A Farewell to Arms

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1929

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Book 2, Chapters 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 2, Chapter 13 Summary

When Frederic arrives at the hospital, no one is expecting his arrival. His first challenge is getting into the elevator, which is too small for a stretcher, so the porter helps the stretcher-bearers carry Frederic in the elevator. The nurse, Mrs. Walker, is upset because she doesn’t know what to do with him since no one was expected yet. She is elderly and cannot read Frederic’s papers, which are in Italian, and she begins crying. Frederic takes charge of the situation by having the porter put him in a room, and then, after tipping everyone, he asks everyone to leave so that he can sleep.

The next morning, Miss Gage, a nurse whom Frederic notes is young and pretty, seems much more prepared in taking care of Frederic. She informs him that the doctor is at Lake Como and will be arriving later. He asks her repeatedly when the other nurses will be arriving, clearly hoping to see Catherine soon. He also meets Miss Van Campen, the superintendent, and there is an immediate dislike between the two of them. He asks the porter to get him some wine and vermouth, which he hides under the bed, as well as some newspapers, which he reads, learning of news of the front and the list of the dead with their decorations. That night he wakes, scared from his dream, “and then went back to sleep trying to stay outside of [his] dream” (77).

Book 2, Chapter 14 Summary

Frederic awakens and at first thinks he is still back at the front. Miss Gage, who Frederic observes no longer looks as young and pretty as she did before, enters and tells him she discovered the alcohol that Frederic was drinking. She tells him not to drink alone and that she would have joined him. She also informs him that Miss Barkley, who she doesn’t like, has arrived. Frederic asks for a barber, and when Frederic asks for news of the war, the barber is rude to him. He finds out that the barber mistakenly thought that he was an Austrian officer, which the porter thinks is funny. When Catherine arrives, he immediately feels that he is in love with her. They kiss, and he begs her to sleep with him. She does, although it is not narrated. Instead, the reader is simply told that the door was open again, and Catherine says, “Now do you believe I love you?” (81). They both have to be cautious about their relationships. Frederic realizes that even though he did not want to fall in love, he is in love with her. Later, Miss Gage arrives with news that the doctor is on his way.

Book 2, Chapter 15 Summary

When the doctor finally arrives, he inspects Frederic’s legs, but then decides that Frederic needs an X-ray from the Ospedale Maggiore. The doctor flirts with Miss Gage saying that she is more beautiful than Cleopatra, after asking Frederic how many Austrians he had killed. Frederic responds, saying plenty, even though the real answer is none. Catherine brings him his X-ray to look at and then must leave. The three doctors arrive: the house doctor, the bearded doctor (who is a First Captain), and the other is simply, the “third doctor” (83).

During the examination, Frederic questions their competence by reflecting on the fact that incompetent doctors often travel in threes. When the First Captain says that he can’t operate on him for six months, Frederic wants a second opinion. He wants a surgeon with a higher ranking. Doctor Valentini is a major, and Frederic clearly trusts his judgment. He is brashly confident, saying he can operate tomorrow.

Book 2, Chapters 13-15 Analysis

In these short chapters, Frederic’s relationship with Catherine quickly progresses. As soon as they see each other, Frederic is able to convince her to sleep with him, although a clear gap in the text exists during the scene where they have sex. Despite labeling their interaction as a "game" (26) at first, he finds himself drawn to her and falling in love with her, against all of his expectations.

The doctors and Frederic treat the nurses as sexual objects, often commenting on their physical looks. Frederic approves of the nurses who are young and pretty, but clearly has little regard for the older nurses. Miss Gage repeatedly asks Frederic to be nicer to Miss Van Campen because she has a difficult job.

Confusions over nationalities continue to persist. The barber thinks Frederic is Austrian, and Frederic feels in danger with him holding the blade so close to his neck. Miss Van Campen distrusts Frederic because he chooses to fight with the Italians. Many mistake him for Italian because of his facility with the language.

The incompetence of the doctors is clearly seen when one of the doctors cannot tell the difference between the right and left foot, which is contrasted with Catherine, who had easily pointed out the differences to Frederic just prior to the scene. These doctors are the authorities and yet the women, who in some cases know better, are the ones who are treated as nothing more than a pretty face.

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By Ernest Hemingway

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A Clean, Well-Lighted Place