Testimony of Trauma: Ernest Hemingway’s Narrative Progression in Across the River and into the Trees by Kathleen K. Robinson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Philip Sipiora, Ph.D Michael Clune, Ph.D. Elizabeth Metzger, Ph.D. James Meredith, Ph.D. Victor Peppard, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 19, 2010 Keywords: Point of view, subjectivity, objectivity, abject, and fictional structures © Copyright 2010, Kathleen K. Robinson Dedication To my family-From the awkward time when books represented my whole world, my parents-Robert C. Robinson and Patricia K. Mader—have always supported my quest for knowledge. Never telling me that I could not do anything and never setting any bar on my desires, my parents assisted in creating my passion for success and my desire to share that knowledge with others. To them I offer the most profound expression of gratitude. John Mader, my stepfather, whose questions and attention to my writing has endeavored my abilities, I express my gratitude. My husband, Brian Frederick Bushnell Malone, who listened to me prattle, who read the numerous drafts of this work, and who held my hand and my heart while I completed the work—may you always know that this work is as much a consequence of our union as it is of my mind. Without his support and compassion, these ideas would not be here. The work is dedicated to my grandparents, Charles Louis Robinson and Audrey Ayres Robinson. My grandfather was a member of a tank destroyer battalion during World War II, and during the War, he met my grandmother, who was a British nurse. She outranked him, so he had to walk behind her. His unit was in the Hurtgen Forest; unfortunately, he has passed on so I am unable to ask if he had any interactions with Hemingway. My grandparents were married for close to sixty years. The narrative of their lives, as well as the narratives and lives of their progeny, were profoundly affected by the war. May this work continue to serve as a testimony to their experiences in war and in love. Acknowledgements I would first like to express my thanks to the International Hemingway Society’s Smith-Reynolds Founders’ Fellowship for awarding me time and financial support in completing my research. The following exploration represents a culmination of work that I started many, many years ago. I have desired to speak about this topic for years, and I have had many individuals who have supported and assisted me in finally reaching this stage. When Dr. Silvia Ruffo-Fiore told me that I should go to graduate school as I was capable of great success, I wanted to believe her, but it wasn’t until I started the process that I realized that her “should” was to become a “would.” The various mentors who have fostered me throughout my journey have strongly enabled me to be able to say with conviction the thoughts on the following pages. Dr. Phillip Sipiora has been a tireless supporter of me and my work. From the very first Modern American Literature course I took with him in Master’s program, he kindly and emphatically supported my explorations (even if they were peppered with extended sentences and odd structures of thought). I thank him for his respect and his compassion in always encouraging me to follow my mind. Dr. Elizabeth Metzger is to be acknowledged for her work not only on this project but on all aspects of my scholarly life. She has supported me as a teacher, a scholar, and a professional. Dr. Metzger’s never-ending support of my work—teaching, evaluating, and consulting—has made me into the scholar and teacher that I am. Dr. Michael Clune’s keen eye and engaged mind offered me insight into many elements of theory and thought. His desire to foster not just academic performance but instead to engage in academic inquiry allowed me the opportunity to see and to understand the value of doing pertinent scholarly work. Overall, his desire to assist me in crafting prose that was reader-ly and fully illustrating my thoughts has aided in making this a work that I am proud of in all aspects. As I reach the end of the hands that touched and shaped this dissertation, I have to mention, with bowed head, the debt I owe to Dr. James Meredith. Dr. Meredith has been part of this process since I first put pen to paper in relation to this idea. He has patiently and diligently read copious drafts of this work (I think I generated well over 2000 pages of drafts of this project in the last two years). His support and mentorship has allowed me to be fully comfortable in wearing the mantle of scholar. To E. Stone Shiflet—from the first day of my graduate school experience, you have been my tireless supporter, haranguer, friend, and confidante. When ever I doubted myself or questioned my path, you forced me to move on