Chapter 4

 

Malcolm Bradbury states that in The Sun Also Rises1, Hemingway was "conscientiously concerned with catching the historical mood of the time of writing, by exploring a community self-consciously advanced and aware, the expatriate literary and smart set of the Parisian Nineteen-Twenties"2. Like Fitzgerald, Hemingway is determined to capture the climate of post-war society. This he achieves by closely examining the lives of the men and women of the expatriate leisure class in Paris.

The expatriates were very much at home in Paris according to Gertrude Stein, because it was "the country of imagination"3. The men of this leisurely class didn't need to work because they were financially secure, benefiting from inherited wealth or monthly allowances from rich families living back home. However, there are exceptions such as Jake Barnes, who although a member of the leisure class, has taken a journalist role for his own pleasure. The independence of the leisure class is illustrated by they ability to holiday whenever they choose. This emphasises their financial stability. Hemingway is preoccupied with holidaying in Sun that the critic Ann Massa observes as a way of forgetting the harsh effects of the Great War4.

The continual drinking within the text is another method used to blur reality. Alcohol is as significant as money to the characters of Sun because it is a form of escapism. John Crowley writes that, "The Sun Also Rises is, in fact, a major example of a drunk narrative, in which alcohol is inseparable from the modernist ethos of despair"5. This 'lost generation'6 of post-war men could represent the lack of direction many Twenties men felt. They had left education to fight in the War and having survived were often penniless and unskilled in any labour7. George Mowry notes that in America the emergence of the flapper culture and the changing roles of women in the workplace saw the emasculation of men and their traditional roles within society8. Only men who were financially secure were able to live a life of leisure and adopt roles in work and sport that asserted their masculinity.

The lack of masculinity in the working environment is reversed within sport and leisure. The roles men adopt emphasise masculinity such as boxing that Cohn takes, that could be perceived as being a very primal, confrontational activity. It signifies his masculinity and enables him to assert his dominance over other men. Yet while he represents a very male character through his sport, he fails to show an interest in the male activity of bullfighting. He lacks aficion9 that the other male characters possess for the sport and so never really forms a bond with these men. Arnold and Cathy Davidson suggest, "The whole ethos of aficion resembles a sublimation of sexual desire"10.

There is a level of homoeroticism in bullfighting that Cohn does not enter into. Crowley recognises the homoerotic intimacy between Jake and Montoya as they talk and as Crowley suggests, the "[...]" is substituted for bullfighting: "He always smiled as though [...] were a special secret between the two of us; a rather shocking but really deep secret that we knew about. He always smiled as though there were something lewd about the secret to outsiders, but it was something special that we understood"(115). Bullfighting, like boxing, is another element of leisure that is a very male activity. It is a dominant and artistic presentation of men illustrating their bravery. This manliness is attractive to women like Brett who admires the bullfighter Romero, "[his] bullfighting gave real emotion...Brett saw how something that was beautiful done close to the bull was ridiculous if it were done a little way off (148). It isn't just his different culture, style or looks that attract her, it is the way he commands the respect of the aficionados through his sport. Hemingway uses these very male roles to reaffirm masculinity within society. Bullfighting brings a sense of camaraderie between the men when they chase the bulls together and furthermore, complements Sedgwick's idea of the homosocial.

The lack of women in the text signifies that it is a patriarchal society. The few women that are illustrated in Sun fulfil base roles such as Frances who is a secretary and Georgette as a prostitute. As in Gatsby, women are used as commodities. Luce Irigaray in her essay Women on the Market 11 explores the way in which women are bought or exchanged as commodities between men. She believes that "the society we know, our own culture, is based upon the exchange of women...The passage into the social order, into the symbolic order, into order as such, is assured by the fact that men or groups of men, circulate women among themselves". Georgette compliments Irigaray's idea because of her position as a prostitute. She is 'bought' as a commodity for the sexual pleasure of men. The critic Claude Caswell perceives Georgette as a "shadowy mirror image"12 to Brett. But Georgette's role is explicit as she accepts money for sex in contrast to Brett, who implicitly 'sells' herself. Likewise, Wendy Martin illustrates how Brett "mirrors both the traditional wife and prostitute" yet can never be either because "she will not submit to the authority of men; nor would she take money for the payment of sex because that would be prostitution"13. This is illustrated in the text because she never pays her way.

