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A Farewell to Arms follows Frederic Henry’s desperate attempt to find comfort and escape from the horrors of World War I in a world that punishes people for finding comfort and escape. The first few chapters of the novel set up this conflict when Henry is granted temporary leave. When given a sanctioned opportunity to take a break from the terrible war, he opts to go drinking and carousing in various cities around Italy instead of going to Abruzzi, the Priest’s traditional and pious hometown. Implicitly, he opts not to go there because he knows those traditions will not offer him the same kind of escapist comfort as indulging in drink and sex. Not long after his return, Henry meets Catherine, which comprises the inciting incident. She is a kindred spirit, also longing for escape. The first time Catherine asks Henry if he loves her, she appears to be thinking not of him, but of her dead fiancé. She drops the act and apologizes, but Henry doesn’t seem bothered by her trauma. This scene cements their relationship as one of two desperate people who need each other to escape from the death around them.
However, Henry’s unit is immediately deployed to the front, separating him from Catherine. During this first deployment, any possibility of escape is called into question. Passini explains how in one instance when soldiers refused to fight, the Carabinieri (military police) lined them up and shot every tenth man. This story highlights the way those in power coerce people into participating in the horrific reality of war and punish those who cannot cope. Not long after Passini’s story, he dies from a mortar shell blast, and Henry is gravely wounded. He’s brought to a hospital in Milan to recover, where fortunately he is reunited with Catherine.
Henry’s convalescence proves to be a glorious period of escapism. Catherine takes night shifts so that they can abandon themselves in sex, and Henry drinks frequently to take the edge off the pain and trauma. Catherine pretends she’s married to Henry, and they act as if their love is all that matters. By the time he’s nearly healed, Henry has drunk so much his liver is jaundiced, and Catherine is pregnant. When Miss Van Campen notices Henry’s drinking, she treats his jaundice as self-inflicted to keep himself away from the fighting instead of a consequence of self-medicating. This moment is the first time Henry experiences first-hand punishment for attempting to cope with his reality through escapism.
Back at the front, the war has turned against Italy, and everyone is exhausted and wants the war to end. During this period, Henry attempts not to think about Catherine because he knows thinking of her will just make him want to escape all the more. Henry attempts to play his role, even shooting two engineers who disobey his orders during the retreat. However, when he realizes the Carabinieri will shoot him and others for merely trying to survive, he cracks. At this climactic moment, Henry’s escapism turns into literal escape, and he dives into the river and flees the army, attempting to run away from the horrors of war for good. He reunites with Catherine in Stresa. Catherine is all too delighted to slip back into their fantasy of husband and wife with a baby on the way. However, as the novel has shown, no escape attempt goes unpunished. Catherine and Henry must flee Stresa to Switzerland to avoid Henry being arrested and likely executed as a deserter.
Even though Catherine and Henry appear to succeed in their escape, it becomes disturbingly clear that neither of them has truly considered what it might mean for them to have a baby. Catherine doesn’t change her habits, drinking excessively throughout her pregnancy. They don’t consider citizenship, marriage issues, or any other practicalities until very late into Catherine’s pregnancy. When Catherine notes that the doctor was concerned about her narrow hips, she quickly waves it away, refusing to allow any specter of grim reality into their game of playing house. It’s inevitable that Catherine’s death is the grim conclusion to the novel. She can no longer outrun the cruel and unjust consequences of escapism. After barging his way into her hospital room, Henry realizes that even attempting to farewell Catherine cannot work. Faced with her corpse, the reality of what happened is so stark, he cannot find any comfort and solace. Henry is left bereft of comfort and escape, trapped in a cruel and cold reality that punishes those who cannot face it.
