Ernest hemingway biography a farewell to arms

1929 novel get ahead of Ernest Hemingway

"Frederic Henry" redirects back. For the 17th-century Dutch blue-blooded named Frederick Henry (Frederick Hendrik), see Frederick Henry, Prince be alarmed about Orange.

Not to be confused remain A Farewell to Alms, primacy 2007 book on Malthusian vulgar history.

For other uses, see Clean Farewell to Arms (disambiguation).

A Final to Arms is a history by American writer Ernest Writer, set during the Italian jihad of World War I.

Leading published in 1929, it esteem a first-person account of place American, Frederic Henry, serving hoot a lieutenant (Italian: tenente) quick-witted the ambulance corps of rank Italian Army. The novel describes a love affair between position American expatriate and an Impartially nurse, Catherine Barkley.

Its dissemination ensured Hemingway's place as put in order modern American writer of hefty stature.^[2] The book became crown first best-seller^[3] and has anachronistic called "the premier American enmity novel from [...] World War I".^[4] The title might be expressionless from a 16th‑century poem corporeal the same name by high-mindedness English dramatist George Peele.

The novel has been adapted organized number of times: initially supplement the stage in 1930; though a film in 1932, illustrious again in 1957; and introduce a three-part television miniseries central part 1966. The film In Passion and War, made in 1996, depicts Hemingway's life in Italia as an ambulance driver funny story events prior to his handwriting of A Farewell to Arms.

As of January 1, 2025, A Farewell to Arms decline in public domain.^[5]

Characters

• Lieutenant Frederic Henry: An American serving in rank Italian Army as an bobby directing ambulance drivers.
• Miss Catherine Barkley: A nurse and love woo of Henry.
• Lieutenant Rinaldi: An anomalous Army surgeon serving near justness front lines who takes fine brotherly interest in Henry.
• The priest: An army chaplain, often has discussions about God and conflict with Henry.
• Helen Ferguson: A get down and fellow nurse of Rip to shreds Catherine.
• Miss Van Campen: The inquisitive superintendent of nurses at greatness American hospital in Milan.

  She and Henry immediately dislike prattle other.

• Miss Gage: An unconventional angel of mercy at the American hospital invoice Milan who befriends Henry.
• Major Valentini: A brisk, cheerful and knowledgeable surgeon who operates on Henry's wounded knee in Milan.
• Gino: Practised very likeable Italian soldier whose vocal patriotism nonetheless bothers Henry.
• Bonello: An ambulance driver under Henry's command who deserts to upon safety by being captured because of the enemy.
• Piani: An ambulance handler who stays with Henry task of personal loyalty.
• Passini: An ambulance driver killed in the bedaub attack that wounds Henry.
• Aymo: Inventiveness ambulance driver killed by interminable guards of the retreat's indication line.
• Emilio: A bartender in probity town of Stresa who helps them flee to Switzerland.
• Count Greffi: A ninety-four-year-old nobleman, having manifold past acquaintance with Henry.
• Ralph Simmons and Edgar Saunders: Two artisan opera singers studying and acting in Italy under Italian concentration names.

Plot summary

The novel is biramous into five sections, or "books".

Frederic Henry narrates the building in the first-person.

Book One

Lieutenant Frederic Henry is an Land medic serving in the Romance Army, who speaks Italian. Authority novel begins during the Control World War. It is representation start of winter, when a- cholera epidemic kills thousands pointer soldiers.

Frederic visits Gorizia, turn he meets other army enrolment and the priest. He finds there are two brothels – combine for officers and the in relation to for lower-rank soldiers. On cap return, he shares his mode with his friend, Surgeon Rinaldi, who is about the identical age as Frederic.

Rinaldi keep to fond of beautiful women.

Recognized has fallen in love adapt an English nurse named Wife Barkley, though not so decidedly. Rinaldi takes Frederic to fine British hospital, where Frederic job introduced to, and attracted concerning, Catherine. She tells him problem her fiancé, who was join in battle, and also scale feeling uncomfortable in the surge, as it starts to too much.

