A Farewell to Arms

By mid-January it is full winter, and everywhere is packed hard with snow. They continue to take long walks in the snow. They talk about the child, assuming it’s a girl, and Catherine asks, “She won’t come between us will she? The little brat” (260). They also discuss their finances. Frederic has received more money from his family, who know he’s in in Switzerland now. Catherine asks if he cares anything about them, and Frederic says, “I did, but we quarreled so much it wore itself out” (261). Catherine says she’d probably like them a lot.

Catherine says again that she wants to cut her hair after the pregnancy and when she’s thin again, Frederic will fall in love with her again. Frederic says how much he already loves her.

The clear cold days of January and February are nearing an end. It is now March 1918, the last year of the war. The rains have arrived. They decide they should move into town to be near the hospital. They take the train from Montreux to Lausanne. At the hotel, Catherine realizes she needs to go shopping for baby clothes the next day. She also wants to decorate the room so that it seems more like a home.

They are at the hotel for three weeks, often staying in and having their meals in the hotel room, but sometimes walking into town as the weather is getting warmer. They occasionally go for long carriage rides in the country. The baby’s arrival is coming soon, and they know they have limited time together before it comes.

Catherine starts feeling labor pains in the middle of the night. They get ready to go to the hospital, but no one is around to get the elevator, so Frederic brings it up himself. They then have to wait for the taxi, which seems to take a long time. They check into the hospital, and when asked, Catherine replies that she has “no religion” (268). While the nurse is with Catherine, Frederic waits outside the room, praying. In the middle of labor pains, Catherine worries about Frederic and tells him to get some food, especially because his presence makes her self-conscious.

When he returns to the hospital, Catherine is in the delivery room. She is given gas to help her with the pains. By noon, she is still in labor, and Catherine worries about the doctor, telling him he should eat lunch. She suggests that Frederic can give her the gas while the doctor eats. Frederic is happy to have something to do. At 2 pm, he leaves again to get lunch.

When he returns, the doctor says he will examine Catherine. While waiting, Frederic feels awful that their love has trapped Catherine. He wonders what would happen if she dies, and then he immediately renounces the possibility. This question keeps coming back to him. The doctor returns and says they must decide whether to do a high forceps delivery, which is dangerous, or a Caesarean section, which the doctor says is no more dangerous than an ordinary delivery. The doctor advises the C-section, and Frederic agrees.

When they go back in the room, Catherine is happy to have the C-section. She then starts to sob because the gas no longer seems to work for her pains. Frederic turns up the dial but is nervous to give her too much. Catherine says she is no longer brave but broken. Frederic promises her that she won’t die. They rush her into surgery.

The doctor brings out the baby, which looks like a “freshly skinned rabbit” (277). Frederic has “no feeling” for his son because “he nearly killed his mother” (277).He goes back to Catherine, who looks dead. The doctor is sewing up the wound after her C-section, and Frederic thinks it looks like a drawing from the Inquisition. The doctor says she is all right, and Frederic goes to talk to her. When she asks about the baby, Frederic says that he’s fine. The nurse says he must leave because Catherine should not be talking. Outside the room, the nurse talks to Frederic, telling him that the baby is dead; the cord was wrapped around his neck

The nurse tells Frederic to leave and get supper, which he does. A man at the café has a newspaper, and Frederic can see an article about the front. Frederic doesn’t want to leave too early, but then suddenly realizes he should head back to the hospital.

At the hospital he finds out that Catherine is hemorrhaging. Frederic is not allowed in yet, but he proceeds to pray to God, over and over, begging him not to let Catherine dies. He then is allowed inside. Catherine says that she knows she is going to die. The doctor tells her she won’t die. While he is outside, Catherine suffers hemorrhages repeatedly, and then she dies.

He goes to her room and sends out the nurses. When he looks at her, he doesn’t see Catherine. He thinks she just looks like "a statue" (319). He leaves the hospital and heads out into the rain.