and above those feelings. You and Miss Elinor and Little Man welcomed me into your family and for that I am forever grateful. Table of Contents List of Figures iii Abstract vi Introduction: Hemingway’s Narrative Progression 1 Interiority and Exteriority in Hemingway 5 Memory in Hemingway 9 Evolving Subjectivity in Hemingway 14 Narrative Structure in Hemingway 17 Trauma in Hemingway 23 The Importance of Hemingway’s Narrative Progression 29 Chapter One: Hemingway, War, Trauma, and Texts 34 Hemingway and the Trauma of the Early Twentieth Century 38 Perception, Subjectivity, and Trauma in Hemingway’s Fiction 46 Returning Remembering Home and Trauma in Hemingway’s Fiction 53 Chapter Two: Style, Structure, and Trauma in Hemingway’s Fiction 59 War Trauma and Literature in the Twentieth Century 65 Trauma and the Narrative in Hemingway’s Fiction 75 Chapter Three: Subjectivity, Temporality, and Trauma in Hemingway 84 Subjectivity, Semantics, Temporality, Trauma, and Hemingway 86 Hemingway’s Progression: Texts and Trauma 103 Chapter Four: Hemingway’s Hermeneutics: Trauma and Across the River 106 Role of Trauma in Interpreting Hemingway’s ARIT 108 Interpreting Hemingway’s ARIT: The Evolution of Subjectivity via Trauma 129 Interpreting Hemingway’s Calculus: Subjectivity, Trauma and ARIT 130 Chapter Five: Calculated Calculus: Hemingway’s ARIT as Trauma Narrative 134 Hemingway’s Iceberg of Memory: Narrative Frame Vehicle 140 Memory and War: Function of Trauma in Hemingway’s Calculus of ARIT 150 i The Structure of Remembering Trauma in Hemingway’s ARIT 172 Conclusion: Trauma’s Effects in Hemingway’s Narrative Progression 178 Works Cited 191 Bibliography 206 About the Author end page ii List of Figures Figure 1 Tulving and LePage 136 Figure 2 Russo’s Time Frame of ARIT 139 iii Abbreviations ARIT Across the River and into the Trees BL By-Line CSS The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway (Finca Vigia Edition) DTA Death in the Afternoon FC The Fifth Column AFTA A Farewell to Arms FWBT From Whom the Bell Tolls GE The Garden of Eden GHA Green Hills of Africa IOT In Our Time IITS Islands in the Stream MAW Men at War MF A Moveable Feast MWW Men Without Women NAS The Nick Adams Stories SAR The Sun Also Rises SL Selected Letters: 1917-161 iv TFL True at First Light or Under Kilimanjaro THHN To Have and Have Not TS The Torrents of Spring TOMATS The Old Man and the Sea v Testimony of Trauma: Ernest Hemingway’s Narrative Progression in Across the River and into the Trees Kathleen Robinson ABSTRACT Specifically, the study of the progression focuses on examining Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees for evidence of traumas’ effects on Hemingway’s development of narrative structure. Throughout his career, Hemingway pinpoints the importance of witnessing and experiencing war on a writer. I endeavor to demonstrate—in detail, achieved by close reading, and with solid evidence—how the imbrication of trauma in Across the River and into the Trees represents a vital moment in Hemingway’s progression as a writer. My assertion, a new calculus of subjectivity and objectivity appearing in the narrative structure via the protagonist, viably counters previous critical dismissal of this text and offers new horizons for studies of form and content in Hemingway’s writing. vi Introduction: Hemingway’s Narrative Progression Following Ernest Miller Hemingway’s death in 1961, many critics concentrate on making explicit what they see in his texts. However, few critics focus their critical eyes on the study of Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees (ARIT) (1950). Hemingway’s problematic text has languished in relative obscurity, most often cast simply as the novel that chronologically prefigures Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952) and follows the successful reception of The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929). However, the study of Hemingway’s ARIT, often avoided as it is one of the problematic texts in the Hemingway canon, can refine and engage the study of Hemingway’s fiction. In fact, critical study of ARIT reveals necessary and previously unexamined components of Hemingway’s work. The study of Hemingway’s ARIT exposes the merits of the text and illuminates issues important to understanding the narrative progression occurring in Hemingway’s fiction. Hemingway’s ARIT (1950) illustrates a narrative progression in the work that references his desire, verbalized in 1933. Hemingway observes that his goal in writing fiction is to achieve success at “the hardest thing in the world”—“to 1 write straight honest prose on human beings” (Hemingway By-Line 183).1 As such, Hemingway’s development in ARIT reveals aspects of this progression, which appear in even in his early fiction.