Today in class, Lily commented on Hemingway's portrayal of women in his stories. In the short storys our class has read, most of the women are shown as weak, feeble-minded beings who nag and whine about "silly" things. For instance in "Cat in the Rain," a grown woman's behavior is that of a childs. She complains and whines about wanting a cat, wanting her hair long and wanting new clothes. In "A Soldier's Home," an awkward mother-son relationship is present. The mother seems as if she is annoying and nagging and bothersome to her son.

I believe that the women in Hemingway's stories are a direct reflection on the women that have been in his life in the past. I believe his bad relationship with his mother is a main reason why he portrays women so poorly in his writings. I find it interesting that most of the women are not main characters but are just seen as sort of "there." I believe it is quite shallow, but after listening to a letter written to Hemingway from his mother I can understand why it would desire him to write in this manner.
Posted by Kimiko Yama on 2/4/04; 10:36:22 PM from the dept.