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EXISTENTIAL DISILLUSIONMENT IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S
A FAREWELL TO ARMS
D . G. Anu adha
Assis an P o esso , Depa men o English,
Sona College o A s and Science, Salem
D . M. A a indh
Assis an P o esso , Depa men o English,
Sona College o A s and Science, Salem
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17283445
Abs ac
The pape a emp s o explo e he exis en ial hemes h ough he lens o wa and lo e in E nes
Hemingway’s A Fa ewell o A ms. The no el depic s he p o agonis ’s sense o meaninglessness, anxie y,
disillusionmen and aliena ion as he con on s he b u ali y and u ili y o wa . Wa is a majo cause o he
eelings o de achmen and hopelessness in li e. The no el s ands as a es amen o he endu ing complexi y
o human emo ion in imes o c isis. Th ough s a k ealism and emo ional cu b, i e lec s he deep blemishes
le by wa . The pape b ings o limeligh he auma and human ulne abili y and concludes highligh ing
he agili y o human connec ion in a wo ld consumed by iolence.
Keywo ds: exis en ial disillusionmen , anxie y, meaningless, hopelessness, u ili y.
“Wa is an ac o iolence pushed o i s u mos limi s.” - Ca l on Clausewi z (O’Conno )
Ca l on Clausewi z asse ed ha wa , by i s na u e, in ol es “endless iolence, de as a ion,
and loss—i s in insic des uc i eness de oid o any mo al jus i ica ion” ( on Clausewi z 45). In
A Fa ewell o A ms, E nes Hemingway ans o ms his cold ealism in o a deeply exis en ial
na a i e, acing Lieu enan F ede ic Hen y’s undoing amid wa a e, lo e, and dea h. Th ough
minimalis p ose and sub le symbolism, Hemingway po ays no jus pe sonal disillusionmen
bu an exis en ial despai whe ein meaning mus be o ged, i a all, in an indi e en uni e se.
F ede ic en e s he wa wi h an ill-de ined no ion o noble du y bu quickly ecoils om
glo i ied he o ic: “I was always emba assed by he wo ds sac ed, glo ious, and sac i ice”
(Hemingway 14). This ea ly disquie signals a depa u e om con en ional he oic na a i es.
Michael Reynolds obse es ha F ede ic’s emo ional a c mi o s Hemingway’s “own wa ime
disillusionmen , p o iding au obiog aphical au hen ici y o he cha ac e ’s des abilisa ion”
(Reynolds 87). Schola Rajashekha Ya bagi u he iden i ies he no el as an explo a ion o
“ auma, disillusionmen , and exis en ial c isis, a he han glo i ied he oism” (Ya bagi 330).
These laye s es ablish F ede ic as an exis en ial an ihe o whose jou ney embodies he collapse
o meaning adi ionally sus ained by wa and omance. The no el’s wa scenes emphasize
andom c uel y a he han pu pose. When F ede ic is se e ely wounded, he desc ibes i
ma e -o - ac ly: “I knew I was hi and leaned o e . The sun was ho , he snow looked b igh ,
and he whole hing was e y pleasan ” (Hemingway 54). The su eal calm su ounding a
iolen inju y unde sco es Hemingway’s “Icebe g Theo y”—a s ipped-down s yle ha e eals
emo ional dep h benea h i s aus e e su ace (Mamb ol). La e , du ing he chao ic e ea a
Capo e o, he epo s, “The e we e many mo e dead han he wounded. The dead we e lying
e e ywhe e” (Hemingway 179). The e is no oman iciza ion, only desola ion. Li e a u e ha
con ex ualizes wa as cleansing o pu pose ul o e s no hing he e; ins ead, he uni e se is silen
and indi e en .
This collapse o meaning p omp s F ede ic’s dese ion. Decla ing “I was no made o hink.
I was made o ea . My god, yes, o ea and d ink and sleep wi h Ca he ine” (Hemingway 243), he
op s o basic, immedia e li e – emo ional and physical sus enance – choosing epheme al human
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connec ion o e geopoli ical allegiance. Jean-Paul Sa e’s axiom ha “exis ence p ecedes
essence” esona es he e: F ede ic ejec s imposed meaning and emb aces eedom, howe e
uncom o ed (Sa e, Exis en ialism Is a Humanism). Ye his au onomy b ings disquie , no
peace.
