A Farewell to Arms
Hemingway's, A Farewell to Arms, closely relates to his own life. This book retells his experiences during World War 1. Lieutenant Frederic Henry is a model of Hemingway and Catherine Barkley is like Agnes von Kurowsky.
A Farewell to Arms begins with Frederic being injured from the waist down, from a trench mortar shell. This is during World War 1 and he is on the Italian's side. Frederic is taken to a hospital in Milan where he falls in love with Catherine Barkley. She is a nurse that Frederic met before he was injured that he became infatuated with. Catherine gets herself placed to work in the hospital that Frederic is in. Frederic falls madly in love with Catherine. They have an affair throughout the book and she becomes pregnant. In the end, their baby dies during birth and Catherine dies soon after.
There are many similarities between Hemingway and the character, Frederic. Obvious similarities are that both author and character were ambulance drivers, were wounded from the waist down, stayed in a hospital in Milan, got a medal for his courage, and had relations with a nurse (4). Frederic also acquired some of Hemingway's little traits and memories. For instance, when Hemingway was injured he said, "My feet felt like I had rubber boots full of water on. Hot water. And my knee cap was acting queer." When Frederic was injured he said, "My legs felt warm and wet and my shoes were wet and warm inside. I knew that I was hit and leaned over and put my hand on my knee. My knee wasn't there." Hemingway even said that the passage from A Farewell to Arms was an accurate account of what had happened to him (5).
Even though the end of the story was different than Hemingway's life, both stories are tragic. Both Hemingway and Frederic get left alone and hurt, without their love. It is related to Romeo and Juliet's tragedy. Frederick "establishes a connection with the world in his love affair with Catherine and in doing so, becomes humanly alive. That she dies does not negate his experience; it pushes him into the position of the Major (see Nick Adams page)who also had trouble in resigning himself."(6)