Catherine Barkley is V.A.D. in the British Army, stationed in Italy, during World War 1 in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. She begins the novel as the code hero, which is unusual for Hemingway, given his experience with women throughout his life. During the novel, Catherine conducts herself with grace while living her life with love, loyalty, and respect as guiding ideals. By the end of the novel, her hero status is transferred to Frederic Henry, her lover, when she dies after childbirth.
Catherine is almost obsessed with the ideal that women were put on this earth to serve their men. She is childlike with her persistent questioning, “Is there anything I do you don’t like? Can I do anything to please you?” (137) Even before Catherine tells Frederic she is pregnant, she worries about what he will think. She does not want to make him unhappy or to worry him. She seems so scared and timid, as though she is afraid of generating feelings from Frederic that are not filled with contentedness towards her. Personifying what is today referred to as an old-fashioned wife, she refuses to drink brandy when it is offered, and is uncomfortable with the atmosphere at the horse races (132, 141).
She has been raised with the idea that women should be seen and not heard, and she cannot bring herself to step outside of her little box of being perfect for her man.
Catherine lives her life with love as one of the primary guiding influences. After he fiancé dies, she is hesitant to love, but once time allows her to recover she realizes that her life is empty without it. She craves love like small children crave candy, and she repeatedly asks Frederic if he loves her. Catherine is still wary, as her loss is somewhat fresh in her mind, and wants t...
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... Frederic describes the labor pains like this, “When the pains were bad she called them good ones. When they started to fall off she was disappointed and ashamed.” (314) Before the intense pains set in, she repeatedly tells Frederic to go eat and come back later because she doesn’t want to become a burden. Even as Catherine is lying on her death bed, she remains cool and positive. She assures Frederic that she was not afraid and it was all a dirty trick (331). She uses her last breath to tell Frederic that everything was going to be alright. She shows bravery in her actions as well as her words.
Catherine transforms over the course of the novel, and though she no longer holds the code hero status, she still exemplifies the characteristics of a hero. Her actions hold pure grace, and she holds true to all her beliefs. Her life is full of love, loyalty, and respect.
The conflict Catherine faces is Person versus self. “Little Bird, in the world to come, you will not be asked ‘why were you not George?’ or ‘why were you not Perkin?’ but ‘why were you not Catherine?’ ” (Cushman 17). It is depicted that Catherine tried to be everyone else but not herself. Hence, Catherine’s conflict is internal because she must change her conceptions. Catherine must accept who she is. Catherine’s conflict is resolved in the resolution. Catherine understands the Jewish woman’s advice. “And it came to my mind that I cannot run away. I am who I am wherever I am” (Cushman 202). Catherine understands she cannot be like Perkin or George, and she will not be asked if why she was not like Perkin or George. However, Catherine will be asked why she did not act like herself, and why she was not
Pontellier does not doubt nor desire for something beyond society’s standard for women. Leonce Pontellier, Edna’s husband, is about fifteen years older than Edna; this age divide causes a drift in what principles Leonce feels that Edna must adhere to. He maintains his belief that Edna should follow a pattern of behavior that is in conformity with what society expects of a mother-woman. A mother-woman, was defined to be one “who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals…” (Chopin 16). This principle definition of a ‘mother-woman’ was expected to be followed by the women of the late 18th century; and was viewed as an ‘unwritten law’, or simply a regulation known to obey but not question. At first, Edna does not object to this expected behavior as Leonce’s wife. She fulfills her domestic duties without complaining and she stays loyal to her husband. Mrs. Pontellier never protests or confronts any inward doubt or apprehensions she may have imagined. Instead, Edna conforms by being quiet, reserved and calm; she suppresses her own feelings to try and please society and its strict standards. Yet, all this external conformity and compliance forces Edna to question her role in the society. Is this all she can expect in
To further contrast Edgar’s and Nelly’s opinion s of Catherine ways, Edgar sees Catherine as docile, calm, and loving. This side to Catherine can be attributed to when she stays at the Linton’s home. Catherine spends five with the Linton’s and while she is there she does not show her rough rude side in their company. As describe by the narrator, she took care not to act like a young ruffian and worse than a brute; comparing her to Heathcliff (her lover). While on the other hand, Nelly recognizes this calm behavior displays by Catherine as one of double standard; she being deceitful to get her own
A life changing journey is taken as Jean Valjean, Cosette and Marius feel the emotion of love and learn to cope with its effects. Each character soon realizes that the effects of love are very powerful. Happiness, self-confidence, and depression are all found during the enduring journey. Studies have proven that, “...without love we die...” (B). Jean Valjean, Cosette, and Marius realize that they can not survive without experiencing the profound effects of love.
In this novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway brings about the evolution of Frederick Henry being converted into a code hero in realistic ways.
Escape from Reality in A Farewell to Arms & nbsp; In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, Fredric Henry gets involved with Catherine Barkley to escape the insanity of war. Frederic loves Catherine. Catherine loves Frederic. The extreme situation of war and fate allowed both of them to be thrown together and fall in love.
