A Feminist Alternative to Fetterleys Criticism of A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

A Feminist Alternative to Fetterleys Criticism of A Farewell to Arms After close A Farewell to Arms, I found it difficult to reconcile Judith Fetterleys feminist attack of the novel with my own personal opinions. I agree that Hemingway does kick women to the suppress in his portrayal of Catherine, but my reasons for pinning this crime on Hemingway are different from hers. Although she means well, Fetterley makes the ridiculous claim that by portraying Catherine as an angelic, selflessly loving woman to end all women, Hemingway disguises misogynistic attitudes and a deep-seeded hatred towards the XX chromosome. This claim is not supported by the text. If we look at Hemingway through the lens of the eye of his own words, we find that his misogyny does not spring from a too good to be true portrait of Catherine, but rather in his leaning to cast her down into the dirt-Catherine is a dependent, baby-manufacturing trap that stifles Lieutenant Henry Poor, poor dear Cat. And this was the price you paid for sleeping to dismounther. This was the end of the trap (320). It is his penchant for awaken and his need for womanly comfort that keeps Henry coming back to Catherine, not some notion of love or true connection. This is Hemingways misogyny, however unintentional, unmasked. But to get a true sense of this anti-Fetterley feminist view of the novel, it is important too look at the specifics of Hemingways construction of Catherine-facts that stand in direct opposition to Fetterleys state attacks. First of all, Catherine is not Fetterleys unique and unattainable goddess-she is an object in Henrys universe, a feast of sensations but nothing more. She is akin to good food and good confuse I was made to eat. My God, yes. Eat and drink and sleep with Catherine (233). Indeed, Henrys thoughts about Catherine, both when he is at the front or by her side, mingle with longings for good wine and reflections on sumptuous meals. In Henrys world, a good Capri would be nice , a nice hunk of cheese would be grand, and sleeping with Catherine would be sublime. These things all equate to the enjoyment of basic human needs. Every now and then, Henry feels a grumbling in his loins-a periodic hunger for the cheese between Catherines legs. Hemingway dissolves Catherine into the least common denominator-the object, destitute of meaning or real importance (when Henry isnt hungry).