Brett is seen as the core centre for defining gender within the text because of her involvement within the patriarchal world. She causes disturbances in this male world because of her affection14 for male activities and in particular, bullfighting. She is portrayed as a masculine figure according to Nancy R. Comley and Robert Scholes15. Jake's initial description of her reveals all the typical attributes of a flapper, "she wore a slipover jersey sweater and a tweed skirt, and her hair was brushed back like a boy's. She started all that. She was built with curves like the hull of a racing yacht, and you missed none of it with that wool jersey"(19). She is not a stereotypical female because she is very much a part of the homosocial world and adopts a male role. Furthermore, she is never portrayed as a female except by her sexual relations with men.

Brett's relationship with Cohn is, according to Wendy Martin, "her attempt at saving him"16 through her sexuality. Brett sleeps with Cohn with the hope that this romantic interlude will raise his spirit. Martin goes on to explain that Brett "represents Hemingway's idealised rendering of a woman free of sexual repression"17. It is only when Cohn tries to form a relationship with Brett that she "scorns him for his inability to accept episodic or casual sex"18. Cohn's romantic nature contrasts with his very male boxer image. The scene where he is crying and fighting with Brett's other 'lovers' displays this ambiguous role that Hemingway gives him. Although Cohn shows his masculinity in idolising and conquering Brett, he ultimately falls victim to her manly qualities of rejection.

Her interaction with men has led to many criticisms of her character. Some critics have labelled her as being "hard-boiled" or "an exclusively destructive force" while John Aldridge declares that she is a "compulsive bitch". Mike observes that Brett "loved looking after people"(179) and he is also cared for. They have a symbiotic relationship as they seek to look after each other "Michael and I understand each other"(126). This is seen when Mike lightly "tells her what for" when she runs off as he puts it, "with Jews and bullfighters and all those sorts of people"(179). The proposed marriage is also nothing but a sham as Wendy Martin illustrates, "[she] breaks up her relationships when her lovers attempt to claim her"19. This illustrates that she destabilises these very male roles by being manly in her approach to sex.

Brett's relationship with the overtly masculine Romero is also doomed. Leslie Fiedler has observed that "No man embraces [Brett] without being in some sense castrated...no man approaches her without wanting to be castrated, except for Romero who thinks naively that she is, or can easily become a woman"20. Fiedler goes on to compare Brett to Circe, the archetypal castrating female. It is Romero who attempts to make Brett more feminine and the effects are noticeable by slight changes in her conversation and appearance. Wolfgang Rudat draws our attention towards these alterations in her conversations with Jake, from the masculine "I say, give a chap a brandy and soda," (18) to the more passive and feminine, "Would you buy a lady a drink"(216). This change is also illustrated when Brett recalls, "He wanted me to grow my hair out...He said it would make me more womanly"(214). Brett emphasises that she does not want to be dominated or made to look like a woman. Rudat believes she leaves Romero because she could not get him on her own terms, as he says, "she failed to get him to accept her affection of masculinity in behaviour and appearance"21. To accept his terms would be to corrupt the very essence of her 'New Woman' spirit and role within society.

Brett is an unstable and unsettling character that is able to permeate gender. This can be seen from her interactions with men. She acts as a catalyst that sets off many different reactions. While ultimately she is a woman, she does not embrace femininity as her gender, opting instead to permeate gender and gain access to the homosocial society. Her name compliments this male appearance and in adopting the many male vices of the text she is in some respects, more masculine than the men. Unlike Cohn, she is able to appreciate bullfighting and drinking. Brett challenges masculinity in her appearance and attitude. The way she alters her appearance by growing her hair short and wearing tweed skirts and pullovers subverts the traditional representation of woman. I have illustrated that she exists solely in relation to men. Yet her relationship with Jake is more complex because in this instance Circe (127) cannot castrate the already wounded male. Their relationship is in some sense inverted through gender.