Ca he ine Ba kley becomes he lens h ough which F ede ic ies o edisco e meaning.
He a alis ic ema k—“I’m a aid o he ain because some imes I see me dead in i ”
(Hemingway 126)—in okes he omnip esence o dea h, e en amid lo e. He an icipa ion o loss
su uses hei ela ionship wi h a mu ed d ead. C aw o d’s analysis o exis en ial in imacy
highligh s ha “such ela ionships o e consola ion only o as long as hey hold; hey a e
espi e om despai , no an ido e” (C aw o d 152).
Thei ime in Swi ze land o e s b ie insula ion om chaos. F ede ic desc ibes, “In he
day ime we wen walking and skiing, and in he e enings, we had dinne and sa in on o he
i e” (Hemingway 292). Bu he idyllic backd op is unde mined by he agili y o hei
happiness—some hing Ya bagi ames as a s a k exis en ial i ony: “ he d eam o peace pe sis s
only long enough o make i s loss unbea able” (Ya bagi 331).
Ca he ine’s dea h du ing childbi h up u es hei cons uc ed ha en. Hemingway’s
unde s a ed na a ion in ensi ies i s impac : “Bu a e I had go hem ou and shu he doo and
u ned o he ligh , i wasn’ any good. I was like saying good-by o a s a ue” (Hemingway 332).
“No elegy, no ou pou ing—jus a silen acknowledgemen o obli e a ion. Albe Camus w i es
ha he absu d does no nega e eeling; su e ing emains immedia e. F ede ic’s emo ional
emp iness e lec s ha pa adox” (Camus 65).
Ye in emp iness, F ede ic inds a agile cla i y. “The wo ld b eaks e e yone and a e wa d
many a e s ong a he b oken places” (Hemingway 249), he e lec s. No a edemp i e ebi h,
bu a ha dened su i al. Gallaghe a gues ha “ his is cen al o exis en ial esilience:
au hen ici y h ough b okenness a he han anscendence” (Gallaghe 125).
Schola s ha e added dep h o his exis en ial eading. The jou nal IJRAR desc ibes he
cosmos in he no el as “indi e en —a oid agains which F ede ic con on s his humani y”
(IJRAR). Simila ly, Ques Jou nals explo es he “ambigui y o li e,” posi ioning F ede ic’s
expe iences as exis en ial con on a ions wi h mo ali y (Ques Jou nals). The Mode n
Educa ion and De elopmen a icle b oadens his heme, emphasizing human s uggle,
isola ion, and mo ali y in Hemingway’s exis en ial po ayal (Jalolo a 324). Wagne -Ma in
si ua es he no el wi hin Hemingway’s b oade li e a y p ojec o s ipping abs ac ion om
wa , exposing exis en ial co es (Wagne -Ma in 90).
F ede ic’s isola ion is comple e by he no el’s end. De ached om ins i u ional oles, be e
o lo e’s e uge, he s ands alone. Ma in Heidegge sugges s ha “au hen ici y eme ges when
one con on s ini ude and soli ude in a wo ld de oid o p eo dained meaning” (Heidegge 204).
F ede ic’s ain-soaked igil becomes exis en ial wi ness—no solace, only su i al.
This econciles wi h Ha old Bloom’s in e p e a ion: “ he no el a oids sen imen ali y and
ins ead o e s a aw, uncomp omising humani y ha exis s wi hou illusions” (Bloom 14).
Ya bagi’s conclusion holds ha A Fa ewell o A ms endu es as “a mode n medi a ion on
exis en ial cou age, no iumph—and how indi iduals mus na iga e an absu d wo ld wi hou
illusions bu wi h esol e” (Ya bagi 333).
In his elen less na a i e, Hemingway s ages wa no as a c ucible o glo y, bu as a mi o
o human ulne abili y. Lo e is no an answe bu a empo a y ep ie e. Loss does no expia e
bu a i ms exis en ial soli ude. Th ough F ede ic’s disillusionmen , eali y asse s i sel no
h ough na a i e esolu ion, bu h ough endu ance. This is no esigna ion— his is humani y
ali e wi h awa eness, deeply b oken ye s ill mo ing o wa d.
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