EXISTENTIAL DISILLUSIONMENT IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S A FAREWELL TO ARMS

ICSSR Sponsored One Day National Seminar on Literature, War and Memory: Narratives of Trauma and Healing in 20th and 21st Century English Literature 112 EXISTENTIAL DISILLUSIONMENT IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S A FAREWELL TO ARMS Dr. G. Anuradha Assistant Professor, Department of English, Sona College of Arts and Science, Salem Dr. M. Aravindh Assistant Professor, Department of English, Sona College of Arts and Science, Salem https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17283445 Abstract The paper attempts to explore the existential themes through the lens of war and love in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. The novel depicts the protagonist’s sense of meaninglessness, anxiety, disillusionment and alienation as he confronts the brutality and futility of war. War is a major cause of the feelings of detachment and hopelessness in life. The novel stands as a testament to the enduring complexity of human emotion in times of crisis. Through stark realism and emotional curb, it reflects the deep blemishes left by war. The paper brings to limelight the trauma and human vulnerability and concludes highlighting the fragility of human connection in a world consumed by violence. Keywords: existential disillusionment, anxiety, meaningless, hopelessness, futility. “War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost limits.” - Carl von Clausewitz (O’Connor) Carl von Clausewitz asserted that war, by its nature, involves “endless violence, devastation, and loss—its intrinsic destructiveness devoid of any moral justification” (von Clausewitz 45). In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway transforms this cold realism into a deeply existential narrative, tracing Lieutenant Frederic Henry’s undoing amid warfare, love, and death. Through minimalist prose and subtle symbolism, Hemingway portrays not just personal disillusionment but an existential despair wherein meaning must be forged, if at all, in an indifferent universe. Frederic enters the war with an ill-defined notion of noble duty but quickly recoils from glorified rhetoric: “I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice” (Hemingway 14). This early disquiet signals a departure from conventional heroic narratives. Michael Reynolds observes that Frederic’s emotional arc mirrors Hemingway’s “own wartime disillusionment, providing autobiographical authenticity to the character’s destabilisation” (Reynolds 87). Scholar Rajashekhar Yarbagi further identifies the novel as an exploration of “trauma, disillusionment, and existential crisis, rather than glorified heroism” (Yarbagi 330). These layers establish Frederic as an existential antihero whose journey embodies the collapse of meaning traditionally sustained by war and romance. The novel’s war scenes emphasize random cruelty rather than purpose. When Frederic is severely wounded, he describes it matter-of-factly: “I knew I was hit and leaned over. The sun was hot, the snow looked bright, and the whole thing was very pleasant” (Hemingway 54). The surreal calm surrounding a violent injury underscores Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory”—a stripped-down style that reveals emotional depth beneath its austere surface (Mambrol). Later, during the chaotic retreat at Caporetto, he reports, “There were many more dead than the wounded. The dead were lying everywhere” (Hemingway 179). There is no romanticization, only desolation. Literature that contextualizes war as cleansing or purposeful offers nothing here; instead, the universe is silent and indifferent. This collapse of meaning prompts Frederic’s desertion. Declaring “I was not made to think. I was made to eat. My god, yes, to eat and drink and sleep with Catherine” (Hemingway 243), he opts for basic, immediate life – emotional and physical sustenance – choosing ephemeral human ICSSR Sponsored One Day National Seminar on Literature, War and Memory: Narratives of Trauma and Healing in 20th and 21st Century English Literature 113 connection over geopolitical allegiance. Jean-Paul Sartre’s axiom that “existence precedes essence” resonates here: Frederic rejects imposed meaning and embraces freedom, however uncomforted (Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism). Yet this autonomy brings disquiet, not peace. Catherine Barkley becomes the lens through which Frederic tries to rediscover meaning. Her fatalistic remark—“I’m afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it” (Hemingway 126)—invokes the omnipresence of death, even amid love. Her anticipation of loss suffuses their relationship with a muted