Hemingway frequently brings up the theme of Christianity in the novel, and it feels as though there is multiple mentions, if not entire conversations, dedicated to the concept of religion in each part of the book. In Chapter 26, this really stuck out to me as the priest and Frederick Henry have a longer conversation about religion being tied to the war. The priest puts forth the idea that defeat makes one Christian: “‘I only think the Austrians will not stop when they have one a victory. It is in defeat that we become Christian'” (178). Frederick and the priest have a respectful conversation but seem to really disagree on this topic. Frederick points out that the Austrians are Christians too, even though the priest doesn’t seem to see this. Religion is used as a point of connection and solidarity as well as a point of othering and distancing another group. The priest feels so much hope and certainty that the war will end soon and fighting will cease, as he has prayed over this, but Frederick is extremely skeptical of this.
Earlier on in Part 3, as Frederick and Rinaldi are having a discussion, more biblical references are made. Rinaldi refers to himself as the “snake of reason” in reference to the story of Eden, though mixing up the original elements of the story as Frederick points out. They bring up Saint Paul again multiple times, as well as the concept of the Body of Christ while eating dinner.
Overall, I just wanted to mention that theme of Christian religion that reappears so many times in the novel. I’m so so grateful a few others are starting to enjoy the reading of this book, as I’ve enjoyed it since the beginning! The repetitive and straight-forward way that Hemingway writes is something that feels so beautiful and rhythmic, and I really like reading the novel! (There is a small chance I’m convincing myself to like it for the sake of liking it, but I believe I really do, even if it’s drastically different from the other works we’ve read.)
I—I thought that Frederic said that in defeat one becomes Christian, and the priest says the Austrians are Christians?
It would be weird for the priest to deny that the Austrians are Christians, since Austria was the last Catholic monarchy in Europe, Karl I of Austria (who came to the throne during WWI) is a blessed of the Church, and the pope was on house arrest in the Vatican at the time due to the Italian government seizing Rome.
Last week in my other class with Professor Scanlon (Methods of Advanced Literary Studies), we discussed how much religion can be traced in literature. I did a little research and found that there’s a lot of mentions of religion in Hemingway’s novel ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls,’ (another war novel, interestingly enough). Thinking about Christianity in literature kind of makes me wonder what other religions are expressed to this extent? I feel like in the American education system we’re used to reading a lot of literature that has Christian themes hidden within it, but I feel like I haven’t had much exposure to other texts discussing other religions. I just think it’d be informative to explore religion in books in a broader way.
Great point, Maddie, which leads to another word from 295: hegemonic.