The Sun Also Rises: Hemingway's Depiction Of The Traditional Hero
...an ideal character readily
accepted by American readers as a "man's man". In The Sun Also Rises,
four different men are compared and contrasted as they engage in some
form of relationship with Lady Brett Ashley, a near-nymphomaniac
Englishwoman who indulges in her passion for sex and control. Brett
plans to marry her fiancee for superficial reasons, completely ruins one
man emotionally and spiritually, separates from another to preserve the
idea of their short-lived affair and to avoid self-destruction, and
denies and disgraces the only man whom she loves most dearly. All her
relationships occur in a period of months, as Brett either accepts or
rejects certain values or traits of each man. Brett, as a dynamic and
self-controlled woman, and her four love interests help demonstrate
Hemingway's standard definition of a man and/or masculinity. Each man
Brett has a relationship with in the novel possesses distinct qualities
that enable Hemingway to explore what it is to truly be a man. The
Hemingway man thus presented is a man of action, of self-discipline and
self-reliance, and of strength and courage to confront all weaknesses,
fears, failures, and even death.
Jake Barnes, as the narrator and supposed hero of the novel, fell in
love with Brett some years ago and is still powerfully and
uncontrollably in love with her. However, Jake is unfortunately a
casualty of the war, having been emasculated in a freak accident. Still
adjusting to his impotence at the beginning of the novel, Jake has lost
all power and desire to have sex. Because of this, Jake and Brett
cannot be lovers and all attempts at a relationship that is sexually
fulfilling are simply futile. Brett is a passionate, lustful woman who
is driven by the most intimate and loving act two may share, something
that Jake just cannot provide her with. Jake's...
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