A wonderful novel of Ernest Hemingway “The Sun Also Rises” is a great story of the post war generation, or so called ‘the lost generation’. This topic was very close to the writer’s soul because he, in person, took part in those historical events and knew exactly all terrible consequences engendered by the World War I. Probably this personal experience explains that vivacity and reality of his characters among which we should put on the first place Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. We cannot analyse or judge about this characters without retrospection to the whole generation of people of their age of that time. Their problems are not unique and concerning only them but if we have a more profound look we will see that so many people suffered from the same or, at least, similar difficulties and, to some extend, their fate is alike and it is quite symbolic because it shows the devastation that reigned in the post war world and in souls of so many people.
As for the relations existing between the main heroes I think they are the result of a great impact that all circumstances I have already mentioned had. So, to my mind, their past defines their present, especially the war that caused a great damage to both Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley. But if Jake had a physical injury the problem of Brett is rather of a psychological character. Though I cannot admit that Jake does not have a psychological trauma too because his health problem always bothers his mind and leads to sleepless nights and inexpressible spiritual tortures.
Anyway, it is impossible to analyze the relationship between Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley without more thorough and deep thinking over their characters. On the one hand they have some common traits and on the other hand they can hardly be compared to each other. So, what do they have in common? Certainly, it is their past: Jake has a very serious wound that does not let him lead a normal life, and Brett lost her beloved, moreover, it was her first true love. That is why we see two people who are physically and mentally, or better to say, psychologically damaged. Naturally as they see that they are alike in a way they want and try to be closer to each other looking for mutual understanding and relief of their sufferance. But unfortunately the result is quite opposite: they understand that they cannot live one and the same life because Jake cannot love because of his wound and Brett cannot forget her first love. It seems to me that she does not believe in real love anymore and this fact makes clear to me why she has affairs with so many men and is unhappy in her family life.
Nonetheless, it is obvious that Jake Barnes really loves this woman and he is ready to do everything for her sake. He is ready to fight for this woman and even to arrange her affairs with other men like in the case with Pedro Romero. But at the same time he is jealous, he cannot withstand her temptation and to some degree her indifference as well as his own disability to lead normal life that he considers to be the main reason why she will not stay with him. It results in his self-criticism, he understands that his hopes to live with Brett will not be realized. On loosing all hopes he, consequently, looks for something that could relief his sufferance but nothing can help him even religion or god that did not prevent his wounding. That is why he seems to be disenchanted in everything and he looks like a person who is very skeptical about his future.
As for Brett I would not characterize her attitude to Jake as selfish because despite the fact that like Jake she doesn’t have any illusions that were destroyed by the war but she is still able to love even if this feeling is unconscious. As I said she does not believe that she could have one more real love as strong as her first love to the dead beloved. I think she lost all hopes and the only thing she wants is just to live and to enjoy the life though, in my opinion, it is only superficial impression. In reality, when I think about Lady Brett Ashley I see only a very unhappy woman who has no light at the end of the tunnel. But still we see that at the end she is glad to see Jake Barnes and it is him who she really loves and, probably, doesn’t understand this fact well enough.
Thus, when we observe the relationship of Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley we see two disillusioned, realistic people. They love each other and it is obvious but a severe life does not let them be happy. As all people of the lost generation they continue to live without any definite purpose suffering and being surveyed by their past and their memory about it. But at the same time I have such impression that they cannot live without each other and Jake proves it by his actions: he helps Brett when she is emotionally exhausted and alone and then he cannot do anything or do not want to in order to be with the woman which he loves so much. And Brett looks for Jake’s support, obviously, it is practically impossible for her to live without it despite her love affairs with other men that cannot be treated seriously.
Finally, at the end of my work I want to say that the relationship between the principal characters of “The Sun Also Rises” is highly controversial. On the one hand, they love and need each other but, on the other hand, they cannot do it because of either physical or psychological traumas and it is quite symbolic that finally Jake comes to Brett and they continue such strange, ambiguous relations.
