It is possible to read the texts of Hemingway's Farewell to Arms (1929) and The Garden of Eden (1986), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) in the context of the "loss of identity".
Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms dramatizes the very detail of the wartime experience of Ernest Hemingway. To examine the text in terms of loss of identity, it is important to take particular note that both Catherine and Frederic are in mourning; Catherine suffers from personal loss, Frederic from social loss. However, their sense of mourning or attitude for the loss is manifested in a radically different way.
Catherine overlaps the shadow of her lost fiancé on Frederic. Before her emotional wound is healed, she attempts to make up her lost object with Frederic as a substitute. On the other hand, Frederic abandons the battlefield: the place of masculinity when he runs away by swimming the Tagliamento.
Catherine loses sight of the boundary between the self and the others, by replacing her lost object with Frederic without having sufficient process of mourning. I will explain the concept of mourning in my other article based on Freud's theory of mourning.
Catherine tries to pull Frederic into her own melancholiac isolated world by secluding themselves from the outside world to assimilate her identity with him. Beyond the romantic sense of an affinity, she aspires for narcissistic identification transcending the boundary of the self and the others.
As for my personal impression of this novel, I am totally impressed with the scene where Frederic describes Catherine's corpse as "It was like saying good-bye to a statue (ch. 41)". Whenever I read this novel, it is very difficult to fight back tears at this scene. It is an expression of abysmal emptiness. This is how I started to like Hemingway's works.
The Garden of Eden
This work is also the story of which female protagonist seeks her identity in the narcissistic assimilation with the other. To examine the issue of identity dramatized in this work, the ‘mirror’, the motif frequently appears in this work, must be holding an extremely significant clue. The mirror reflects the transition of gender and the physical and psychological shift of the protagonists.
Catherine has her hair cut short and tries to look like a man. Thus, she begins to transform physically: changing her appearance from the feminine to the masculine, and shifting the role of sexual conduct. Catherine changed her appearance further and strongly recommends her husband to do the same. He reluctantly accepts her offer. His acceptance symbolizes his transformation from masculinity to femininity.
The relationship between Catherine and David maintains the binary opposition while the gender role is inverted. However, the involvement of lesbian Marita causes the imbalance of the binary. In this context, the paradise is exposed at risk of being lost.
Catherine’s project of exchanging gender role is hindered by Marita’s passionate love for David, and his desire to recover the masculine identity. Marita transforms from a lesbian to a heterosexual. David retrieves his masculinity and Catherine leaves at the end, thus the paradise appears to be regained.
However, is it regained really or just superficially? By eliminating masculine Catherine, the man resumed the Eden where a man has masculinity. However, a disturbing atmosphere is still lingering around, for nothing has changed other than the partner was just replaced.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
This novel covers a wide range of political, psychological areas. Maria believes that her identity completely merges into Robert’s identity.
Robert’s attitude toward Maria is motivated by his masculinity to protect a vulnerable woman from violence. He is a model of patriarchy; therefore, his brutality, rather than masculinity, to protect a woman is inherently associated with emotional, sexual violence. In fact, his sexual desire is not much different from rape.
Repeatedly tells her not to talk, Robert tries to suppress Maria. After all, what Robert did to her by exposing the uncontrollable sexual desire was the same as the rape of her by fascist soldiers. On the other hand, within the larger framework, Robert is also a victim of violence. Both are castrated: Maria, raped by fascist soldiers, and Robert, injured his leg.
