Who Is Catherine Barkley A Static Character

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A Farewell to Arms is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway. It is a story about a love relations between Frederick Henry, an American ambulance driver in an Italian army, Catherine Barkley, an English nurse. In their relationship, Henry and Catherine tried to hide their love from the reality to not go under separation and lost love. In the novel, Catherine is a static character; she does not go under any transformations, but Hemingway used her as a source to help Henry in maturing. This makes Catherine be seen as a strong, independent, and an assertive woman.

Hemingway shows her strength in the beginning of the novel when she and Henry share the first scene together. Henry was the one that was playing the childish games and telling her that he loves her but he actually wasn’t …show more content…
When Henry suggested that "Nothing ever happens to the brave" (139), the more-experienced Catherine counters with the statement, "They die, of course"(139). Also, Catherine's exceptional courage is more shown during the escape across Lake Maggiore. Despite her pregnancy, she not only travels through the stormy and dark night in an open boat, but also offers to hold the umbrella to serve as a sail. She steers and even rows for a while, while maintaining a sense of humor. Catherine’s bravery during the escape is an evidence for being strong and assertive. She can also be seen as a hero in this scene because of her considerate actions and perseverance despite all the pain and “trouble” she had been through during her relationship with Henry. She could have easily left Henry alone, but she decided to stay and take care of him while he was injured. More importantly, she stayed when she knew he was about to get arrested. She simply told him, "...I'll look after you...I'll get you some place where they can't arrest you...I'll go any place any time you wish"
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features at least two women characters that are named and talk to each other about something other than a man. Works that pass the test are considered to have a rudimentary level of female agency and independence. Ernest Hemingway’s hyper masculine novel, A Farewell to Arms, does not pass the Bechdel test. Published in 1929, it is set in Italy during World War I and centers around Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver in the Italian army. Catherine Barkley is an English nurse and serves…

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