Hemingway’s Primitivism

This book would not have been possible without the loving encouragement of my late father, John Rooney. His belief in my abilities certainly outweighed my own. Dad, this is for you.

I am also eternally grateful to my family for their love and support during the long and often stressful process of writing this book. I would especially like to thank my dear mother, JoAnn, who taught me about strength, persistence and the importance of generosity. She inspires me every single day. And many thanks to my brothers and sisters: Sean, Mary, Alice and Matthew. I am blessed to count each of them as both my siblings as well as my close friends.

A debt of gratitude is owed to those people in my professional life who have been so helpful to me over the years. In particular I would like to thank my teaching mentor, Piotr Sadowski, who I learned so much from when I first started teaching. And to my PhD supervisor, Lee Jenkins, who always seemed to know where I was going with Hemingway before I did but let me discover the path on my own. A very big thank you to Eve Patten, who helped navigate me through the publishing process and endured endless pestering questions. And Jonathan Williams, who was so encouraging and helpful with publishing suggestions. Also, sincere gratitude to Greta Gormley for bringing my book cover ideas to life, she is a digital design master. And, finally, to Anthony Mason at Peter Lang, thank you for all of your help with this project. Your enthusiasm was the extra bit of fuel I needed to get this over the finish line. Each of them played such an important role on my road to getting this book published, so I am eternally grateful.

I would also like to thank my two phenomenal editors: Puck Fletcher and Ruth Learner. Puck worked with me at the start of this journey, helping me to transform my PhD thesis into a workable manuscript. Ruth’s keen eye and exceptional editing skills helped me to finish the process. I cannot thank them enough.

I am a strong believer that close friendships are what get us through life, so I am deeply thankful to the following people: Bill and Benji, who have been so helpful to me over the years; Donna, while we might live on opposite ends of the Earth, she is always close in my heart; Brian, whose loyalty knows no limits; Albert, who always provides me with old world Irish wit and far too many pints; Roisin, whose level-headedness and honesty keep me grounded; Paul, whose wisdom and kindness I envy; Ken, who has been so encouraging and enthusiastic throughout this process, our belly laughs will keep us young forever; Louise, whose ability to find such beauty in life leaves me with hope; and, finally, Matthew, whose talents leave me in awe and often with tears in my eyes, you are my best friend. Each of them inspires me every single day and I cherish every moment I am with them.

And finally, to my husband John. I quite simply would not be the man I am today without him by my side every step of the way. He is the kindest and most gentle soul I have ever met, and I am blessed to have him in my life. He is my now, my always and my forever.

Hemingway remains a divisive topic, perhaps now more so than ever. In a feature aptly titled, ‘The Old Man and the PC’ Dominique Hines details how publishers are now putting ‘language and attitude’ warnings on Hemingway’s novels, alerting readers to possible antisemitism, racism, homophobia and sexism. In David Barnes’ article ‘What Hemingway means in the 21^st Century’ he tells us that, ‘talking about Ernest Hemingway is like talking about an embarrassing ancestor’. And D. Quentin Miller provides us with an anecdote, telling us that ‘In recent years students arrive in my classes with relatively little knowledge of Hemingway – close to none, in most cases. They recognise his name and perhaps a sliver of his legend ... but he has decidedly fallen off the syllabi of high school and introductory college literature courses’ (40). Alternatively, the journalist Gerrit Marshall out-Hemingway’d 140 other contestants at the forty-second annual Hemingway look-alike contest at Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West Florida. Love him or hate him, Hemingway continues to divide opinions.

I was recently discussing my book on Hemingway with a colleague, and she immediately quipped, ‘Why on Earth would you want to defend the literary poster boy for heterosexual white male assholery? Especially now, when so many of us are trying to assert our own voice.’ I ruminated on her comment for days until I realised that, yes, during these times of heated discussions on race, gender, sexuality and the environment, now is the perfect time to discuss Hemingway. My friend’s observation illuminated several different factors for me. First, that the Hemingway image of the ‘Great White Hunter’ is still as strong as ever, despite decades of scholars pointing out that this was a self-consciously created persona often propagated by Hemingway himself. The fact that this is still the dominant idea people have of Hemingway suggests to me how strong a desire there still is for an untarnished version of the heterosexual white male; whether it be to idolise or demonise. The second and more important thing that was illuminated for me was that in today’s political climate, to defend Hemingway is somehow akin to trying to defend the entire history of white male oppression. This attitude is certainly nothing new, as we have seen in decades of scholarship challenging Hemingway on his purported racism, sexism and homophobia. Why all of this is still relevant now (and in my opinion more crucial than ever) is that during these times of tumultuous debates on identity politics there is a prevailing reluctance to include figures who have been deemed ‘part of the problem’. To my colleague’s point, ‘Why talk about Hemingway when so many of us are trying to assert our own voice?’ I believe it is imperative to include someone like Hemingway in these discussions on race, gender and sexuality to expose how much more nuanced his writings are; indeed, to highlight and expose fresh readings that challenge preconceived assumptions and thus allow for a multitude of voices in the discussion.

In the following pages, I demonstrate how Native American representation in Hemingway’s work marks a starting point for Hemingway’s unique brand of primitivism. The term primitivism is fraught with its own historical and lexical complications, which I address in more detail later. In short, primitivism has two primary strands: first, that of seeing the Other as inferior and easily recruited to establish one’s cultural superiority and, second, that of seeing the Other as mystical and supernatural, a perceived cure for one’s own cultural inadequacies. What I discovered is that Hemingway’s brand of primitivism does not embrace either of these dominant strands: instead, his primitivism is based firmly in reality. Hemingway’s Indians are neither savages nor supernatural beings, they have their faults and thus retain their humanity. While Hemingway’s Indians are historically linked to the natural landscape, they also are participating in its destruction, representing a decline in his American primitivism and thus providing a starting point for his global quest for primal authenticity. But what exactly is primal authenticity? Although the phrase often conjures up notions of colonialism and the imperial gaze; a construct of a pure primitive utopia created by the white oppressor, Hemingway’s understanding differs. In his version, portrayals of the primitive are grounded in realism; his Indians are depicted as real people, with real problems and emotions. For Hemingway, the Native Americans’ relationship to the primitive is complex, their former ties to nature severed as a result of generations of colonisation and subsequent ecological detachment. Hemingway, like other modernists, is attempting to find inspiration and meaning through the primitive; his focus, however, is not a romanticised version of a primal people but a realistic account of their current situation. While there are many examples of Hemingway’s quest for an authentic primitivism throughout his life and work, in this book I focus on the three locations of America, Spain and Africa. When reading Hemingway’s work through the lens of his brand of primitivism, new interpretations are possible. In fact, when examining Hemingway’s work through his particular brand of primitivism, prevalent interpretations of his purported bigotry are challenged and unsettled.

Revisiting Hemingway’s work, with all of its preconceived notions of white male oppression, comes with its own baggage. And it is for this exact reason that I believe it is vital to explore new ways of interpreting Hemingway, to challenge those preconceptions. This is in no way meant to suggest that there is not any validity to some of those interpretations, only that there are new and multilayered ways of reading him. During these times of heated debates on race, religion and gender, exposing more nuanced interpretations of Hemingway’s work could have the ripple effect of creating more balanced debate and discussion. In short, if our beliefs about someone like Hemingway are challenged, perhaps we might then be willing to approach similar subjects with a more open mind. With Hemingway, the baggage will always remain, but perhaps we can unpack it in a completely different way.