Examining Hemingway's Psychological State

            Recently, we read the book The Sun Also Rises. This Earnest Hemingway book challenges modern (read:20^th century) ideas in a complex way. The 1920’s was a liberated, yet sobered time. As society’s grasp on reality decreased, the amount of booze consumed skyrocketed. In the setting of the story, Paris, this culture is even more prevalent. As we follow the pragmatic narrator of the story, Jake, around Paris, an interesting character development arises.

            To start, Hemingway created a plot line with characters very different than what people traditionally accepted at the time. Traditionally, stories had domineering male figures and simple women’s characters. However, this book has a strong female character, Lady Brett, and weak male characters (such as Jake). The “gender switcharoo” is peculiar, as Hemingway tried to play the role of “manly man” throughout his adult life. Given what we know about Jake and what we know about Hemingway, the puzzling thing to me is why Hemingway would portray a character similar to himself in such a negative light. Given what we know about Hemingway, basing Brett off his mother subconsciously, it would be a rational conclusion to assume that he also subconsciously made Jake similar to himself. This makes the situation even more confusing. If Hemingway is providing negative commentary on himself through Jake, why continue the “tough guy” persona if subconsciously Hemingway knows it leads Jake to so many issues? Is the “tough guy” persona just a front, similar to the way Samuel Clemens uses Mark Twain?

            I think to answer these questions, one must dive even further into Hemingway’s personal life. Hemingway himself was injured in the war, and when asked about his injuries, he provided a terse statement that his condition was “fine”. His defensive reaction reveals an emotional wound which left a scar resembling a Napoleonic complex. The parallels are remarkably similar. Both Napoleon and Hemingway had emotional damage from something they could not control, ultimately leading to hyper-masculinity. It is easy to see where Hemingway (and Jake) get their sense of superiority and intense masculinity from. However, one key connection is still missing. Hemingway’s inability to see the plight of his actions after writing essentially about himself still remains a mystery. Perhaps Hemingway’s twisted view of himself ultimately led to him supposedly committing suicide in 1961. Regardless, debates about Hemingway’s psychological state will continue for years to come.