The Sun Also Rises: The Emasculated VS the Femme Fatale

The protagonists of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley, represent gender in two very distinct ways, but both our represented through their sexuality. Barnes is for all intense and purposes a man who has lost his gender because of his war wounds and is searching for it throughout the novel. On the other hand, Lady Brett is a highly sexualized individual is searching for her gender by allowing herself to explore.

One way in which Jake tries to express his gender, and at this point is masculinity comes early in the novel when he goes to the dancing club and sees Lady Brett’s group of male friends, who are implied to be homosexual. Jake says “This whole show makes me sick,” referring to the homosexual men in attempt to display his masculinity (Hemingway, 29). Ira Elliot of Duke University says “Jake’s attitude toward the homosexuals-the way he degrades them and casts them as his rivals-will, I believe, reveal the extent to which sexual categories and gender roles are cultural constructions.” Not only are they cultural constructions but the gender roles become narrative constructions as well. At this point in the story we’ve already learned that Jake’s war wound has made him impotent, but it becomes clear at this point, even though for all intense and purposes he is a-sexual, he still holds onto the constructs of masculinity.

At the opposite end of the spectrum Lady Brett Ashley is searching for her gender role by being rather promiscuous. The role that she seeks is that of a lover and a partner to Jake, but the fallout from his war wound and the distance created thereafter makes their relationship quite volatile. One evident gender role in society is that of the femme fatale a woman who is desirable but represents the downfall of the men around her. I believe that Lady Brett is not trying to fulfill this gender role, but is quite aware herself that she is creating this entire scenario, even if by accident. In Chapter Sixteen Lady Brett says “I do feel such a bitch,” when Jake responds in concurrence, Lady Brett says “My God!....the things a woman goes through,” and seconds later repeats “Oh, I do feel such a bitch” (Hemingway It is as if Lady Brett realizes her own gender role as this femme fatale, but feels almost helpless to do anything about it.

Both Jake and Lady Brett are confined to their created gender roles but both feel almost helpless to do anything about it. Because of Jake’s war wounds he was been reduced to the role of a man who must display his masculinity and express his manhood in any other way he can. Lady Brett, who is in love with Jake and for all intense and purposes in love with sex, cannot be with Jake because he cannot perform. So because of this she has been reduced to a femme fatale role, where she almost becomes the downfall of multiple characters in the novel.

Both of the main protagonists, Lady Brett and Jake Barnes fall into traditional and stereotyped gender roles. Jake’s being one of a emasculated male figure who has to display dominance in other ways, and Lady Brett is a woman in love, whose desires that are not reciprocated force her into a femme fatale role. Both characters spend the entire novel in gender roles that outside circumstances have forced them into.

Works Cited

Elliot, Ira. American Literature, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 77-94 Published by: Duke University Press.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. 1926. Charles Scribner’s Son. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, Ny 10020.

The Scarlet Letter: Realism vs. Romanticism

Romanticism and realism are two very encompassing classifications of literature. Romanticism deals with idealistic views of the world, seen through symbolism and is often set in exotic locales. On the other hand realism has a very strict emphasis on morality and it’s place in society. Realism emphasizes the idea of character development being the most important factor while romanticism emphasizes the plot and the story. That being said, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter uses ideas from both romanticism and realism.

The Scarlet Letter can be classified as Romanticism in several different aspects. First off the locale of The Scarlett Letter could very well be considered exotic. The small town is a speck of what seems to be idyllic land, in the midst of what the reader learns is an immoral forest and a world beyond that is even worse. While the setting itself seems benign the effects the surrounding area have on the town and it’s people make the location of the story very important. Romanticism also has a very heavy emphasis on symbolism, the letter itself being the most obvious. The letter, “A”, is a symbol of several things throughout the novel, the most apparent being that of adultery, since the letter is fond on both Hester’s clothes and Dimmsdale’s chest. However, the letter can also be interpreted as having several other meanings such as “alone” or “apostle” or as the townspeople decipher it when it appears in the sky “angel.”

A major aspect of realism is the idea of morality and how it’s interpreted. The issue of morals is at the forefront throughout the entire story. For example, Hester is accused, and admits to, adultery. This is how the reader is introduced to Hester and when Chillingworth, her husband who has been cheated on, is introduced it becomes evident that Hester is the one who evokes sympathy and emotions in the reader while Chillingworth is the one who is interpreted as the villain. It seems that the reader should be compassionate towards Chillingworth and have disdain for Hester, it is reversed and that is a very good example of how the issues of morality in realism are totally subjective.

However, the classification of romanticism is most heavily determined by the elements of the supernatural in the novel. While realism emphasizes elements based in reality romanticism has a strong emphasis in magic and supernatural occurrences. This can be seen throughout the novel, from the subtle to the very obvious. For example, it is hinted at several times in the start of the novel that Pearl may hold some sort of supernatural ability. For example, the text says that Pearl “seemed rather an airy sprite” (Hawthrone pg. 63).Also, the letter itself appears in supernatural contexts throughout the story. From its first appearance as an embroidery it is hinted that the letter itself is special. As the story progresses we see the supernaturalism of the letter grow, first appearing in the sky above the town and finally on Dimmsdale chest.

Nathaniel Hawthrone’s the Scarlet Letter has element s of both romanticism and realism. However, it becomes quite evident that the supernatural occurrences in the story are a contributing factor to the story’s classification as a romantic piece of literature.