitation of Romero, here the break-up with Romero, and Bretts obvious agitation about it preceding this allusion to the happiness that could have been, functions to show how this solicitation highlights Bretts suffering. Essentially, considering Bretts current emotional state, this appeal to past possibilities ultimately functions to highlight Bretts anguish by being a means through which she can torture herself about an inaccessible past. Additionally, the continued failings of Brett and Jakes relationship throughout the

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novel suggest that Brett and Jake could not have had a good time together. The fact that there is a disjuncture between what Brett is claiming and what the novel has provided evidence of reveals another way in which this reference to the past possibility of happiness is, in fact, merely a means of increasing Bretts misery. Of all of these affairs, Bretts affair with Mike involves the most pain due to the fact that Brett cannot break from her cycle with Mike. At the close of the novel, it is through tears that Brett tells Jake that she is going back to Mike (Hemingway 247). This display of emotion accompanying this promise of a return to Mike reveals the extent to which Brett suffers over the course of their relationship. Essentially, it reveals the misery associated with the prospect of once again returning to Mike. Additionally, like in the case of Jake, the fact that Brett is seeking to return to an unsatisfying relationship following so closely after the end of her affair with Romero highlights how she is trapped in her cycle of affairs. In this way, it is not just the prospect of returning to Mike that can be a source of misery. Rather, it is the prospect of being stuck in her own cycle without the power to truly liberate herself that also becomes a source of potential pain for Brett. Therefore, it is both Mike himself and the sense of entrapment more generally that contribute to Bretts suffering in this relationship. In addition to being trapped in her cycle with Mike, Brett is more largely stuck in her cycles of initiation and termination. As has been previously explored, with Jake and Mike, Brett continues to start romantic encounters only to break them off and start again. Thus, while each individual encounter follows the cycle of initiation and termination, on the broader scale of her interactions with Jake and Mike in the novel she fails to truly terminate the relationships, at least on her own. In this way, her relationships with Jake

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and Mike show how Brett becomes trapped by this larger cycle of initiation and termination in which she is ending her romantic encounters only to return to the same men with whom she has had unsuccessful relationships in the past. Alternatively, with Cohn and Romero, Brett does definitively terminate the affairs. However, even in these relationships it is possible to see how Brett becomes trapped by a cycle in that she terminates one affair only to begin another. For example, it is while Brett is repulsing Cohn in Pamplona that she begins her relationship with Romero, and it is right after Brett forces Romero to leave that she begins to long for what could have been with Jake. Thus, throughout the novel Brett becomes trapped in the cycles that she creates. The significance of this cycling is then highlighted by Hemingways inclusion of an Ecclesiastes quote at the beginning of the novel where he notes that The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose (Hemingway 7). Here the focus is clearly on the futility of cycling as the actions fail to progress but instead merely return to the starting point again, this inclusion of Ecclesiastes then functions to frame the novel in terms of this futility. In this way, Bretts cycling becomes significantly thematic as her source of power directly figures into her suffering via this cycling. Finally, the way in which Bretts power becomes her misery directly relates back to Bretts identity as an embodiment of the New Woman. As I have previously explored, Bretts connection to the New Woman creates a situation in which the texts containment of her functions as a means of neutralizing the threat that she presents to the novels men. Thus, the fact that Bretts power involves her dominance over the male characters presents Bretts power as the ideal point at which to begin to impose limitations,

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considering that this impulse to contain Brett stems from masculine anxiety. In this way, the manner in which Brett becomes trapped in her own cycle is connected to her identity as the New Woman. What is then important to keep in mind is the fact that the books mirroring of this cultural model of containment is not an inherent endorsement of it. Rather, the book invokes this model as a means of interrogating it, as the following chapter will reveal. Bretts autonomy over her affairs slowly is transformed from being her source of power to being her source of misery. As Brett becomes unable to liberate herself from the very cycles that she generates, she creates her own suffering, which then comes to contain Brett in the text by limiting the scope of her power. This can be seen in each of Bretts relationships as she begins affairs that will not and do not result in her happiness. Additionally, Bretts interactions with Jake and Mike show how there are relationships from which she cannot make a decisive break, and her overall tendency to move from one man to another reflects how she is trapped in the cycle more broadly. From this presence of containment, it is then possible to begin to understand how containment functions in the text.

