Stephanie Wilt

Cramer
College Comp I pd:7
2 November, 2016

The Sentimental Relationships in "Farewell to Arms"

In the book, "Farewell to Arms," all the characters possessed the traits of sentimentalism.
The idea of love was explored in many ways in this book. One example is a love that blooms
between Catherine and Lt. Henry in this novel. Their love and bond grew stronger as they faced
adversities and when their love became real. Love was also explored between Rinaldi and the
Priest. They both represented two different kinds of love. Rinaldi represented sexual and physical
love and the Priest represented spiritual love. Near the end of the story, Henry and the Priest
discussed the difference between true love and lust. The Priest said that true love required
sacrifice. Henry then realized the true meaning of sacrifice and love when Catherine's baby dies.
To begin with, one quote in the book is, "You don't have to pretend to love me. But I do
love you." (Page 117). This has shown Frederic's memory of Catherine and has shown the
beginning of his love for her. Frederic isn't very believable because he is selfish and occasionally
a liar, which is the opposite of Catherine. He would tell Catherine that he loves her before he
really does. Catherine would draw the line with Frederic. She would draw the line and tell
Frederic what she thinks is the truth and she is independent. She is a complex woman who thinks
for herself. She shown careless love for Frederic and played mind games with him. In response,

Frederic would respond kindly and fail. Then, he would try even harder and fail again. The
author barely told us anything about Henry. The narrator hasn't told us any simple things such as
his whereabouts, occupation, marital status, etc. We just learned only some of the information
from the other side of Henry. The author was the same way with Catherine. The author only
revealed information like, her possessing the trait of being brave, what she does present day, and
that she can take care of herself with or without Frederic.
Secondly, the next quote is, "We are war brothers. Kiss me good-bye." (Page 131).This
quote shows the love and brotherhood between Rinaldi and Frederic. Rinaldi appears to have
somewhat of a crush on Henry. In the beginning of the novel, Rinaldi claims to be in love with
Catherine. He then he claims he is not in love with her. Rinaldi seems unbelievable. He says he is
in love with Catherine, then he says he is not in love with Catherine. Then, he seems to flirt with
Frederic so you are not sure where his stance on sexuality stands. Rinaldi acts the way he does
because of his personality. He sleeps with female prostitutes but he always expresses a desire to
kiss Frederic. Frederic relationship with him just shows that he is just an affectionate friend.
Frederic would just push him off when he shows too much affection then just goes on with life.
The narrator brings up about Rinaldi's love affair with Catherine Barkley and the tragic events
and experiences he had in World War I. Rinaldi the narrator remembers the events that happens
from beginning to end. On the other hand, the Rinaldi in the story lived in action and he did not
know how it will end.
In addition to, the next quote is, "I stay long and talk to much." (Page 41). This quote is
from the Priest. In this part of the novel, the Priest confessed to Frederic about why he felt guilty
and that he doesn't want to go on. Priests have to confess to other priests when they feel guilty
and he confessed to Frederic because Frederic is priestly. In this novel, the Priest is like a

backbone to Frederic. The Priest tells Frederic that he believes in God and that much of what he
does revolves around his belief. On the other hand, Frederic does not know what his life's
purpose is and that he is struggles to find his own identity. The Priest helped him try to find
himself as a person but its was hard processing it for Frederic. Frederic was inspired by the
Priest's ability to believe in something and soon enough, Frederic was able to be able to believe
that he is in love with Catherine Barkley. The Priest is believable because even when he had his
guilts and mistakes, he was able to help Frederic get inspired and find himself as a person as well
as many others. The author reveals the Priest as a very specific person. We know things about the
Priest such as where he is from, where his family lives, etc. One thing the Priest does not know if
Frederic's full confession.
Lastly, this quote is, "You better wait till the shelling is over, they want to eat." (Page 37).
This quote shows that Frederic's bravery stems from love. He would do anything for his men and
that he'd rather die than let them down. He was an ambulance driver during the war and risked
his life to take care of the wounded soldiers during the war. He was studying to be an architect at
the time and when the war broke out, he put his studies on hold to make a difference to the
soldiers. The narrator revealed that Frederic would do anything for the soldiers at war. He is
believable when it comes to war and anything for his men.
To conclude, all these characters in a way show a trait of sentimentalism. The main
character, Frederic, has a special bond with all of the characters. Like, Frederic and Catherine
have a love bond. Frederic and the Priest have a spiritual bond, etc. There are a lot of emotions
and feeling between all of the characters. Near the end of the story, Frederic found his true
identity and knows that true love requires sacrifice.