Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Katie Owens-Murphy
Second Advisor
Matthew Price
Abstract
Since the posthumous publication of his unfinished manuscript The Garden of Eden and an increase in LGBTQ+ studies, Ernest Hemingway has received renewed attention for his exploration of gender roles and questioning of binary gender. While Garden is not the first piece of Hemingway’s to hint at queer/ gender nonconforming characters, it was the first to be so open about it. I argue, however, that these themes have been present since Hemingway’s first novel A Farewell to Arms and that critics have misunderstood the depth and nuance of the author’s early works. While a few scholars have discussed the similarities between A Farewell to Arms and Garden of Eden, and they are very few and very far between, they do not discuss much theory in relation to the works or their queer connections. By using the works of Judith Butler, Alok Vaid-Menon, and bell hooks, I will discuss the subtle queer themes in A Farewell to Arms, comparing it to Garden of Eden while also bringing in examples from bridge works between these publications and how they relate to gender, queer, and feminist theory. By using The Garden of Eden as a lens for A Farewell to Arms, I will also make a case for the benefits of reading Hemingway anachronistically as a way to see the parallels between the pieces, not only the themes, but activities and actions of the characters. Just as well, some revelations of Hemingway’s personal life and sexual interests show that these characters may not only be creations of fiction in a writing exercise, but potentially stand-ins for Hemingway and his sexual partner(s), expressing a desire to explore in ways he might not have been able to.
Recommended Citation
Stutts, Charles, "From the Garden to the Trenches" (2024). Theses. 19.
https://roar.una.edu/theses/19
