In response to the
comments on my previous post, I do agree that Brett does have feelings towards Jake.
We have established that the two could never be in a relationship for several
reasons, and due to this, they have settled on being friends instead. But I think
that in this so called friendship – Brett manipulates Jake for her own motives and
desires. For instance, the scene where she talks with Jake about how she wants Romero.
She uses Jake to help her “hook-up” with Romero. At some points in the
conversation, Jake didn’t really want her to go through with it, which can be
observed when they say:
“I’m
a goner. I’m mad about the Romero boy. I’m in love with him, I think.”
“I
wouldn’t be if I were you.”
“I
can’t help it. I’ve never been able to help anything.”
“You
ought to stop it.”
“How
can I stop it? I can’t stop things. Feel that?" (187)
Despite this resistance
from Jake, Brett blatantly states that she can't help her ways; and what Brett
wants, Brett gets. She makes it seem as if her desire for Romero (and men in
general) is some force of nature that is completely out of her control. And she
uses this excuse against Jake, sort of insisting that she and Romero must happen
and it can only done with his help.
Brett also talks bad
about herself, saying that she’s “never felt such a bitch.” And after this
statement, Jake just gives into what she wants him to do. I think Brett called herself
a bitch because she knows he doesn’t want her to think erroneously of herself.
And by saying that, Jake would do what she asked in order to please her and make
her feel better about herself.
So overall, I have a
concept that maybe Brett does all the things she does with other men to fill a
void that Jake can't fill. And you can see during some vulnerable conversations
between Jake and Brett (such as the one above) – Brett has an emotional tether to
Jake, but nothing beyond that can happen. So Brett uses these emotions between
them to her advantage when it comes to other men and to getting what she wants
from him. And in this scene especially, you can see how evident Brett’s
manipulation towards Jake can be.
I kind of think that Brett calling herself a bitch is her way of acknowledging that "hey, yeah, I've made some messed up decisions in my relationships." But, also... like you pointed out, she still continues to go through with chasing Romero. You're also right about the fact that Jake just can't make her whole--but that does raise the question on whether or not anyone is actually perfect for Brett, and even whether or not Jake without a war wound would be good either.
ReplyDeleteI see this all as sort of a viscous cycle. Of course Jake didn't want her getting together with Romero, he's in love with her! He just doesn't know how exactly to express that and nothing can ever happen between them so I think he's kind of accepted his designation as "wing-man". She acknowledges that, like you said, but doesn't like treating him like this, hence the self-deprecating remarks, but doesn't want to become too attached so she's spending the rest of her life in a sexless relationship. He, in turn, also not wanting to overtly seem too attached (although he does tell her he loves her early on) accepts his demotion to wing-man and the cycle repeats.
ReplyDeleteI agree Raphie, I think she's definitely written as a super manipulative character, whether she's conscious or not of the way she treats Jake. It seemed to me a little sexist though; the only other female character in this novel is Frances, who gets sent off to England as soon as she is introduced. Brett, who is the only recurring lady in the novel, just seems to be written to totally simplify and condense all of her "lady feelings" into this one excuse of "i can't help it! I feel like a bitch, but i just can't help it!" It just feels juvenile, and Hemingway writing her in a way that blames all her behavior on her natural tendencies is, like, a weak move. I found myself thinking "take accountability, Brett!!" More than once when i was reading her dialogue scenes. There's just something really flat and one-dimensional about her as a character, which seems counter intuitive to the whole "Hemingway is a gender defiant and this book is a critique of classic gender roles" argument, but who knows lol
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about how Brett used the "bitch" scene to manipulate Jake. There is no other evidence in the book that she is actually trying to change her ways or that she feels bad about what she has done. In fact, the novel ends with Jake and Brett hanging out again much like they did at the beginning of the novel, further driving home that nothing really changed for Brett over the course of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI see your point here. We see numerous times in the book when Brett confides in Jake her problems, and wishes, and feelings. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Jake is being manipulated. It's seems to me the because we are seeing through Jake's mind, it is easy to get the impression that she is. This is because we as readers can see Jake's emotions and reactions. But think about if we were in the Lady's head. We probably would understand her conflicting emotions better than we can see them through Jake's eyes.
ReplyDeleteIn class discussion I called Brett out on being manipulative and I think you've really got good information to back this up. However When you say she has an emotional tether to Jake I don't think she only uses this to have him help her get men in this scene but also to get emotional support out of him which is shown occasionally such as when she shows up at his house basically asking for him to condone what she is doing and to say that it's ok and that she's still a good person.
ReplyDeleteBrett might be manipulating Jake, but it's not as if he's unaware that she's doing so. He sums it up pretty well after answering her telegram. And yet, he's there for her. Maybe he's a sucker, but maybe this is just the nature of their friendship--it's not as if every time a friend calls on a friend for help it's "manipulative." And it's hard to keep reminding ourselves of this fact, but she doesn't "owe" Jake anything; they aren't in anything like a monogamous relationship, and they both agree that such a relationship is impossible between them. Jake sets her up with Romero, and goes and picks her up afterward. From some angles, this could look like a guy totally getting played, but if Jake's aware of it, and under no illusions about the state of affairs, then maybe it's just a unique form of friendship.
ReplyDelete