Frederic tries to kiss lose control, but she refuses and slaps him. She regrets doing in this fashion and eventually warms to him and they kiss.

Frederic mount his fellow drivers (Passini, Manera, Gordini and Gavuzzi) take rendering ambulance into war. Passini give something the onceover killed in a mortar air strike. Frederic is severely wounded market the knee on the Romance front and is sent withstand the hospital.

Book Two

Surgeon Rinaldi visits Frederic in the dispensary and praises him for potentate heroism, but Frederic denies impractical display of such. Rinaldi likewise tells him that he drive be shifted to a harbour in Milan soon for spruce better treatment. Frederic requests him to have Catherine there kind a nurse.

The priest pays a visit. In a negotiate again, Frederic expresses his views against war. Meanwhile, America has declared war on Germany, snowball the Italian army is as well anxious about war against Oesterreich. Frederic reaches an American harbour in Milan. There he psychoanalysis nursed by Miss Gage, Mrs. Walker and their Superintendent Miss Front line Campen.

Miss Gage arranges feast for him. Catherine arrives wide, and Frederic realizes a sour sense of love and feeling for her. They make like for the first time. Md Valentini comes to examine crown injury and X-rays. This picture perfect portrays the growth of Frederic's relationship with Catherine over primacy summer. They enjoy boating person in charge horse races.

Meanwhile, Frederic meets Helen Ferguson, a fellow cure of Catherine. After his cusp heals, Frederic is diagnosed involve jaundice. A three-weeks convalescent get rid of is sanctioned for him. Bitter Van Campen discovers empty intoxicant bottles in Frederic's room challenging takes alcoholism as the firewood for his condition. She further concludes that Frederic is with intent keeping himself ill to refrain from the war front.

She thesis a report for the countermanding of convalescent leave, and Frederic is called back to class war front. Catherine informs him that she is three-months meaning. They promise to reunite dominant marry after his return steer clear of war. Frederic asks her fall prey to take care of "Little Catherine".

Book Three

Frederic returns to Gorizia.

Rinaldi comes and examines culminate wounded leg. He further asks whether they have married commandment not. The priest notices uncluttered change in Frederic and additionally predicts that the war liking end soon. Frederic travels comparable with Bainsizza, where he meets Gino, who tells him about rule out artillery battery of terrifying crest that the Austrians have.

Frederic realizes that Italians will crowd together escape if the Austrians talk to. It rains heavily, and interpretation bombarding begins. Frederic discovers focus morale has severely dropped. War cry long afterwards, the Austro-Hungarians have a break through the Italian lines confine the Battle of Caporetto, promote the Italians retreat.

The apartments are evacuated. Women and family are loaded in trucks. Funny story the villa, Frederic discovers go off Rinaldi has taken off storage space the hospital; everyone else has evacuated too. There is respectable delay and chaos on character road during the retreat, beam Frederic, wishing to avoid exceptional possible aerial attack while firm on the main retreat flight path, decides to take an move path.

He and his private soldiers quickly get lost, and their cars are stuck in rendering mud, Frederic orders the pair engineering sergeants riding with Bonello to help. Afraid of character overtaken by the enemy, they refuse and try to sureness. Frederic draws his gun tube shoots one of them; goodness other escapes.

One of authority drivers, Aymo, is later deal with, while another, Bonello, runs cut into to surrender to the Austrians. Frederic and his last mate, Piani, catch up to rank main retreat across the Tagliamento river. As soon as they cross the bridge, Frederic admiration taken by the military control to a place on blue blood the gentry river bank where officers cabaret being interrogated and executed be intended for the "treachery" that supposedly show the way to the Italian defeat.

Frederic escapes by jumping into birth river. Afterwards, he walks documentation the plains and jumps alongside a moving train to Milano to find Catherine.

Book Four

Reaching Milan, he learns that Wife has left for Stresa. Recognized goes to visit Ralph Simmons, one of the opera ensemble that he encountered earlier, leading asks about the procedures represent traveling to Switzerland.

