payment page
What is Henry doing in the war?
Henry is serving in the Italian army as a medical officer whose job is to direct ambulance drivers. Although he is American, he was studying architecture in Rome when World War I broke out. As the United States didn’t join the war at the onset, and Henry speaks fluent Italian, he joins the Italian army. He never explains precisely why he wanted to join the war effort and insists multiple times that he simply did what seemed right at the time. Presumably whatever reason he had seems meaningless now that he’s experienced war.
Why does Catherine ask Henry to say that he loves her at first?
The first time Catherine asks Henry to tell her he loves her, Catherine seems to pretend that Henry is her dead fiancé. Some of her behavior, such as her emphasis on how long Henry has been gone after only three days apart, makes little sense in the context of her brief and (at this point) chaste relationship with him. In addition, she closes her eyes when she kisses him, which would allow her to imagine someone else’s face. Later, her sober apology for the game further highlights that she has been pretending.
Why does Miss Van Campen send Henry back to the front early?
Miss Van Campen discovers bottles of alcohol amongst Henry’s things and believes that his jaundice is a self-inflicted attempt to avoid active duty. Instead of considering other reasons Henry might be drinking to excess, such as his emotional and physical pain, she allows her dislike of Henry to create an ungenerous interpretation and comes up with a punishing solution. Her attitude is representative of the institutions that support the war, which ignore the physical and emotional well-being of the men on the frontlines in favor of mere ideals like morality, purity, and patriotism.
Why do Henry and Catherine flee to Switzerland?
Henry is in danger of being arrested because he has deserted the army, a crime considered treasonous. Even if the authorities don’t know about his daring escape from the carabinieri, simply going around out of military uniform is enough to charge Henry as a deserter. For Catherine and Henry to remain together in their escapist world, they have no choice but to flee. Switzerland maintained neutrality in World War I and has the additional benefit of being directly over the border from Stresa, making it an ideal place to hide.
What happens to Catherine?
After hours of being unable to give birth, Catherine is forced to have an emergency c-section. However, the baby is stillborn. Catherine has a hemorrhage after complications from the operation and difficult birth and dies soon after. Multiple factors may have contributed to Catherine’s difficult labor and death, including her narrow hips and excessive alcohol usage. However, Henry interprets it as a cosmic punishment for her stepping out of line. He observes that like his soldier friends, she has been put into an emotionally impossible situation and then punished for doing her best to cope.
