THREE HEMINGWAY

Correspondence

Brothers,

How is life? Paris has been quite the city thus far, if only I had anytime for it. 

I do enjoy my classes. They give me room and an excuse to explore the city in this cold winter. I do not know what else could incentivize me to go outdoors at the current temperatures. Besides food of course. 

L: have you packed for your visit yet? Paris can be quite cold, although it seems to be warming up slightly this week. However, I am not sure if the trend will persist. 

Please bring my calligraphy pen, ink and paper along, I might use them for my art. Also, a thermoflask would be good. The Japanese type with a tea filter. Those things go for an irrational price here given the import tax and whatnot. And of course, my favorite snacks from home. I terribly miss them.

Anticipating your arrival.

One more thing, are you sure you want to arrive on a Sunday? Most shops will be closed and Valentine’s in Paris should be quite special. I am sure Caitlin will not be too bothered by it.

Be nice to Z.

Z: Do you want anything from Paris? Food? How has school been? Anything else interesting in life? Do not do stupid things. Be kind and respectful to the others. Maybe you can visit me on your break in March or May. 

Remember to check in on our grandparents. They are getting on their years and even a phone call will make them very happy. Love you both. 

From younger, L:

Sister,

All is good, although the girlfriend is having some issues lately. She is quite the insecure type and her parents’ divorce is not helping. I try to make to her feel better, but with no clue or avail. Tell me what I should do.

About changing my flight, I think it is best that I spend Valentine’s with her. She is supposed to return to Taiwan on that day but I am trying to convince her to stay for one more day*. 

Do not worry about my packing for Paris. I have been to Japan in winter not too longer remember? And I was perspiring during my school trip to Switzerland two Januaries ago. Besides, I am reserving luggage space for the retail industry of Paris. I already mapped out the stores I want to check out, and my French friends told me of some places to go as well. 

Speaking of that, my friends also gave me a guide to food in Paris. We must go together. I understand you will be quite occupied with school so do not feel guilty if I have to dine out alone. I am quite comfortable with venturing on my own. It is part of the experience too.

I have bought your thermoflask and packed your ink stuff**. Have called grandmother and she sounded vey well. Miss you and see you very soon.

*Caitlin was his first girlfriend, so I forgave his lovesickness.

**During our video conversation, we concluded that L would not need to bring snacks as I discovered new snacks in Paris and I was able to wait until the summer to satisfy my cravings. Besides, even they grew too strong I could always have my family mail me some. 

From youngest, Z:

Yes buy me food. 

And I called grandmother too.

La Femme

My education thus far has informed me of the gender issues in society. Beyond that, the readings discuss the women of the Lost Generation and their roles in Paris. Interestingly, scholars Gammel and Pinsker both address the ladies with their first names, Hadley and Sylvia, while referring to the men with their family names. Does this suggest anything about their attitudes towards the women? Does it imply that the women are not perceived as professionals as hence scholars are at liberty to be on a first name basis with them? I do not know, but my questions do indicate that my interests in gender studies. Therefore, as I become part of the relationship dynamic in my aunt’s household, I cannot help but observe the intricacies of her role as a wife and mother. 

Unlike Hemingway’s first wife Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, whom Gammel argued as his final muse for A Moveable Feast, my aunt is not very anti-modern at all. She is not the stereotypical domestic homemaker. Instead, she juggles between household and business management as I had introduced in an earlier chapter. In addition, she also raised two good children who are capable of leading independent lives of their own. 

As I reflect on my relationship with my brothers, I wonder if what my role as a sister contributes to my almost stereotypical “nagging” and attachment to domestic items such as a specific kind of thermoflask which I believe is better due to the tea filter, price and design.

Gammel suggests that Hadley’s traditional values of family, marriage and life to be the factor for her failed marriage, despite them being some of the qualities that charmed Hemingway as well. Hadley was apparently warned against “domesticat[ing]” Hemingway given her disposition as a little woman. I agree that the different values held contributed to the divergence in the two. The contrasting appetites for life is also reflected Hemingway’s choice of mistress, Hadley’s friend, Pauline Pfeiffer, who was a professional journalist. Similarly, when the affair was exposed, Hemingway chose the modern Pauline over the anti-modern Hadley, a homemaker.

However, while Hadley was compensated quite generously (since Hemingway was not obliged to give her the royalties for The Sun Also Rises) for her consent to Hemingway’s “freedom to marry Pauline”, I would argue that she did not have much of a choice to contest the divorce. Hemingway must have been aware of this as well, for he would not have offered such an alimony of this kind. 

Furthermore, his treatment of Hadley in A Moveable Feast suggest that he admired her for her anti-Modernist sentiments, which Gammel claims as a reflection of his “burden of guilt over this act of abandonment”, even if Hadley did marry well after. Indeed, while Hemingway does not show such affection for his later wives, whom he also betrayed and left one for the other (perhaps due to their being modern, professional women), he reveals a soft spot for Hadley for the vulnerability she embodies. Hemingway fondly recounts as she spoke “softly, like a cat” in a conversation about planning their trip to Spain. The two are depicted as synchronized in thought and act, “We both touched wood on the café table” as they both utter how “lucky” they were. There is a constant use of “we” whenever Hadley appeared in A Moveable Feast. Hemingway was quite insistent on portraying the two as one, idealizing their image as the perfect couple, so perfect that they, according to him, had to be “forg[iven]” for “being in love and being married.” On the other hand, one could propose that it is the association of Paris, the primary background of Hemingway’s first marriage and the subject of his nostalgia, that evoked Hemingway’s sentimental portrayal of Hadley and her endearing “Tatie” nickname for him. 

Perhaps generations does improve over time. My aunt seems to have struck the balance and emerged as the synthesis of the dialogue between the modernist and anti-modernist women.

In Sylvia Beach’s case, the highlight of her role as a woman was positioned in the professional realm as a publisher and business owner. The challenges she encountered as a publisher for Joyce’s Ulysses were largely due to her accommodating nature. Joyce’s passive-aggressive tone in his letters to Beach reflects his dominance in the relationship, despite Beach being, in laymen terms, his boss. While some may attribute Beach’s continuous efforts to fulfill Joyce’s requests to her gender and the power implications it might have had in society at that time, I still believe that it was mostly her character or personality. If she had the disposition of Gertrude Stein, she would have handled Joyce quite differently.

At the same time, it was also Beach’s gentle nature that commands the admiration of Hemingway. He attributes her to “a small animal”, and her “kind, cheerful” nature made her very amicable. We meet this optimistic lady for ourselves in Shakespeare and Company. She took things to her stride, living through Nazi-occupied Paris day by day and accommodating each change it brought. Although her persistence to remain in Paris was an interesting reflection of strength. One might wonder that if she had the courage to live through the Nazi occupation, why did she not have the courage to confront Joyce? 

Indeed, Beach’s unsent letter reveal her exasperation with Joyce’s continuous demands. Supposing that she intentionally did not letter, it further attests to her compromising temperament. However, we do see a more human, dynamic Beach through her use of the letter as an outlet for her grievances.