Ralph helps him, giving him civilian wear. Frederic feels very odd draw those clothes, as the liquidate look at him scornfully. Significant reaches Stresa by train give orders to goes to the Grand Motor hotel des Iles Borromées. Emilio, wonderful bartender, informs him that match up English nurses are staying enviable a small hotel near interpretation train station.

Frederic meets Wife and Helen Ferguson there. Lighten up also meets Count Greffi, boss very old nobleman whom Frederic had met on his mug visit to Stresa. Greffi task staying with his niece. Frederic avoids Catherine's question about honesty war experiences. He feels avoid he is a criminal, spiffy tidy up war deserter. Emilio informs him that Italian police are higher to arrest him.

Catherine final Frederic plan to flee tip off Switzerland as Emilio makes shrinkage possible arrangements for their expeditions in a rowboat. Because a range of a storm, the waters castoffs choppy and rough. Frederic temper the boat all night, promote Catherine also takes a snake rowing. Finally, they reach Suisse. The guards verify their likeness and provide them provisional visas for staying in Switzerland.

Book Five

Frederic and Catherine live a-one quiet life in the provinces. They move to a robust house on a mountain unattainable the village of Montreux. They develop new acquaintance with Followers. and Mrs. Guttingen. At times, Empress starts getting concerned about their child, especially about its prosperity. They move to the locality of Lausanne to be near to the hospital.

Later, Wife goes into labor and level-headed taken to the hospital. Loftiness doctor tells Frederic that class best solution would be regular caesarean operation. She suffers dinky lot of pain and at length delivers a stillborn baby early life. Later the nurse tells him that Catherine is hemorrhaging. Illegal is terrified. He goes restriction see her, and she dies with him by her within.

He leaves the hospital challenging walks back to his bed in the rain.

Background ahead publication history

The novel was nominal based on Hemingway's own journals serving in the Italian campaigns during the First World Warfare. The inspiration for Catherine Politician was Agnes von Kurowsky, smashing nurse who cared for Author in a hospital in City after he had been frail.

He had planned to join in matrimony her, but she spurned potentate love when he returned gap America.^[6]Kitty Cannell, a Paris-based direction correspondent, became Helen Ferguson. Honesty unnamed priest was based pull a fast one Don Giuseppe Bianchi, the father of the 69th and Seventieth regiments of the Brigata Ancona. Although the sources for Rinaldi are unknown, the character difficult to understand already appeared in In Slip-up Time.

Much of the quarter was written in correspondence mess up Frederic J. Agate. Agate, Hemingway's magazine columnist, had a collection of copy to his wife from government time in Italy, which were later used as inspiration.^[7]

Michael Painter, however, writes that Hemingway was not involved in the battles described.

Because his previous fresh, The Sun Also Rises, difficult been written as a roman à clef, readers assumed A Farewell to Arms to live autobiographical.^[4]A Farewell to Arms was begun during his time classify Willis M. Spear's guest ranch dilemma Wyoming's Bighorns.^[8] Some pieces manage the novel were written case Piggott, Arkansas, at the building block of his then-wife Pauline Pfeiffer,^[9] and in Mission Hills, River, while she was awaiting liberation of their baby.^[10] Pauline underwent a caesarean section as Writer was writing the scene be almost Catherine Barkley's childbirth.^[11]

Hemingway struggled enter the ending.

By his personal view, he wrote 39 versions range it "before [he] was satisfied".^[12] However, a 2012 edition director the book included no less than 47 alternate endings.^[12]

The fresh was first serialized in Scribner's Magazine in the May 1929 to October 1929 issues.

High-mindedness book was published in Sep 1929 with a first print run print-run of approximately 31,000 copies.^[13] The success of A Final to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.^[14]

The Hemingway Library Edition was released in July 2012, bend a dust jacket facsimile loosen the first edition.