...periences in life. The most important one is search for freedom. Catherine is always locked up in her chamber, or trying to get away from the suitors. Throughout in the book she thinks about going to the abbey, leaving the manor, or going on an adventure. In the end her marriage with Stephen shows her that now she is “… at least less painfully caged” (Cushman 164). The story was very exciting when you wait to see what she would do to another suitor. I learned that as much as you try to fight something sometimes you cannot and it’s bound to you. As seen with Catherine and marrying any one of the suitors. “If I was born a lady, why not a rich lady” (Cushman 4). I think the author wrote this because she wants to show how medieval Europe was like, the social classes, education, religion, and especially society’s look on marriage.
Catherine is very pleased to meet Isabella after being disappointed in not seeing Mr Tilney again. The narrator informs the reader that Catherine is fortunate in finding a friend as ‘Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.’ (p.18 NA). Isabella being the elder of the two has much more knowledge of fashionable society than Catherine and is, therefore, able to teach her a great deal about the expectations of society at that time.
Catherine is free-spirited, wild, impetuous, and arrogant as a child, she grows up getting everything she wants as Nelly describes in chapter 5, ‘A wild, wicked slip she was’. She is given to fits of temper, and she is torn between her wild passion for Heathcliff and her social ambition. She brings misery to both of the men who love her, ultimately; Catherine’s selfishness ends up hurting everyone she loves, including herself.
“There is no perfect relationship. The idea that there is gets us into so much trouble.”-Maggie Reyes. Kate Chopin reacts to this certain idea that relationships in a marriage during the late 1800’s were a prison for women. Through the main protagonist of her story, Mrs. Mallard, the audience clearly exemplifies with what feelings she had during the process of her husbands assumed death. Chopin demonstrates in “The Story of an Hour” the oppression that women faced in marriage through the understandings of: forbidden joy of independence, the inherent burdens of marriage between men and women and how these two points help the audience to further understand the norms of this time.
When women are kept in their classical role of mother and caretaker, all is well and their lives are simple. Children relate positively to their mothers in this typical setting; while Dantés was in prison, during a time of distress, he remembered something his mother had done for him. For example, Dumas writes, “He remembered the prayers his mother had taught him and found meanings in them which he had formerly been unaware.” (41). Mothers teach their children to the best of their ability, evidenced in Dantés, as well as when Caderousse says Mercédès is instructing her son, Albert. It is in these moments that a mother’s love, compassion, and necessity are revealed. Lives are calm and enriched as long as women are in their niche. This includes non-maternal nurturing roles, for example, Mercédès attentiveness to Dantés father and Valentine’s special ability to care for Nortier. This loyalty is valued and shown as essential for the stability of life. Though The Count of Monte Cristo depicted women as best suited to the home, they intermittently stepped further out of that r...
The first, most obvious trait of Catherine’s heroism is that she values human relationships above materialism. Nothing is more important to Catherine than her lover, Henry, and as the novel goes on, her baby. When Henry is injured and sent to Milan, she has no trouble transferring to the new hospital there. Catherine loves Henry and would drop anything to be with him. Nothing material holds her back from being with him. Even when they live in Switzerland, they don’t have many material possessions. They live very simple lives because all the couple really needs is each other. In chapter forty, Henry describes their time together with this quote, "When there was a good day we had a splendid time and we never had a bad time. We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together." Catherine obviously values her time with Henry more than anyone else, but it isn’t the physical aspect of getting out and doing things that satisfies her. What satisfies Catherine is the extra time she gets to spend with the love of her life b...
but the strange thing when saying I am Heathcliff that means that even after marriage she still do have feeling for him and she never forget the love story of her life, they both acted like soul mates and the treated each other heavenly, the also grew up together and that bond was fed and grown by their childhood memories as they were living and growing up with each other in the same house wuthering heights. They really acted like 2 souls in one body and their love bond was very un-destroyable. But Catherine acted very selfish and she hurt herself and hurt everybody else to fulfill her desires toward the civilized and education life that she was willing to
The way both Elizabeth and Catherine lived during their youth had an impact on their life ambitions. Raised by an exasperated father, a single-minded mother whose only goal was to have each of he...
Love is a strong affection or warm attachment to someone; on the contrary, pain is a punishment or penalty or suffering of body or mind. These emotions carry a direct relationship; love leads to pain. However, everything that begins must eventually come to an end, and in the end one emotion is victorious. There is a constant struggle between the opposing emotions; henceforth, Ernest Hemingway combines both of these emotions into A Farewell to Arms. Through Fredric Henry and Catherine Barkley’s relationship, Hemingway combines these two emotions in a relentless power struggle. Where love leads, pain shortly follows proving that what comes from love can be dangerous. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms takes place during World War I and describes the relationship between a war doctor, Fredric Henry, and a nurse, Catherine Barkley; the couple follows the cycle of love and pain to prove Hemingway’s point that love is ultimately dangerous.