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Chapter 4: Punishment as Suffering . Given Bretts identity as a figure of the New Woman, it would be easy to read her containment as a construct of the novel designed to punish her and defuse the potential threat of the New Woman towards patriarchal society. However, examining how the novel frames this suffering indicates that the use of Bretts turmoil in the novel is not simply a mode of punishment. Essentially, the fact that, for Hemingway, suffering is often heroic creates the possibility for Bretts misery to be something other than punishing. In fact, physical or emotional turmoil, and often a combination of both, is a unifying characteristic of Hemingways protagonists. Also, Brett emerges as a contender for being the hero of the novel in many other ways, which further distinguishes her pain as heroic instead of punishing. In particular, Bretts heroic qualities can be seen by comparing her to Jake and contrasting her with Cohn. Ultimately, the novel uses masculine anxiety and suffering not to condemn Brett, but rather to portray her as a member of Hemingways group of masculine suffers and, as such, a tragic figure, which, in turn, creates the opportunity for the novel to question the legitimacy of societys containment of the New Woman. The fact that suffering can be heroic is best seen by examining the roles of various Hemingway protagonists. In A Farewell to Arms, for example, Frederic Henry spends a good portion of the book in physical pain as he recovers from wounds he received in battle and ends the book in great emotional duress after Catherine, his lover, and his son die in childbirth. In Across the River and into the Trees, Cantwell endures the psychological damage of having fought in the wars only to be demoted and cast aside as he gets older, while also struggling to endure the physical pains of aging. In The Garden

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of Eden, David Bourne is put under a fair amount of emotional strain by his wife, Catherine. In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Harry dies a slow, painful death as the result of a gangrenous leg, all the while torturing himself with the memories of his past relationships. These represent only a few examples of the tendency for Hemingways heroes to suffer in his work. However, all of these examples show how it is possible to have a character suffer in a Hemingway novel without it being a situation in which the novel is trying to construct a type of punishment for the character. In fact, the ubiquitous presence of suffering in Hemingways body of work often provides an environment for the character to become heroic through patiently enduring their pain. Just as in these works, such is the case in The Sun Also Rises with Jake. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake emerges as the protagonist, and like the other Hemingway heroes, endures a fair amount of both physical and emotional pain. As the narrator, Jake is immediately established as the protagonist. From this status as the protagonist, the fact that Jake suffers both physically and emotionally becomes significant. Jakes physical turmoil is most directly seen in his war wound, which also results in an emotional scarring as a result of the corresponding impotence. The fact that Jake suffers so intensely throughout the novel reveals the fact that suffering, in and of itself, does not preclude a character from being heroic, much as is the case with Hemingways other heroes. In fact, Jakes suffering contributes to his heroism through his ability to endure his emotional distress. The fact that Jake, unlike Cohn for example, endures with dignity becomes a source of the heroic in the text. The fact that Jakes turmoil is heroic then creates the opportunity for Bretts own emotional turmoil to be heroic, instead of punishing. In fact, it is primarily through

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Bretts similarity to Jake that she can be seen as the hero of the text. Essentially, like Jake, Brett endures her suffering with dignity. Despite her frequent references to the fact that she is miserable, Brett manages to uphold her dignity when confronted with the pain that she experiences. For example, when Cohn is beating up Romero and sobbing, Brett firmly repulses him instead of giving into a similar display of emotions: Cohn was crying and telling her how much he loved her, and she was telling him not to be a ruddy ass (Hemingway 206). Even when Brett breaks down and cries after Romero leaves, she is quick to regain her self composure by again telling Jake that I wont be one of those bitches (Hemingway 247). Therefore, in both of these examples, Brett manages to retain her composure, or, at the very least, quickly reclaim it. In this way, Brett resembles Jake in that she suffers with dignity. In addition to Bretts similarities with Jake, her differences from Cohn act to further highlight how the nature of her pain is heroic and not punishing. Cohn is explicitly emasculated and punished in the text. Even from his earliest introduction into the book, Cohn is portrayed as someone who lacks fortitude: He [Cohn] cared nothing for boxing, in fact he disliked it, but he learned it painfully and thoroughly to counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness (Hemingway 10). Here, Cohn learns to box despite the fact that he does not like it because he cannot endure his feelings of inferiority and shyness, which shows that not only is he unable to suffer with dignity, but he also is unable to endure suffering in general. From this initially unfavorable portrayal of Cohn, things only further deteriorate as he cannot cope with his feelings after his affair with Brett, causing him to act like a steer and ultimately use his boxing skills in several fights before being removed from the narrative. Cohns inability to endure his

