Table of Contents

I

Introduction

2

II II.1 II.2 II.3

Jake Barnes Jake Barnes - Character Description Jake‘s Male Identity Relevance of Female Characters 3 4 5

III

Robert Cohn 6 7 9

III.1 Robert Cohn - Character Description III.2 Cohn‘s Male Identity III.3 Relevance of Female Characters

IV IV.1 IV.2 IV.3

Pedro Romero Pedro Romero - Character Description Romero‘s Male Identity Relevance of Female Characters 10 11 12

V

Conclusion

13

VI

Works Cited

14

1

I

Introduction

While North American literature up to the 20th century clearly defines gender roles, there is a shift in thinking after World War I. Not only are gender stereotypes and boundaries between the sexes gradually dissolving within the course of the history of literature and culture in general, but also the topic of gender itself is addressed more openly. This holds especially true for Ernest Hemingway‘s writings. Hemingway did not only make gender and gender identification a topic, but his writings often also contain elements of deconstruction of gender stereotypes, an example being The Garden of Eden, which is partially devoted to the conflict of reversed gender roles. Unsurprisingly, Hemingway was also preoccupied with the mutual influence and effect of the two sexes, male and female, on each other. One piece of literature which underlines this change towards thinking more freely across fixed gender boundaries but which also stands out as a case study on how gender identity is formed, is Hemingway‘s novel The Sun also Rises, which was first published in 1926. On the surface level, The Sun also Rises tells the story of a group of American expatriates living in Europe, who engage in a trip to Pamplona in order to see the bullfights. Mainly, the plot revolves around the romantic relationship between the first-person narrative‘s narrator, Jake Barnes, and the