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A Tale of Love and a Tale of War (A Farewell to Arms, Part 1)

Jul 14, 2025

Guest

Mark Cirino

Mark Cirino, Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature at the University of Evansville and an expert on Hemingway, shares fascinating insights on A Farewell to Arms. He explores the balance of autobiography and fiction in Hemingway's writing, detailing how personal experiences shaped the narrative. They discuss the novel's initial reception in 1929 and its anti-war themes, which critique war profiteering rather than soldiering. Cirino also highlights the significance of characters like Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley, providing depth to their love story against the backdrop of war.

33:52

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insights

INSIGHT

Pinnacle Of Hemingway's Formative Years

Hemingway wrote four major books between 1925 and 1929 that established his reputation.
A Farewell to Arms stands as the pinnacle of that concentrated creative stretch.

insights

INSIGHT

Composition Amid Personal Turmoil

Hemingway composed A Farewell to Arms across multiple locations while revising obsessively.
His personal crises during composition (family death, risky childbirth) inflect the novel's tensions.

insights

INSIGHT

Artful Blend Of Fact And Fiction

The novel mixes autobiography and invention: Hemingway reshapes his timeline and experiences.
He deliberately sets scenes before his own arrival in Italy to use different historical events as dramatic centers.

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Hemingway's Breakout Years

01:39 • 2min

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Where and When Hemingway Wrote the Novel

03:51 • 2min

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How Autobiography and Fiction Intertwine

05:41 • 22sec

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Why Hemingway Shifted the Novel's Timeline

06:03 • 4min

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Hemingway's Actual War Experience

10:17 • 1min

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Love, Loss, and the Novel's Tragic Tone

11:29 • 2min

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Initial Reception and 1929 Context

13:54 • 1min

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Is A Farewell to Arms Anti-War?

15:20 • 2min

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Romantic Language versus Realist Detail

17:42 • 3min

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Censorship, Bans, and Obscenities

20:35 • 3min

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Who Is Frederick Henry?

23:34 • 2min

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Frederick's Wounding and Near-Death Experience

25:24 • 55sec

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Who Is Catherine Barkley?

26:19 • 1min

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First-Person Perspective and Characterization

27:37 • 1min

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The Priest and Rinaldi as Moral Foils

29:00 • 1min

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Memorable Minor Characters like Simmons

One True Sentence, Writers and Readers on Hemingway's Art

Mark Cirino

Michael von Cannon

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Across the river and into the trees

Ernest Hemingway

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The novella tells the story of Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. Determined to break his unlucky streak, Santiago ventures far into the Gulf Stream, where he hooks a giant marlin. Over the course of three days, he battles the marlin, showing respect and admiration for the fish. Despite eventually killing the marlin, Santiago's catch is devoured by sharks on his journey back to shore. The story highlights Santiago's endurance, his deep connection with nature, and the themes of struggle, dignity, and the indomitable human spirit.

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The sun also rises

Ernest Hemingway

Originally published in 1926, 'The Sun Also Rises' is Ernest Hemingway’s first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. The novel follows a group of young American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid-1920s, capturing the moods, feelings, and attitudes of the cynical and disillusioned Lost Generation. The story centers around Jake Barnes, a World War I veteran and journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain. The novel portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions, reflecting the existential disillusionment characteristic of the Lost Generation.

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The Sound and the Fury is a novel by William Faulkner that chronicles the downfall of the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats, through four different narrative perspectives. The novel is set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, and spans several decades. It is narrated by the three Compson brothers—Benjamin 'Benjy' Compson, an intellectually disabled man; Quentin Compson, a Harvard student who commits suicide; and Jason Compson, a bitter and cynical younger brother—and concludes with a third-person omniscient narrative focusing on Dilsey, the family's devoted Black servant. The novel explores themes of time, death, and the disintegration of traditional Southern values, using a stream-of-consciousness style that includes frequent chronological leaps and non-linear storytelling.

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'In Our Time' is a collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, characterized by its fragmented structure and stark, minimalist prose. The stories explore themes of war, trauma, and the disillusionment of the post-World War I generation. Interspersed among the stories are brief, vignette-like chapters that depict scenes of violence and death. The collection introduces recurring characters like Nick Adams, offering glimpses into his experiences and development. Hemingway's use of precise language and his focus on sensory details create a powerful and emotionally resonant reading experience. The collection is a landmark in modernist literature, influencing generations of writers with its innovative style and its unflinching portrayal of human experience.

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Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms is a semiautobiographical novel that captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its sweep. The story follows Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver on the Italian front, and his passionate relationship with Catherine Barkley, an English nurse. The novel interweaves themes of love, war, loyalty, and desertion, reflecting Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The book is known for its vivid and deeply felt portrayal of war and its impact on individuals, as well as Hemingway's distinctive writing style that emphasizes immediacy and simplicity.

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

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John Donne

While the podcast mentions "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in relation to a John Donne sermon, it's important to note that the title is most famously associated with Ernest Hemingway's novel. Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is set during the Spanish Civil War and follows Robert Jordan, an American volunteer fighting alongside the Republicans. The novel explores themes of war, love, and sacrifice against the backdrop of political conflict. Jordan's experiences and relationships highlight the complexities of war and the human cost of ideological battles. The novel's powerful prose and exploration of universal themes have cemented its place as a classic of 20th-century literature.

In Part 1 of our discussion on Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, we welcome Norton Library podcast host Mark Cirino to the guest seat for the first time (with producer Michael von Cannon stepping behind the microphone as host). The two discuss the balance of autobiography and fiction in the text, situate A Farewell to Arms in the establishment of Hemingway's literary reputation, and explain the censorship of certain language.

Mark Cirino is Melvin M. Peterson Endowed Chair in Literature at the University of Evansville (IN). He is the author or editor of several books, including Ernest Hemingway: Thought in Action (Wisconsin, 2012); Reading Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees (Kent State, 2016); and, most recently, One True Sentence: Writers & Readers on Hemingway’s Art (Godine, 2022), which was written with Michael Von Cannon. Cirino and Von Cannon are the creators of One True Podcast, the official podcast of the Ernest Hemingway Society.

To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of A Farewell to Arms, go to https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324059424.

Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.

Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at nortonlibrary@wwnorton.com or find us on Twitter at @TNL_WWN and Bluesky at @nortonlibrary.bsky.social.

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