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emotional pain results in punishment as Brett rebukes him and forces him to completely leave the story. In this way, Cohns suffering is distinct from Bretts in that he cannot endure the pain at all, which forces the text to punish him in a way that it does not punish Brett. Based upon this negative view of Cohn, the most negative portrayals of Brett in the text become invalid in that they are put forth by a character for whom the novel has no sympathy, which provides further evidence of Bretts pain not being equivalent to punishment. In the novel, Cohn offers the most vehement attempts at defaming Brett. It is Cohn, for example, who calls Brett Circe (Hemingway 148) and a sadist (Hemingway 170). In addition to the fact that Cohns equation of Brett with Circe is inaccurate and his reference to her as a sadist is an attempt to reclaim his own masculinity, as Chapter 3 discussed, Cohns general demonization in the text allows the novel to frame his comments as illegitimate. In other words, Cohns bad behavior sets up a scenario in which the reader, like all of the novels major characters, dislikes Cohn. From this dislike, all of Cohns actions become tainted, including his damning treatment of Brett. In this way, it is significant that of all of the characters, it is Cohn who presents the most vocal opposition to Brett because it makes this opposition illegitimate. Not only does Bretts position in relation to Jake and Cohn help to frame her in the novel, but her centralization in the text also provides evidence for her being the hero instead of the victim. Even though Jake narrates the novel, it is fundamentally about Brett, which creates at least the opportunity for Brett to assert herself as being just as much the hero of the text as Jake, if not more so. It ultimately comes out so that the novel unequivocally sets Brett at center stage, thus making a strong case that she is the

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central protagonist as well as hero of the book. While Jake may be the narrator, Brett provides the overriding subject of interest (Willingham 45). Here, Willingham argues that Brett is more the hero of the novel than Jake because she is at the heart of it. Certainly, Brett is the character around whom all the others revolve. In fact, the only significant character in the novel that is not in love with her is Bill Gordon, which means that every other man in the novel is left pining after her. Just as Bill is the only character not in love with her, so is the fishing trip in Biarritz the only place in the novel where Brett is not a prominent figure. However, these two exceptions do little to undermine the fact that every other character and every other section of the book is obsessed with Brett. Perhaps even better evidence of Bretts hero status can be seen in an examination of the novels original beginning. Originally, Hemingway opened the novel with a chapter about Brett, the very first lines of which were, This is a novel about a lady. Her name is Lady Ashley and when the story begins she is living in Paris and it is Spring (Hemingway 5). This original beginning shows how Hemingway viewed Brett as the center of his own work. Despite the fact that this first chapter was eventually exchanged for one focusing on Cohn, this explicit initial focus only moves to becoming implicit in the finished work. Correspondingly, Brett has heroic elements that exist independently of her similarities to Jake and differences from Cohn. It is then in both Bretts own centrality and in her comparison to Jake and Cohn that she emerges as a hero whose suffering is tragic instead of punishing. This unexpected portrayal of Bretts pain as being tragic instead of deserved then relates back to the cultural context of the novel in that it questions the societal need for the containment of the New Woman. If the novel had punished Brett as it punishes Cohn,

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it would have effectively endorsed societys own containment of the New Woman. Therefore, the fact that the novel makes Brett a hero and, correspondingly, makes her suffering tragic acts as a means of fighting against the response of patriarchal society to the New Woman that Brett symbolizes. However, it is at this point that the text becomes ambivalent. Essentially, while Bretts heroic suffering results in the text pulling away from an explicit condoning of the containment of the New Woman, the way in which Brett is the source of tragedy for Jake complicates the understanding of Brett as the heroine. The way in which Brett and Jake figure into each others suffering creates a situation in which it is difficult to hold both characters together as the hero and heroine. Thus, even though Bretts misery is tragic and not punishing, she is not completely endorsed by the text due to her conflict with Jake. In this way then, the novel merely interrogates both Bretts role in the text and the cultural phenomenon of the containment of the New Woman without either condoning or condemning either. Bretts fate in The Sun Also Rises reflects a pattern of containment, but the way the novel frames Brett transforms this pattern into one of tragedy. Like the Hemingway hero, Brett emerges as a character who endures her pain in a way that makes her suffering tragic instead of punishing. Especially when compared to Jake and Cohn, Brett becomes a figure that is much more closely aligned to Jake as the hero than to Cohn whom the novel clearly punishes. However, Bretts conflict with Jake complicates her identity as the heroine. As a result, the novel reflects back on its historical moment by merely questioning the blanket endorsement of the patriarchy forcing the New Woman back into her prescribed gender role. Essentially, the novel uses the historical tendency of containment of threatening women like Brett to set up a situation in which the same type

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of containment is neither endorsed nor condemned, thus calling into question the systematic containment itself through this ambivalence.