Jake acts as an emasculated lone icon. Many critics have sought to draw parallels between his wound during the War and the ways in which his sense of self exists in relation to both the heterosexuals and homosexuals of the text. Jake is unable to express himself sexually because of the wound. This frustrates Brett as we see from the first taxi ride when she says, "You mustn't. You must know. I can't stand it, that's all. Oh darling, please understand!', 'Don't you love me?'[Jake], 'Love you? I simply turn all to jelly when you touch me', 'Isn't there anything we can do about it?[Jake]"(22). There is nothing Jake can do about it and later in the text there is evidence that he feels bitter and frustrated about his inability to perform sexually. Gregory Woods believes that these tears of frustration "replace the semen he might have shed, had he been capable of masturbating in appreciation of his fantasy of Brett"22. This is one of many symbolic moments in the text that reflect Jake's misfortune.

His frustrations are also expressed in the typical manner of jealousy. Jake is jealous of other men with Brett, especially the homosexuals. He is to all extents a homophobe. This is shown in the negative attitude he displays towards them at the bal musette. Ira Elliot writes that Jake "degrades them and casts them as his rivals"23. His impotency is mirrored by the potency of the homosexuals and Woods believes that Jake sees himself as "a real eunuch among perversely symbolic eunuchs"24. His first instinct is overtly homophobic as he says, "I was angry. Somehow they always made me angry. I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one, any one, anything to shatter that superior, simpering composure"(17). He feels that the homosexuals are misdirecting their potency and this acts as a form of rivalry because Brett enjoys the "safe" company they provide. There is a sense that they are further injuring Jake when they take the company of his prostitute Georgette. "One of them saw Georgette and said, 'I do declare. There is an actual harlot. I'm going to dance with her, Lett. You watch me"(17). Rudat sees this as a painful confrontation with the homosexuals, "painful because they possess the physical ability denied to Jake and also, from Jake's point of view, waste that ability"25. Elliot draws similar comparisons between Jake and the homosexuals. She writes, "What Jake is unwilling or unable to disclose is that his relationship to women resembles that of the homosexual"26. Elliot goes on to argue that while Jake wants to have sexual relations with women he cannot. The homosexuals act as a contrast to Jake because they are able to perform sexually and more importantly, have the power to decline heterosexual intercourse. Elliot continues that Jake is "bound by a 'masculine' signification and desire which is 'untrue'- because he cannot do what his appearance suggests he can"27. This indirectly links Jake with the homosexuals through his inability to perform in a heterosexual way and acts as another factor that destabilises gender roles within the text.

The homosexuals are ironically affiliated with Jake. They have no desire to sleep with women and cannot use the prostitute for a manly purpose so she is toyed around with. Woods believes that Jake should be able to empathise with them because he can identify with their sexual position and also because he is a part of a very male homosocial society28. Their feminine appearance further weakens gender roles and acts to destabilise the gender orientation within the text. Jake reads their external signs to signify homosexuality. The signs of their "jerseys" and their "short sleeves", "newly washed hair, wavy hair", and their "white hands" and "white faces" all signify a role that is being played out. Elliot suggests that this whiteness is the result of facial powder that "suggests delicacy" and emphasises their womanly appearance. The homosexuals represent the liberating spirit of the Twenties. As Brett has embraced the flapper culture and disregarded her female appearance, so men also have become free to express themselves as they wish. There are no cultural constrictions that stop them being openly gay because sexual freedom is tolerated more in the Twenties than it would have been in the 1910's.

Hemingway, like Fitzgerald, presents an apparently strong patriarchy identified through homosocial activities. At the same time he draws us towards issues that attempt to destabilize this patriarchy. Fitzgerald introduced Jordan to threaten traditional 'male-ness' and likewise Brett's role does something similar in Sun. Although by contrast, Brett isn't financially secure like Jordan and so becomes reliant on men for money. This reasserts the patriarchal capitalist society that Fitzgerald explores. The subject matter of both texts is similar as both authors acknowledge post-war factors that subvert patriarchy. The critic James Plath sees Sun as a "Greater Gatsby"29 when compared with The Great Gatsby and the topic of gender hybridity in both texts is something that he alludes to in his essay. Like Fitzgerald, Hemingway is exploring cultural changes that McAlmon drew our attention to and concludes how these trends have asserted to an extent, female dominance, or at least an infiltration into the homosocial.

