Rose Fortini

Rose Fortini is a lifelong fan of Ernest Hemingway, the famous American writer and journalist, who developed a stark, understated style of writing that informed American novelists and short-story writers from that point forward. One of Rose Fortini’s favorite novels in the canon of classic American literature is Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Written when Hemingway was about 30 years of age, in 1929, A Farewell to Arms is a somewhat autobiographical novel that considers, simultaneously, the nature of love and suffering as well as the grim and futile character of war. Set in Italy during World War I, A Farewell to Arms examines the life of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American soldier stationed in the Italian ambulance service.

Rose Fortini finds the relationship between Lieutenant Henry and the English nurse’s aide, Catherine Barkley, particularly engaging. Soon after encountering her, Lt. Henry begins courting Ms. Barkley, and after some resistance, she eventually submits to him with loving affection and, for the most part, unwavering loyalty. As a reader familiar with American realism, Rose Fortini knows that the element of romance is often fleeting and vulnerable to tragedy. The relationship between Lt. Henry and Ms. Barkley is no exception. Hemingway is quoted as saying “If two people love each other, there can be no happy end to it.”

Also of interest to Rose Fortini is how A Farewell to Arms relates to Hemingway himself. The themes of helplessness and despair prevalent in the book combined with a sense of deep, ineffable affection and tenderness give the characters more than a passing similarity to the life and loves of Ernest Hemingway. Mrs. Fortini looks to the biographical information from Hemingway’s life to better inform her understanding of his writing. During his lifelong battle with depression and bipolar disorder, Hemingway was also subject to a number of physical problems.