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Conclusion In the 1920s, the New Woman emerged as a potential threat to patriarchal society. As this cultural trope gained prominence, it took a hold of the literature of the period in ways that attempted to contain this perceived threat. For example, F. Scott Fitzgeralds Tender is the Night picked up on themes of masculine anxiety and the need for containment of the New Woman in society and endorsed them. By making Dick the tragic hero and Nicole the villain, Fitzgerald makes the blanket endorsement that many other readers and critics see Hemingway as making in The Sun Also Rises. However, as I have shown, Hemingway does not make this blanket endorsement. Unlike Fitzgerald, Hemingway remains ambiguous about his opinions of the New Woman by creating a character that is neither wholly endorsed nor completely condemned for hurting Jake as Nicole is for ruining Dick. Hemingway generates this ambiguity by adopting an explicit model of power and containment and then transforming it by making Bretts resulting suffering heroic. By grounding Bretts power in her use of men, Hemingway creates a situation in which masculine anxiety can take a hold in the text, which it does primarily through the inclusion of Cohn. Cohn, and to a lesser extent Romero, bring masculine anxiety into the novel through their fear of, and more explicit attempts to contain, Brett. Mirroring the cultural context of the New Woman, Hemingway then contains Brett by trapping her in the same cycle of initiating and terminating relationships that she creates. It is at this point that the expected conclusion would be for Hemingway to, like Fitzgerald, demonize Brett and, in so doing, present a blanket endorsement for the containment of the New Woman. However, it is at this point that Hemingway moves away from completely

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approving of societys treatment of the New Woman by transforming the nature of Bretts torment from punishing to tragic. Hemingway transforms Bretts suffering from the would-be-obvious conclusion of the novel punishing Brett to the surprising portrayal of Brett as the Hemingway hero. By connecting Brett to Jake and focusing on her centrality, Hemingway constructs her as being sympathetic in her turmoil. However, by placing her in conflict with Jake, Hemingway complicates Bretts role as the heroine of the novel, thus generating ambivalence about Brett and the historical figure that she is connected to.

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Works Cited Brown, Dorothy M. Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987. Cohen, Milton A. Circe and Her Swine. Brett Ashley. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Fantina, Richard. "Hemingway's Masochism, Sodomy, and the Dominant Woman." Hemingway Review. 23.1 (2003): 84-105. <http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.uvm.edu/journals/hemingway_review/v023/23.1fan tina.html>. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. 1933. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1934. Fiedler, Leslie A. Good Good Girls and Good Bad Boys: Clarissa as a Juvenille. Brett Ashley. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Fulton, Lorie Watkins. "Reading around Jake's Narration: Brett Ashley and The Sun Also Rises." Hemingway Review. 24.1 (2004): 61-80. <http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.uvm.edu/journals/hemingway_review/v024/24.1fult on.html>. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. 1926. New York: Scribners, 2003. ---. The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories. 1927. New York: Scribners, 1964. ---. A Farewell to Arms. 1929. New York: Scribners, 1956. ---. The Garden of Eden. 1986. New York: Scribners, 1995. ---. Across the River and into the Trees. 1950. New York: Scribners, 1995.

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---. The Unpublished Opening of The Sun Also Rises. Brett Ashley. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. A. T. Murray. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960. Rudat, Wolfgang E. H. Hemingways Brett: Linguistic Manipulation and the Male Ego in The Sun Also Rises. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 1986 Mar.; 7 (1-2): 76-82. Schneider, Dorothy, and Carl J. Schneider. American Women in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920. New York: Facts On File, 1993. Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1985. Tromper. Larousse English-French Dictionary. 1999. Wagner-Martin, Linda. Women in Hemingways Early Fiction. Brett Ashley. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Whitlow, Roger. Bitches and Other Simplistic Assumptions. Brett Ashley. Ed. H. Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Willingham, Kathy G. The Sun Hasnt Set Yet: Brett Ashley and the Code Hero Debate. Hemingway and Women. Ed. L. R. Broer and G. Holland. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2002. 33-53. Wylder, Delbert E. The Two Faces of Brett: The Role of the New Woman in The Sun Also Rises. Critical Essays on Ernest Hemingways The Sun Also Rises. Ed. J. Nagel. London: G. K. Hall & Co., 1995.

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