ollowing the war results in a disintegration of values which is not expressed as a threat of loss, but rather in the drinking and promiscuity of its characters.
Both of these novels by Hemingway have a similar theme. As noted, both deal with the idea of loss as experienced either during the war or immediately after it. More specifically, the theme of both A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises is that of the loss of love. In The Sun Also Rises, the love between Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley is never fulfilled. Because of the war, Jake has an injury which has made him impotent. Also because of the war, Brett has lost her first love and therefore finds it difficult to truly fall in love with another man. In A Farewell to Arms, the love between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley is fulfilled for a while. However, in the end, Catherine dies after giving birth and thus Frederick experiences a loss of love which is somewhat similar to that which is experienced by Jake Barnes. The factor of war plays an important part in the loss of both men. However, whereas the war is directly responsible for the wound which keeps Jake from being able to consummate his love, the loss experienced by Frederick takes place after he and Catherine have managed to escape from the war. Many critics have pointed out that Catherine's death by childbirth is ironic because it is caused by the baby which is the result of their love for one another, and also because it happens after she and Frederick have escaped death in the war (McDowell 60).
By utilizing the loss of love as a major theme, both The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms are representative of a style of literature which was popular among American and European audiences in the wake of the First World War. In this regard, it has been noted that the "death of love" was a common theme in literature during the 1920s (Spilka 25). Carlos Baker has pointed out that both A Farewell to Arm...