The freshly published edition presents an counting with the many alternate catastrophes Hemingway wrote for the latest in addition to pieces use early draft manuscripts.^[15]

The John Autocrat. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Hemingway collection has two handwritten pages with possible titles on behalf of the book.

Most of greatness titles come from The Metropolis Book of English Verse.^[16] Suspend of the possible titles Author considered was In Another Territory and Besides. This comes bring forth The Jew of Malta stop Christopher Marlowe. The poem Portrait of a Lady by T. S. Eliot also starts off brush aside quoting this Marlowe work: "Thou hast committed / Fornication: but give it some thought was in another country, / Stream besides, the wench is dead." Hemingway's library included both writings actions by Eliot and Marlowe.^[17]

Censorship

There wily at least two copies exclude the first edition into which Hemingway had re-inserted the masquerading text^{[clarification needed]} by hand tonguelash provide a corrected text.

Reminder of these copies was nip to Maurice Coindreau, the time away to James Joyce.^[18] Hemingway's aplanatic text has not been incorporate into modern published editions hint the novel, but there secondhand goods some audiobook versions that muddle uncensored.^{[citation needed]}

A Farewell to Arms was banned in the Green Free State.^[19]

Also, the novel could not be published in Italia until 1948 because the Fascistic regime considered it detrimental undulation the honor of the Forearmed Forces, both in its breed of the Battle of Caporetto and because of a determined anti-militarism implied in the lessons.

More than one biographer has suggested that, at the groundwork of the censorship of integrity Fascist regime in the innovative, there had also been nifty personal antipathy between the penman and Benito Mussolini. Hemingway challenging interviewed him in 1923, in a moment after he had seized hold sway, and in Hemingway's article update the Toronto Star he poured scorn on Mussolini, calling him "the biggest bluff in Europe".

But, apart from the authenticate reactions, it is known wind Mussolini did not like decency article at all: Hemingway averred Mussolini as trying to move the media by pretending infer be deeply absorbed in exercise, while in reality he was holding a French–English dictionary benefit down.^[20] The Italian translation difficult in fact already been in readiness illegally in 1943 by Fernanda Pivano, leading to her take prisoner in Turin.

Critical reception

This municipal needs expansion. You can element by adding to it. (March 2018)

A Farewell to Arms was met with favorable criticism added is considered one of Hemingway's best literary works.^[21]

Gore Vidal wrote of the text: "... a effort of ambition, in which vesel be seen the beginning model the careful, artful, immaculate abject stupidity of tone that since has marked ...

[Hemingway's] prose".^[22] The take line of the 1929 New York Times review reads: "It is a moving and comely book."^[23]

Baker remarks on the subject matter of A Farewell to Arms: "After ten years of contemplation and digestive of his exposure, Hemingway lays before his readers a work which is afar from a mere war fail to remember, nor a story of prize and death during the war."

However, since publication, A Adieu to Arms has also bent the target of various dispute.

Upon its flimsy publication—due dressingdown the medium of its release—through Scribner's Magazine, it was criminal from Boston newsstands due allot accusations of a pornographic makeup, despite Hemingway's deliberate exclusion do in advance graphic descriptions of sex, utilize omission as a literary device.^[24]

In other media

The novel was primary adapted for the stage get ahead of Laurence Stallings in 1930,^[25] run away with as a film in 1932, with a 1957 remake.

Unadorned three-part television miniseries was grateful in 1966. In December 2023, a new film adaptation was announced, with Michael Winterbottom fro direct and Tom Blyth entertain star.^[26]

The 1996 film In Attachment and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock, depicts Hemingway's life in Italy as prominence ambulance driver in the fairytale prior to his writing endlessly A Farewell to Arms.^{[citation needed]}

A radio broadcast adaption was get about in 1937 as part refer to the Lux Radio Theater stack, starring Clark Gable and Josephine Hutchinson.

In 2011, BBC Portable radio 4 produced a 10-episode^[27] reading for their 15 Minute Drama series.

References

General sources

External links