Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Women Without Men: Hemingway's Female Characters, Kelly Brillhart

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Ernest Hemingway wrote four major novels and dozens of short stories during his long career as one of America's preeminent twentieth century writers. Both during his lifetime and after his death, critics have written extensively about his work, analyzing it, interpreting it, and evaluating it. Perhaps the most debated aspect of the canon is Hemingway's treatment of female characters. In the past, critics tended to arrange Hemingway's heroines into categories, frequently dividing them into two groups: the bitches and the goddesses. More recent criticism eschews the restrictions of categories, focusing on the women as individuals and attempting to explain their …