dread. Crawford’s analysis of existential intimacy highlights that “such relationships offer consolation only for as long as they hold; they are respite from despair, not antidote” (Crawford 152). Their time in Switzerland offers brief insulation from chaos. Frederic describes, “In the daytime we went walking and skiing, and in the evenings, we had dinner and sat in front of the fire” (Hemingway 292). But the idyllic backdrop is undermined by the fragility of their happiness—something Yarbagi frames as a stark existential irony: “the dream of peace persists only long enough to make its loss unbearable” (Yarbagi 331). Catherine’s death during childbirth ruptures their constructed haven. Hemingway’s understated narration intensifies its impact: “But after I had got them out and shut the door and turned off the light, it wasn’t any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue” (Hemingway 332). “No elegy, no outpouring—just a silent acknowledgement of obliteration. Albert Camus writes that the absurd does not negate feeling; suffering remains immediate. Frederic’s emotional emptiness reflects that paradox” (Camus 65). Yet in emptiness, Frederic finds a fragile clarity. “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places” (Hemingway 249), he reflects. Not a redemptive rebirth, but a hardened survival. Gallagher argues that “this is central to existential resilience: authenticity through brokenness rather than transcendence” (Gallagher 125). Scholars have added depth to this existential reading. The journal IJRAR describes the cosmos in the novel as “indifferent—a void against which Frederic confronts his humanity” (IJRAR). Similarly, Quest Journals explores the “ambiguity of life,” positioning Frederic’s experiences as existential confrontations with mortality (Quest Journals). The Modern Education and Development article broadens this theme, emphasizing human struggle, isolation, and mortality in Hemingway’s existential portrayal (Jalolova 324). Wagner-Martin situates the novel within Hemingway’s broader literary project of stripping abstraction from war, exposing existential cores (Wagner-Martin 90). Frederic’s isolation is complete by the novel’s end. Detached from institutional roles, bereft of love’s refuge, he stands alone. Martin Heidegger suggests that “authenticity emerges when one confronts finitude and solitude in a world devoid of preordained meaning” (Heidegger 204). Frederic’s rain-soaked vigil becomes existential witness—no solace, only survival. This reconciles with Harold Bloom’s interpretation: “the novel avoids sentimentality and instead offers a raw, uncompromising humanity that exists without illusions” (Bloom 14). Yarbagi’s conclusion holds that A Farewell to Arms endures as “a modern meditation on existential courage, not triumph—and how individuals must navigate an absurd world without illusions but with resolve” (Yarbagi 333). In this relentless narrative, Hemingway stages war not as a crucible of glory, but as a mirror to human vulnerability. Love is not an answer but a temporary reprieve. Loss does not expiate but affirms existential solitude. Through Frederic’s disillusionment, reality asserts itself not through narrative resolution, but through endurance. This is not resignation—this is humanity alive with awareness, deeply broken yet still moving forward. ICSSR Sponsored One Day National Seminar on Literature, War and Memory: Narratives of Trauma and Healing in 20th and 21st Century English Literature 114 Works Cited Clausewitz, Carl von. On War. Translated by J. J. Graham, Wordsworth Editions, 1997. Cameron. The Myth of Sisyphus. Translated by Justin O’Brien, Vintage International, 1991. Gallagher, Michael. “Authenticity in Disillusionment: Hemingway and the Existential.” American Literature Review, vol. 52, no. 2, 2015, pp. 120–136. Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Translated by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson, Harper & Row, 1962. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. Scribner, 2014. IJRAR. “The Theme of the Struggle for Existence is Predominately explored throughout A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.” International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, vol. 10, no. 1, 2023, www.ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR23A1005.pdf. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025. Jalolova, G. M. “The Interpretation of The Theme Oof Man and Existence In Ernest Hemingway’s Works, Particularly In ‘The Old Man And The Sea’ And ‘A Farewell To Arms ”. Modern Education And Development, Vol. 28, No. 1, June 2025, Pp. 3203, Https://Scientific-Jl.Com/Mod/Article/View/20748. 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