The Life of Ernest Hemingway: Women, War, Hunting, Machismo, and Suicide

Photograph of Ernest Hemingway, holding a tommy gun, aboard his yacht, the Pilar. 1935. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Part 1: The Early Years and Women Ernest Hemingway is a literary icon, revered for his groundbreaking style and gripping stories. But beyond his literary accomplishments, Hemingway led a life that was both fascinating and tumultuous. Born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, Hemingway grew up in a conservative household with his mother and father, who were both strict Presbyterians. From a young age, Hemingway was enamored with the outdoors, spending his childhood fishing, hunting, and exploring the woods around his home.

Hemingway attended Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he excelled in English and contributed to the school newspaper. After graduating in 1917, Hemingway worked briefly as a reporter for The Kansas City Star, where he honed his concise, clear writing style. However, his real passion lay in joining the war effort.

In 1918, Hemingway volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War I. While serving in Italy, Hemingway was seriously wounded by mortar fire and spent several months recuperating in a hospital. It was during this time that Hemingway fell in love with a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky, who tended to his injuries.

Ernest Hemingway in Milan, 1918 during WWI. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway was infatuated with von Kurowsky, who was older and more experienced than him, and the two began a passionate affair. However, von Kurowsky ultimately broke off the relationship, devastating Hemingway and inspiring his future literary works.

Agnes von Kurowsky in Milan 1918. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

After the war, Hemingway returned to the United States and began working as a journalist in Chicago. In 1921, Hemingway married his first wife, Hadley Richardson, and the couple moved to Paris, where Hemingway worked as a foreign correspondent. It was in Paris that Hemingway began to develop his distinctive writing style, characterized by short, declarative sentences and sparse, economical prose.

Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Hemingway in Chamby, Switzerland, Winter, 1922. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

While in Paris, Hemingway became involved in the city's expatriate community of writers and artists, including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ezra Pound. It was during this time that Hemingway began to gain recognition for his writing, publishing his first collection of short stories, "In Our Time," in 1925.

However, Hemingway's marriage to Richardson began to falter, and he began an affair with a wealthy American journalist named Pauline Pfeiffer who was a friend of Richardson. In 1927, Hemingway divorced Richardson and married Pfeiffer, with whom he had two sons. Hemingway continued to write, publishing his novel "A Farewell to Arms" in 1929, which drew on his experiences during World War I.

Ernest Hemingway with Pauline, Gregory, John, and Patrick Hemingway and four marlins on the dock in Bimini, 20 July 1935. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Despite his literary success, Hemingway struggled with depression and alcoholism, and his marriage to Pfeiffer was fraught with infidelity and resentment. In 1937, Hemingway met Martha Gellhorn, a journalist and writer who would become his third wife. The two fell deeply in love, and Hemingway divorced Pfeiffer in 1940 to marry Gellhorn.

Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway with unidentified Chinese military officers, Chungking, China, 1941. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's relationship with Gellhorn was passionate and tumultuous, marked by affairs and arguments. The two travelled extensively, covering the Spanish Civil War and World War II as journalists. Hemingway continued to write, publishing his novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in 1940, which drew on his experiences in Spain.

Hemingway posing for a dust jacket photo by Lloyd Arnold for the first edition of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", at the Sun Valley Lodge, Idaho, late 1939. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

At this point, Hemingway's mental health was beginning to deteriorate, and he was struggling with depression and paranoia. His marriage to Gellhorn ultimately ended in divorce. Despite the end of his marriage to Gellhorn, Hemingway continued to pursue relationships with women throughout his life. In 1946, he married his fourth and final wife, Mary Welsh, who would remain with him until his death.

Photograph of Ernest and Mary Hemingway at the Finca Vigia, his home in Cuba. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's relationships with women were complex and often problematic. He had a reputation for being a womanizer, and his writing frequently portrayed women as objects of desire rather than complex individuals. However, Hemingway was also drawn to strong, independent women who challenged him intellectually and creatively.

One such woman was Martha Gellhorn, who as an accomplished journalist and writer in her own right, challenged his portrayals of the archetypical female of the time. Gellhorn was one of the few women in Hemingway's life who was able to match him in terms of talent and ambition, and their relationship was marked by mutual respect and admiration.

Another important woman in Hemingway's life was his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway. Hemingway had a complicated relationship with his mother, who was allegedly very domineering and controlling. In spite of this, she also instilled in him a love of literature and a sense of discipline that would serve him well throughout his career.

Ernest Hemingway with his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway 1899. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's relationships with women were not just romantic. He also had very close friendships with several female writers, including Gertrude Stein and Djuna Barnes, who were important influences on his work and life.

In many ways, Hemingway's relationships with women were a reflection of the attitudes and expectations of his time. Hemingway was a product of the early 20th century, a time when traditional gender roles were still firmly entrenched.

Hemingway's relationships with women also reveal a more complex and nuanced view of gender roles. Hemingway was drawn to women who were strong and independent, and who challenged him intellectually and creatively. He was also deeply affected by the women in his life, particularly his mother and Agnes von Kurowsky, whose rejection inspired his writing.

