A Very Short Story

“There were chimney swifts in the sky.”

Hemingway uses the image of chimney swifts to create a sense of movement and freedom that contrasts with the soldier’s physical limitations and his current immobile, dependent state. The flight of the swifts also reflects the initial ecstasy of Luz and the soldier, who believe that they have a life together ahead of them that is full of opportunity and possibility. As the narrative progresses, more constraints are placed on the characters’ relationship, and they are forced to face the harsh realities of life.

“Luz sat on the bed. She was cool and fresh in the hot night.”

Luz’s “cool” aspect is contrasted with the heat of Padua. While her coolness and freshness is portrayed positively here, as she appears like a soothing balm in the unbearable heat, it also foreshadows her cool rejection of the soldier later in the story.

“He went under the anaesthetic holding tight on to himself so he would not blab about anything during the silly, talky time.”

The injured soldier exhibits a fear of vulnerability. He worries that he might reveal his innermost thoughts to Luz during his surgery, while their romance is only at an early stage. As a man and a soldier, he is doubly constrained by traditional expectations of masculinity and doesn’t want to act in a way that he considers embarrassing, such as showing that he is afraid.

“Before he went back to the front they went into the Duomo and prayed.”

The content of the couple’s prayer is not disclosed, but the reader may infer that the prayers are for the soldier’s safety at the front and the continuation of their love. The Duomo, Padua’s cathedral, stands in sharp contrast to the chaos and violence of the war that awaits the soldier. The quotation also highlights the cultural significance of religion in Italy during the time of the story, as the Church’s formalities bar a quick and easy marriage before the soldier returns to the front.

“They felt as though they were married, but they wanted everyone to know about it, and to make it so they could not lose it.”

This quotation emphasizes the divide between the formalities of a relationship established through marriage and the novel excitement of a relationship based on a strong emotional connection. In spite of the couple’s personal feelings, however, they still feel the pressure of societal expectations, both to acquire a formal marriage through the Church and to prove the strength of their love through a binding commitment.

“Luz wrote him many letters that he never got until after the armistice.”

This quotation highlights the couple’s inability to communicate after the soldier returns to the front and emphasizes the physical and emotional distance growing between them. The letters are delivered all at once, having been held up by the war, and contain snapshots of how Luz felt at the time she wrote them; they portray parts of their relationship suspended in time, rather than how it exists in its current state.

“It was understood he would not drink, and he did not want to see his friends or anyone in the States.”

The couple’s innocent and free-spirited romance comes to an end, and Luz sets prescribed limits on their relationship. For the first time, Hemingway hints at the soldier’s personal problems (the type of people he associates with and his drinking), and suggests that they might have something to do with Luz’s reluctance to marry him.

“When they had to say good-bye, in the station at Milan, they kissed good-bye, but were not finished with the quarrel.”

Hemingway introduces an element of tension and uncertainty to the young lovers’ relationship. Though the couple parts with a kiss, the unfinished quarrel points to unresolved conflict. The train station setting also hold symbolic value: It is a place where people begin their journeys to different destinations. Though the soldier and Luz know that they are physically travelling to different places, they don’t yet realize that they are also metaphorically taking divergent life paths.

“It was lonely and rainy there, and there was a battalion of arditi quartered in the town.”

As Luz sets out on a life totally removed from that of the soldier, the setting of her new home, Pordonone, Italy, is described in a way that mirrors her sense of isolation and melancholy. The setting and the casual mention of the arditi foreshadow the end of her relationship with the soldier and her imminent affair with the major.

“Living in the muddy, rainy town in the winter, the major of the battalion made love to Luz.”

The tone of melancholic isolation continues and transitions seamlessly and casually to the fact that Luz has moved on from the soldier. Her passivity in the affair is highlighted: She is made love to, but she does not make love. This passivity removes Luz from complete culpability. Nevertheless, the proximity of the major’s affections trumps her long-distance relationship with the soldier.

“She loved him as always, but she realized now it was only a boy and girl love.”

The theme of Coming of Age is placed in sharp focus, as is the difficulty of love generally. The “boy and girl love” between the soldier and Luz has been replaced by a relationship between Luz and the major, which Luz considers more mature.

“The major did not marry her in the spring, or any other time.”

The fact that Luz does not marry the major as planned perhaps softens the blow for the soldier, as it reveals the fickle nature of love—or even Luz herself. Alternatively, this twist can be seen as yet another absurd and meaningless corruption of love and intimacy that stands at the heart of this story.

“Luz never got an answer to the letter to Chicago about it.”

Hemingway conceals the details of Luz’s letter from the reader, and the soldier leaves it unanswered. This creates a lack of closure and resolution—a feeling that dominates the story as a whole.