A Farewell to Arms

Frederic rows the boat in the dark, with the cold wind and no lights on shore to guide him. When they finally see lights, they have a sense of where they are. They need to get to Switzerland before it gets light out and the guards see them. They must travel over 30 kilometers.

Rowing all night, Frederic tries to stay close to shore but not too close that they can be seen. Catherine suggests using the umbrella as a sail, and it works for a while until the umbrella snaps and Catherine laughs. Catherine gets him a drink and then he rows again. Frederic is exhausted, and Catherine offers to row for a while. Frederic eats and drinks and then takes over again.

They finally make it to the Swiss customs town of Brissago where they stop to have breakfast, excited to finally have gotten out of Italy. They know they will be arrested and brought to the custom house, but Catherine isn’t worried: “We’re British and American citizens in good standing” (240).

When they are brought to the custom house, they are questioned about why they entered Switzerland by boat. Frederic explains that he is a sportsman, and they are tourists arriving in Switzerland for winter sport. They pretend to be cousins, and Frederic says he was studying architecture while Catherine was studying art in Italy. The officials are impressed by the amount of money they have.

They are then sent to Locarno where they are also questioned, but again, because they have money and passports, they are treated well even though Frederic thinks they don’t believe a word of their story. The officials argue about which town is better for winter sport, Montreux or Lacarno. Frederic finds the country as a very different world from Italy.