Part 2: War and Hunting Ernest Hemingway was not just a writer, he was also a passionate outdoorsman and adventurer. From a young age, Hemingway was drawn to the outdoors, spending his childhood hunting, fishing, and exploring the woods around his home. This love of the outdoors would shape much of Hemingway's life and work.

Ernest Hemingway on safari, Africa. January, 1934. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

He believed that hunting was a way of reclaiming a lost sense of masculinity, of tapping into a raw, primal energy that had been eroded by modern civilization.

Hemingway's experiences during World War I greatly influenced his love of hunting and his fascination with violence. He was a skilled hunter, and he often wrote about the thrill of the chase and the thrill of the kill. His writing is filled with vivid descriptions of hunting and fishing, and he often used these activities as metaphors for larger themes and ideas.

However, Hemingway's love of hunting was not just about the thrill of the chase. For Hemingway, hunting was a way of connecting with the natural world and with his own primal instincts. He believed that hunting was a way of reclaiming a lost sense of masculinity, of tapping into a raw, primal energy that had been eroded by modern civilization.

Ernest Hemingway and Colonel Charles T. "Buck" Lanham with captured artillery in Schweiler, Germany, 18 September 1944. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's love of hunting was also connected to his fascination with violence. Hemingway was deeply interested in the nature of violence, both in the context of war and in the context of everyday life. He believed that violence was an inherent part of the human experience and that it was necessary to confront it head-on in order to understand it.

This fascination with violence is evident in much of Hemingway's writing. His novels are often marked by scenes of intense physical violence, from the bullfights in "The Sun Also Rises" to the big-game hunting in "The Green Hills of Africa". For Hemingway, these violent acts were not just about killing, but about testing oneself against the ultimate challenge and proving one's courage and skill.

First-edition dust jacket of The Sun Also Rises (1926), the second novel by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Published 1926. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's experiences during World War I also shaped his worldview and his approach to writing. Hemingway was deeply affected by the horrors of war, and he believed that writing was a way of making sense of the chaos and brutality of the world. His writing is marked by a spare, minimalist style that reflects his belief in the power of simplicity and clarity.

Hemingway's approach to writing was also shaped by his experiences as a journalist. He began his career as a journalist, working for newspapers in Kansas City and Toronto before moving to Paris to work as a foreign correspondent. He believed that journalism was an important form of writing, one that required a commitment to truth and accuracy.

His experiences as a journalist likewise shaped his approach to storytelling. He believed that the best stories were those that were based on real-life experiences, and he often drew on his own experiences as a journalist and adventurer to inform his writing.

Part 3: Machismo and Suicide He was known for his larger-than-life persona and his commitment to a certain type of masculinity that emphasized strength, courage, and independence. Hemingway was a man's man, a hard-drinking, hard-living adventurer who lived life very much on his own terms.

Ernest Hemingway with a bull near Pamplona, Spain. Summer 1927. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

This commitment to a certain type of masculinity, known as "machismo," was evident in much of Hemingway's writing. His characters were often rugged individualists who faced danger with courage and stoicism. They were men who refused to be cowed by authority or convention - who lived by their own code of honour.

However, Hemingway's commitment to machismo was not without its dark side. Hemingway was in fact deeply insecure about his own masculinity, and he often sought to prove himself through physical challenges and feats of daring to compensate for this. He was known for his explosive temper and his tendency towards violence - particularly towards women.

Ernest and Pauline Hemingway at the Hemingway's Key West home. 1930s. (Source: Wikimedia Commons).

Hemingway's commitment to machismo was also connected to his struggles with mental illness. Hemingway suffered from depression and anxiety throughout his life, and he often turned to alcohol and other substances as a way of coping with his emotional pain.

This struggle with mental illness ultimately came to a head in the 1950s, when Hemingway's health began to deteriorate rapidly. He suffered from a series of physical and emotional breakdowns, and his writing became increasingly dark and pessimistic.

Ernest Hemingway on safari, Kenya, 1954. (Source: Picryl).

In 1961, Hemingway took his own life at the age of 61. His suicide shocked the literary world and cemented his status as a tragic figure. His suicide was not his first attempt at taking his own life, in fact, he had attempted suicide on several occasions throughout his life, including a particularly serious attempt in 1960 that resulted in his hospitalization. Despite these warning signs, Hemingway was still able to obtain a gun and take his own life the following year.

Regardless of the cause, Hemingway's suicide was a tragic end to a life that was marked by both triumph and tragedy. Hemingway was a herculean figure, a man who embodied a certain type of masculinity and who lived life to the fullest. However, his commitment to this ideal of masculinity certainly had its dark sides.

Ernest Hemingway at the Finca Vigia, Cuba. Holding a shotgun. (Source: Wikipedia Commons).

In the years since his death, there has been much speculation about the causes of Hemingway's suicide. Some scholars have suggested that his struggles with mental illness played a major role, while others have pointed to the pressures of fame and the burden of living up to his own mythic persona. Still, others have suggested that his suicide was the result of a crisis of masculinity, a recognition that the ideal of the tough, independent, and self-sufficient man that he had spent his life embodying was ultimately impossible to sustain.

His work and his life, however, will continue to fascinate and inspire scholars and readers alike, and his legacy remains an enduring part of American literary and cultural history.

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