Why You Should Read Hemingway for Valentine’s Day

Ava Gomez

When you think of Ernest Hemingway, chances are the word “romantic” doesn’t come to mind. Hemingway is most often associated with his ultra-masculine persona: deep sea fishing, hunting game in the hills of Africa, drunken brawls, violent bull fights, and being side-by-side with soldiers liberating Paris. When you look more closely, you’ll find that Hemingway was no stranger to romance, crafting beautiful tales of love and loss that tear at the heartstrings, making him a perfect choice to read this upcoming Valentine’s Day. Here are some examples of the romantic Hemingway to convince you:

1. A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway’s seminal love story and first bestseller. Set in Italy and Switzerland during WWI, A Farewell to Arms follows Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American serving in the ambulance corps of the Italian army, and Catherine Barkley, an English nurse, as they slowly fall in love. The novel contains some of Hemingway’s classically romantic moments:

“When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me. She looked toward the door, saw there was no one, then she sat on the side of the bed and leaned over and kissed me.”

“Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others ... But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.”

“My life used to be full of everything. Now if you aren't with me I haven't a thing in the world.”

2. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Set during the Spanish Civil War, For Whom the Bell Tolls follows the American volunteer and demolitions expert Robert Jordan as he joins forces with a Republican guerilla unit in his mission to blow up a bridge during the Segovia Offensive. While not explicitly a romantic tale, For Whom the Bell Tolls contains one of the most stunning love stories in literature, as Robert Jordan falls in love with Maria, a young Spanish woman rescued by the guerilla group from the fascists. Hemingway’s description of Robert Jordan and Maria first holding hands is nothing short of magnificent:

“They were walking through the heather of the mountain meadow and Robert Jordan felt the brushing of the heather against his legs, felt the weight of his pistol in its holster against his thigh, felt the sun on his head, felt the breeze from the snow of the mountain peaks cool on his back and, in his hand, he felt the girl’s hand firm and strong, the fingers locked in his. From it, from the palm of her hand against the palm of his, from their fingers locked together, and from her wrist across his wrist something came from her hand, her fingers and her wrist to his that was as fresh as the first light air that moving toward you over the sea barely wrinkles the glassy surface of a calm, as light as a feather moved across one’s lip, or a leaf falling when there is no breeze; so light that it could be felt with the touch of their fingers alone, but that was so strengthened, so intensified, and made so urgent, so aching and so strong by the hard pressure of their fingers and the close pressed palm and wrist, that it was as though a current moved up his arm and filled his whole body with an aching hollowness of wanting.”

3. The End of Something & The Three Day Blow

For those who are perhaps feeling bitter this Valentines, Hemingway still has something for you. Set in the cold autumn of Northern Michigan, The End of Something and The Three Day Blow are two short stories that follow Nick Adams breaking up with his girlfriend, Marjorie, and the grief and confusion he feels following this romantic loss. The End of Something will give you context, but it is The Three Day Blow that contains harshly relatable moments of the devastation that comes with a breakup, delivered beautifully by Hemingway as Nick gets drunk with his friend Bill:

“Nick said nothing. The liquor had all died out of him and left him alone. Bill wasn't there. He wasn't sitting in front of the fire or going fishing tomorrow with Bill and his dad or anything. He wasn't drunk. It was all gone. All he knew was that he had once had Marjorie and that he had lost her. She was gone and he had sent her away. That was all that mattered. He might never see her again. Probably he never would. It was all gone, finished.”

Ultimately, while Hemingway might be the poster-child for the macho, he is one of the most romantic writers of all time. Hopefully, these examples convince you to blow off your other plans to have a date with Ernest this Valentines Day.