Characterization in The Sun Also Rises

Hemingway's Characters Challenge Traditional Gender Roles

Mar 31, 2009

Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises explores stereotypical gender roles and challenges early 1900s images of masculinity and femininity.

An analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s characters Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn, and Frances Clyne in The Sun Also Rises reveals that these individuals do not fall into traditional categories of male/female gender appropriate roles. Lady Brett and Frances are the two female characters of the novel, and both deviate from the ideals associated with appropriate female behavior. While Jake and Robert hold a quiet restraint that does not conform to the aggressive characteristics often associated with males.

Outspoken Female Characters

Frances’ character does mold to societal expectations in that she is eager to be married. She wishes to find financial and social stability through her husband, and yearns to legally cement her relationship with Robert. However, rather than displaying helpless submission when confronted with adversity, she becomes strong willed and outspoken.

When she realizes Robert’s intentions have changed, Frances chooses to create an emotional public confrontation. Even Jake observes, “it was very satisfactory for her to have an audience.” In this situation, the gender appropriate response would have been to confront Robert privately, but Frances chooses to publicly excoriate Robert and establishes herself as the dominant personality.

Strong, Silent Men

Robert, on the other hand, allows Frances to berate him in public. He makes no attempt to stop her diatribe, nor does he take the initiative to remove himself from the situation. Although Robert is a trained fighter (a very masculine past time), he is unable to assert himself verbally. In effect, Robert is strong in body but weak of mind.

While Robert is a mixture of the traditional male strength and a not so traditional lack of assertiveness, Jake does not appear to challenge any gender roles, but he does not epitomize any either. He is stable, articulate and clearheaded. In one instance, Brett begins to criticize Robert and Mike’s behavior. Jake replies “Everybody behaves badly . . . Give them the proper chance.” In this way, Hemingway illustrates Jake's ability to defuse hostility and calm tension with a controlled disposition.

The Best of Both Worlds

In contrast to Jake, Lady Brett is a volcanic combination of the masculine and the feminine. Her physical appearance is undeniably feminine, as early in the novel Jake observe that Lady Brett “was built with curves like the hull of a racing yacht.” Yet, she contrasts her obvious feminine features with the short haircut of a boy. She appears to both accept her role as physical femme fatale and refuse it, by choosing a masculine hairstyle.

In addition to her appearance, Lady Brett reacts to life with a mixture of both the typical male and female response. When watching the bullfight, she is captivated by the slaughter of horses in the corral. Yet, in contrast to a not so ladylike appreciation of gore, Lady Brett is comfortable as a female caregiver. As Jake stated, “she loves looking after people.

Challenging Gender Role Expectations

As part of the modernist perspective, Hemingway has created several characters that challenge the roles of male and female. And although Hemingway’s characters neither embody nor destroy the concepts of femininity and masculinity, one can see how Hemingway was attempting to lead the reader into an exploration of not only the characters relationships with each other, but the reader’s reaction to and relationship with the characters.

Sources

The copyright of the article Characterization in The Sun Also Rises in American Fiction is owned by Kristie Camacho. Permission to republish Characterization in The Sun Also Rises in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.