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Index

 

1Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1927, rpt., Arrow Books, 1994. Subsequent references will appear in brackets after each quotation. Subsequent references to the text will be abbreviated to Sun.
2 Malcolm Bradbury, ed., The American Novel and the Nineteen-Twenties, Stratford Upon Avon Studies, Edward Arnold, 1971, p. 27.
3 Frederick J Hoffman, The 20's- American Writing in the Post-war Decade, Macmillan Publishing, 1965, p. 43.
4Ann Massa, American Literature in Context IV 1900-1930, Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1982, p 159.
5 John. W. Cowley, 'Bulls, Balls and Booze: The Sun Also Rises', in The White Logic-Alcoholism and Gender in American Modernist Fiction, University of Massachusetts Press, 1994, p.44.
6 Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1936, rpt., Arrow Books, 1994, p.26.
7 Frederick J Hoffman, op. cit., p. 44.
8 George Mowry, ed., The Twenties: Fords, Flappers and Fanatics, Prentice Hall Inc., 1963, p 173.
9 Aficion is loosely translated as 'passion'.
10 John. W. Cowley, op. cit., p. 60.
11 Luce Irigaray, 'Women on the Market', in This Sex Which Is Not One, translated by Catherine Porter and Carolyn Burke, Cornell University Press, 1985.
12Claude Caswell, 'City of Brotherly Love-The Influence of Paris and Prostitution on Hemingway's Fiction', in J. Kennedy, R. Jackson, eds., French Connection, Hemingway and Fitzgerald Abroad, St Martins, 1998. Vol. 15, p.78.
13 Wendy Martin, 'Brett Ashley as New Woman in The Sun Also Rises', in Linda Wagner-Martin, ed., New Essays On The Sun Also Rises, Cambridge University Press, 1995, p.70.
14 I chose to use 'affection' instead of 'aficion' because I don't think Brett develops aficion for bullfighting. She seems content to change her appreciation for male activities and never remain faithful or develop her interest. In contrast, Jake is a true aficion because bullfighting is very much a part of him throughout his stay in Pamplona and remains with him after he departs. He has developed his interest in bulls and the fighters and so can communicate with Montoya with ease about their shared passion.
15 Nancy R Comley and Robert Scholes, Hemingway's Genders-Rereading the Hemingway Text, Yale University Press, 1994, p. 43.
16 Wendy Martin, op. cit., p.70.
17 Ibid., p.70.
18 Ibid., p.70.
19 Ibid., p.71.
20 Wolfgang E. H. Rudat, 'Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises: Masculinity, Feminism and Gender Role Reversal', American-Imago Studies in Psychoanalysis Culture, 1990, Vol. 47, part 1, pp 43-68.
21 Ibid., p.46.
22 Gregory Woods, 'The Injured Sex: Hemingway's Voice of Masculine Anxiety', in Michael Worden and Judith Still, eds., Textuality and Sexuality-reading theories and practices, Manchester University Press, 1993, p.163.
23 Ira Elliot, 'Performance Art: Jake Barnes and "Masculine" signification in The Sun Also Rises', American Literature, Volume 67, Number 1, March 1995, p. 78.
24 Gregory Woods, op. cit., p 162.
25 Wolfgang E. H. Rudat, 'Sexual Dilemmas in The Sun Also Rises: Hemingway's count and the education of Jacob Barnes', American Literature, Volume 8, 1989, pp 2-13.
26 Ira Elliot, op. cit., p 84.
27 Ira Elliot, op. cit., p 84.
28 Gregory Woods, op. cit., p 162.
29 James Plath, 'The Sun Also Rises as "A Greater Gatsby"-Isn't It Pretty To Think So?', in J. Kennedy and R. Jackson, eds., French Connection, Hemingway and Fitzgerald Abroad, St Martins, 1998. Vol. 15.