A Farewell to Arms
| A Farewell to Arms | |
|---|---|
 First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Ernest Hemingway |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Publication date | September 1929 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 355 |
A Farewell to Arms is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I. The book, published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant ("Tenente") in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele.[1]
A Farewell to Arms focuses on a romance between the expatriate American Henry and Catherine Barkley, whose nationality is variously described as English or Scottish, against the backdrop of the First World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The publication of this, Hemingway's bleakest novel, cemented his stature as a modern American writer,[2] became his first best-seller, and is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as "the premier American war novel from that debacle [World War I]".[3]
The novel was first adapted to stage by Laurence Stallings in 1930,[4] then to film in 1932, with a 1957 remake.[5]
Contents |
Plot summary [edit]
The novel is divided into five books. In the first book, Rinaldi introduces Frederic Henry to Catherine Barkley; Frederic attempts to seduce her, and their relationship begins. While on the Italian front, Frederic Henry is wounded in the knee by a mortar shell and sent to a hospital in Milan. The second book shows the growth of Henry and Catherine's relationship as they spend time together in Milan over the summer. Frederic falls in love with Catherine and, by the time he is healed, Catherine is three months pregnant. In the third book, Frederic returns to his unit, but not long afterwards the Austrians break through the Italian lines in the Battle of Caporetto, and the Italians retreat. Frederic kills an engineering sergeant for insubordination. After falling behind and catching up again, Frederic is taken to a place by the "battle police", where officers are being interrogated and executed for the "treachery" that supposedly led to the Italian defeat. However, after seeing and hearing that everyone interrogated is killed, Henry escapes by jumping into a river. In the fourth book, Catherine and Frederic reunite and flee to Switzerland in a rowboat. In the final book, Frederic and Catherine live a quiet life in the mountains until she goes into labor. After a long and painful birth, their son is stillborn. Catherine begins to hemorrhage and soon dies, leaving Frederic to return to their hotel in the rain.
Censorship [edit]
In early editions, the words "shit", "fuck", and "cocksucker" were replaced with dashes.[6] There are at least two copies of the first edition in which Hemingway re-inserted the censored text by hand, so as to provide a corrected text. One of these copies was presented to Maurice Coindreau; the other, to James Joyce.[6] Hemingway's corrected text has not been incorporated into modern published editions of the novel, however there are some audiobook versions that are uncensored.
Also, the novel could not be published in Italy until 1948 because it was considered detrimental to the honor of the Armed Forces by the fascist regime, both the description of the Battle of Caporetto, and for a certain anti-militarism implied in the work.[7] The Italian translation had in fact already been written illegally in 1943 by Fernanda Pivano, which is why she was arrested in Turin.
Autobiographical details [edit]
The novel was based on Hemingway's own experiences serving in the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The inspiration for Catherine Barkley was Agnes von Kurowsky, a real nurse who cared for Hemingway in a hospital in Milan after he had been wounded. He had planned to marry her but she spurned his love when he returned to America.[8] Kitty Cannell, a Paris-based fashion correspondent, became Helen Ferguson. The unnamed priest was based on Don Giuseppe Bianchi, the priest of the 69th and 70th regiments of the Brigata Ancona. Although the sources for Rinaldi are unknown, the character had already appeared in In Our Time.
Biographer Reynolds, however, writes in "Ernest Hemingway, 1899–1961: A Brief Biography", that Hemingway was not involved in the battles described but that because his previous novel, The Sun Also Rises, was written as a roman a clef, readers assumed A Farewell to Arms to be autobiographical.[3]
Publication history [edit]
Some pieces of the novel were written in Piggott, Arkansas, at the home of his then wife Pauline Pfeiffer,[9] and in Mission Hills, Kansas while she was awaiting delivery of their baby.[10] Pauline underwent a caesarean section as Hemingway was writing the scene about Catherine Barkley's childbirth.[11]
The novel was first serialized in Scribner's Magazine in the May 1929 to October 1929 issues. The book was published in September 1929 with a first edition print-run of approximately 31,000 copies.[12] The success of A Farewell to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.[13]
The Hemingway Library Edition, was released in July 2012, with a dust jacket facsimile of the first edition. The newly published edition presents an appendix with the many alternate endings Hemingway wrote for the novel in addition to pieces from early draft manuscripts.[14]
Adaptations [edit]
The novel was adapted for stage, cinema and radio and television, with a 1930 stage adaptation;[15] a 1932 screen adaptation, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, with a second 1957 film remake; various radio adaptations between 1938 and 1950; and a 1966 television adaptation.
References [edit]
- ^ "George Peele: A Farewell to Arms (To Queen Elizabeth)". The DayPoems Poetry Collection. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ Mellow (1992), 378
- ^ a b Reynolds (2000), 31
- ^ Young, Stark (1994). "A Farewell to Dramatization". Critical essays on Ernest Hemingway's A farewell to arms. New York: Hall [u.a.] pp. 91–95. ISBN 0-7838-0011-8. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ A Farewell to Arms (1957), IMDb
- ^ a b Hemingway, Ernest. "A Farewell to Arms." (New York: Scribner, 1929). James Joyce Collection, the Poetry Collection (State University of New York at Buffalo), item J69.23.8 TC141 H45 F37 1929
- ^ ^ More than one biographer suggests that at the base of the censorship of the Fascist regime in the novel there has also been a personal antipathy between the writer and Benito Mussolini. Hemingway was interviewed in 1922, and in his article in the Toronto Star the future Duce was called "the biggest bluff in Europe's history" and even if there were never official reactions, it is known that Mussolini did not like the article at all . (Fernanda Pivano, "Hemingway", Rusconi, Milan 1985) (ISBN 8818701657, 9788818701654)
- ^ Villard, Henry Serrano & Nagel, James. Hemingway in Love and War: The Lost Diary of Agnes von Kurowsky: Her letters, and Correspondence of Ernest Hemingway (ISBN 1-55553-057-5 H/B/ISBN 0-340-68898-X P/B)
- ^ "Hemingway-Pfeiffer Home Page". Arkansas State University. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
- ^ "A Writer's Haunts: Where He Worked and Where He Lived"
- ^ Meyers (1985), 216–217
- ^ Oliver (1999), 91
- ^ Meyers, Jeffrey. Hemingway: A Biography. Da Capo Press, 1999, p. 219.
- ^ Boseman, Julie. (July 4, 2012)."To Use and Use Not". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2012
- ^ Oliver (1999), 92
Sources [edit]
- Baker, Carlos (1972). Hemingway: The Writer as Artist. Princeton: Princeton UP. ISBN 978-0-691-01305-3
- Mellow, James (1992). Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-37777-3
- Meyers, Jeffrey (1985). Hemingway: A Biography. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-42126-0
- Oliver, Charles (1999). Ernest Hemingway A to Z: The Essential Reference to the Life and Work. New York: Checkmark Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8160-3467-3
- Reynolds, Michael (2000). "Ernest Hemingway, 1899–1961: A Brief Biography". in Wagner-Martin, Linda (ed). A Historical Guide to Ernest Hemingway. New York: Oxford UP. ISBN 978-0-19-512152-0
- Roy, Pinaki (2012). Hemingway's 'A Farewell to Arms': A Critical Appraisal. Kolkata: Books Way. ISBN 978-93-81672-12-9
