Was Hemingway a sensitive lover?

[Ves'Ka Gan]

Awhile back my boyfriend and I had an odd conversation, debating whether or not Hemingway was a sensitive lover.

He said, no way, much too much of a manly man. He drank, he hunted, he fucked. That's it.

I said maybe he was, in the Sun Also Rises he shows an understanding of the need for physical love in a loving relationship.

I am insanely curious to see what everyone here thinks & why. So let me know!

[Woofer]

I said maybe he was, in the Sun Also Rises he shows an understanding of the need for physical love in a loving relationship.

I believe that women were just a receptacle for him regardless of what shows in his writing.

[The Lady of Shadows]

i think he probably got the point that he had to give it to get it. i most guys get that point eventually - even the drunken ones. :doh:

[Ves'Ka Gan]

I wish more people were responding. I feel like I may be changing my opinion...

[PedroPáramo]

Sorry I voted "Are you out of your MIND Ves? Who talks about this stuff?"
I really don't care too much about it,
he was such a great writer that
I don't really mind...
Long live from whom the bells tolls!
:lol:

[Ves'Ka Gan]

I think he's a fantastic writer as well. I don't actually care if he was or not, I jsut thought it was interesting food for thought & conversation fodder.

But at least you CLAIMED your vote for my insanity---the other person didn't say it my face! :p

[obscurejude]

I wish more people were responding. I feel like I may be changing my opinion...

Ves'Ka Gan, I'm really not that acclimated with Hemingway, truth be told, and that's why I haven't voted. I think its a good thread, give it some time. I learned the hard way that sometimes you have to be patient when you bring up discussions surrounding things that only English majors want to discuss. :)

[Brice]

I wish more people were responding. I feel like I may be changing my opinion...

Ves'Ka Gan, I'm really not that acclimated with Hemingway, truth be told, and that's why I haven't voted. I think its a good thread, give it some time. I learned the hard way that sometimes you have to be patient when you bring up discussions surrounding things that only English majors want to discuss. :)


Well, in my case it's more that someone who isn't an english major may not feel qualified to discuss it really. I've read a little Hemingway, but hardly enough to make a decision on the matter.

[alinda]

ditto for me.

[Ves'Ka Gan]

Well, I'm not an English major! Haha. I majored in political science my first attempt at college and will be majoring in Excersice Sciences this time around.

I guess I Should have explained that the conversation my boyfriend & I had was literally just shooting the shit and driving around Baltimore. I intended the thread to be a little light hearted & see what different people's perceptions of Hemingway were, since he is usually known for being a drunk guy who liked to hunt & fish, but by virtue of his books we know there is at least SOMETHING else in there....

[obscurejude]

Well, I'm not an English major! Haha. I majored in political science my first attempt at college and will be majoring in Excersice Sciences this time around.


I didn't know if you were for sure, its just the thread seemed more serious than perhaps you meant it to. Good luck in school. :thumbsup:

[Woofer]

but by virtue of his books we know there is at least SOMETHING else in there....

Or it tells us that he knows that caring and love exist and how to write about them. Sometimes. :P



Well, I'm not an English major! Haha. I majored in political science my first attempt at college and will be majoring in Excersice Sciences this time around.


I didn't know if you were for sure, its just the thread seemed more serious than perhaps you meant it to. Good luck in school. :thumbsup:

Double ditto on the good luck.

[mia/susannah]

I am sorry. I cannot vote on this. I have never read anything by Hemingway so I have no clue about him

[Ves'Ka Gan]

but by virtue of his books we know there is at least SOMETHING else in there....

Or it tells us that he knows that caring and love exist and how to write about them. Sometimes. :P

.

Well that's SOMETHING ain't it? He wasn't so single minded that all he thought about were drinks and guns...

[Woofer]

Yes, but I believe the something is only indicative of his "talent" for writing. King's magnum opus is about a gunslinger, but he is no gunslinger. (Obviously. Just look at his errors!)

[Ves'Ka Gan]

I can see your point, Woofer. I am not sure I can agree though...haha.

My opinion on stories is, I don't care if you're writing about a three tongued alein from Planet Joan Rivers, as long as the characters in your story react and emote in a way that's believable. I think to get to that level of believability you have to try and touch on what your characters feel.

Of course the other argument could be that maybe The Sun Also Rises isn't about needed to physically express strong emotions, but that the girl is such a slut, and the guy such a womanizer that without the ability to screw, they can't imagine a life together no matter how much they love each other...

[razz]

Or it tells us that he knows that caring and love exist and how to write about them. Sometimes. :P
didn't he shoot himself ?:nana:

[Woofer]

I can see your point, Woofer. I am not sure I can agree though...haha.

My opinion on stories is, I don't care if you're writing about a three tongued alein from Planet Joan Rivers, as long as the characters in your story react and emote in a way that's believable. I think to get to that level of believability you have to try and touch on what your characters feel.

Of course the other argument could be that maybe The Sun Also Rises isn't about needed to physically express strong emotions, but that the girl is such a slut, and the guy such a womanizer that without the ability to screw, they can't imagine a life together no matter how much they love each other...

I have often heard this argument about The Sun Also Rises. I'd just call them both sluts. ;) Womanizer is a nice word for male slutting. Why should the male have a polite term and the woman have an insulting one?




Or it tells us that he knows that caring and love exist and how to write about them. Sometimes. :P
didn't he shoot himself ?:nana:

Hemingway? Yes, he did. It was messy and fatal.

[alinda]

And I was just going to say, maybe I should give him a try , & I'd let you know what he was like :lol: its been a while ya know!!

[obscurejude]

I can see your point, Woofer. I am not sure I can agree though...haha.

My opinion on stories is, I don't care if you're writing about a three tongued alein from Planet Joan Rivers, as long as the characters in your story react and emote in a way that's believable. I think to get to that level of believability you have to try and touch on what your characters feel.

Of course the other argument could be that maybe The Sun Also Rises isn't about needed to physically express strong emotions, but that the girl is such a slut, and the guy such a womanizer that without the ability to screw, they can't imagine a life together no matter how much they love each other...

This theory is shot down pretty hard by most people, particularly by Franz Kafka and other earlier modernist writers. The writer or the artist necessarily sacrifices community in order to create art. He or she is able to intensely interact with the human condition in order to create art that is cathartic for the rest of civilization, but they are rarely, if ever, able to effectively maintain interpersonal relationships. The kind of intensity that produces amazing works of literature and art seldom works with any other relationship.

[The Lady of Shadows]

i love how many people are voting are you out of your mind, ves! :lol:

but i digress.

linda, if you're going to read hemingway may i suggest starting with the gardent of eden? there's been a lot of debate about whether or not it even qualifies as one of his novels (he never completely finished it, and it was published posthumously) but i think it's a wonderful story about our need to improve upon "perfection" and where that takes us. i read it when it first came out (god, i'm old) and it's never lost anything for me.

[PedroPáramo]

I think he's a fantastic writer as well. I don't actually care if he was or not, I jsut thought it was interesting food for thought & conversation fodder.

But at least you CLAIMED your vote for my insanity---the other person didn't say it my face! :p

Great!
I still have the courage:P ;) (:

[Matt]

I'm not sure many men in Hemingway's time were caring lovers. It just wasn't really something a man worried about much.

Not to say that their weren't exceptions but I think most were ignorant of how to make the fur motor purr.

[razz]

i heard his wife had to hide his guns so he wouldn't kill himself, then he found a gun in the ventilation ducts. if life was like that in the end, there must a have been a LOT of tension in bed.