For Whom The Bell Tolls (Characters)

 

Characters

Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man

Robert Jordan is a Spanish professor from Montana and a volunteer for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. Trained in explosives detonation, Jordan takes pride in his work as a soldier, though he feels conflicted about his own support for the Republican cause and uncertain about his future after the war. Jordan comes from a troubled home: his father committed suicide with a gun belonging to his grandfather, a Civil War veteran. As a younger man, Jordan discarded the gun in a lake near his home, and though he has never openly discussed his feelings about his father’s death, he does feel that his father was a coward. Jordan supports the leftist cause—in opposition to the fascist right—but he is not completely convinced that the Republicans are morally superior to the fascists, nor that he has made the right choice by offering them his services as a volunteer. Nonetheless, unlike Pablo, who frequently leaves the camp and his guerilla group behind, Jordan never abandons the fight, and he remains devoted to the Republicans’ military offensives. In public, Jordan is calm, logical, and focused, though his inner monologues reveal a combination of rage, confusion, and guilt over his own involvement in violent, brutal behavior. Moreover, Jordan has never been in love before meeting the guerilla Maria, whom he falls for, and as a result, he is out of touch with his own emotions, though Maria helps him to understand the value of empathy, love, and connection, and to heal from his past trauma. Confronting a fatal injury at the end of the novel, Jordan realizes that he has been fortunate to lead the life that he has, and that he has to stay focused on what he can do in the present—not what he has done in the past—in order to keep moving forward.

Maria

Maria is a young woman and a member of the guerilla group Robert Jordan joins at the beginning of the novel. She has “golden tawny brown” eyes and skin, and hair that is the “golden brown of a grain field that has been burned dark in the sun,” cropped short by guards at a prison, where she landed after being run out of her hometown by the fascists. The same fascists raped Maria, and though this experience has clearly traumatized her—the guerillas, who rescued her from the wreckage of an exploded train, note that it took her a while to recover her ability to speak—she quickly falls for Robert Jordan, confessing her love for him the first time they sleep together. Hemingway is known for his less-than-nuanced portrayals of women, who are frequently reduced to stereotypes in his stories and novels, and Maria is no different: she is utterly subservient, innocent, and devoted to Jordan, an object of lust and a symbol of pure love and tenderness. In comparison to Pilar, who has depth as a character—expressing conflicting views, making mistakes, and demonstrating multiple personality traits—Maria is one-dimensional, and her main role in the novel is to help Robert Jordan to develop as a character, teaching him the significance of love; she herself does not change in any way.

Pilar / Pablo’s Wife

Pilar is the leader of the guerilla group, though her husband, Pablo, claims the same role; unlike Pablo, however, Pilar is strong, capable, and commanding, able to influence the other fighters and make informed decisions on behalf of the group. Steadfast and fiercely devoted to the Republican cause, Pilar represents the passion and strength of the Spanish left. While Maria symbolizes sex, love, and desire, Pilar is maternal, described as a coarse, unattractive, older woman who offers comfort and support to Maria and the other fighters: Hemingway’s depictions of both female characters often resort to clichés. Nonetheless, Pilar is a highly complicated character. Though determined to win by any means necessary—she even entertains the idea of murdering her own husband, who has become sullen and disobedient, wreaking havoc on the Republicans’ offensive efforts—she finds the violence and chaos of war abhorrent, and she struggles to maintain her own motivation to fight in the face of impending disaster. Though sometimes cruel and obstinate, Pilar is also powerful and intelligent. She claims to be able to predict the future, and indeed, she correctly predicts that Robert Jordan will die. However, Pilar is unable to see past political ideology and her aspirations for victory to understand that the Republicans’ cause is ill-fated.

Pablo

Pablo, once a great fighter, is now the disillusioned leader of the guerillas, along with his wife, Pilar. Pablo is introduced to Robert Jordan as a “man both serious and valiant,” though Pablo repeatedly abandons the guerillas and disagrees with their tactics, taking issue with Jordan’s plan to blow up the bridge (claiming that it is too dangerous a mission to undertake). Pablo longs for a life free from chaos, violence, and disaster, and he is attached to horses, which he seems to view as a source of beauty in the midst of war and destruction. Though Pablo recognizes the error of his ways after stealing and destroying Jordan’s explosives, thus limiting the potential of the offensive on the bridge and endangering the guerillas, his repentance does not make up for the consequences of his actions. Because the group doesn’t have enough explosives, they must carry out the plan in close proximity to the bridge (more explosives would have allowed them to be a safer distance away), and many of the guerillas are killed in the process. Pablo survives, forced to live with his own guilt, while Robert Jordan dies a martyr. At first, Robert Jordan is presented as Pablo’s foil, a model of heroic masculinity. It is suggested, though, that Pablo was once as heroic as Jordan—he helped to kill a number of fascist sympathizers in his hometown during a bloody coup—though he has become cynical about the war. Jordan, too, becomes disillusioned with the Republican cause, and thus, the two characters are not as different as they initially seem.

Anselmo / The Older Man

Anselmo is the first member of the Republican guerillas Robert Jordan meets. He is a thoughtful, highly principled older man who supports Jordan’s offensive on the bridge. Due to his Catholic faith, Anselmo is firmly opposed to killing fascists, though he has also chosen to leave behind Catholicism, since the fascists have laid claim to the religion. Nonetheless, Anselmo has nothing left to lose in his fight for the Republicans: his wife is dead, and fighting gives him something to live and strive for. Like Pilar, he is unfailingly optimistic about the new Republic that he believes the Republicans are helping to forge by fighting back against the fascists. Like Robert Jordan, he dies a hero and a martyr, having helped Jordan to blow up the bridge and launch one final attack on the invading fascists.

El Sordo

El Sordo, also known as Santiago, is an older man and a leader of another guerilla group that Robert Jordan, Pilar, and the other guerillas enlist to help with the upcoming offensive on the bridge. El Sordo means “the deaf one” in Spanish, referring to El Sordo’s partial deafness; though handicapped, he is a determined fighter, similar to Pilar and Robert Jordan, and he is not afraid of death or committing acts of violence. His guerilla group is stronger and more organized than Pilar’s, though they are still defeated easily by the fascists, suggesting that no Republican, no matter how dedicated, can successfully resist the fascist forces.

Rafael / The “Gypsy”

Rafael is a Roma man (described as a “gypsy” throughout) and a member of Pablo and Pilar’s guerilla group. Frequently drunk and often criticized for his slipshod behavior as a fighter, Rafael nonetheless possesses a violent streak. He asks Robert Jordan to kill Pablo, demonstrating the extent to which brutality is pervasive among the Republicans: even those without the skills to commit brutal acts are drawn to violence.

Andrés

Eladio’s brother. Andrés is the guerilla tasked with delivering the message from Robert Jordan to General Golz warning Golz that the offensive on the bridge should be canceled; in a series of unfortunate events, Andrés’s message arrives too late, dooming the guerillas. He loves bullfighting and was an active participant in capeas in his hometown (an event in which audience members spar with bulls in an arena). Andrés and Eladio become Republicans because their father was one, and Andrés believes that he has been born “into a time of great difficulty”—and that “any other time was probably easier.” Andrés has lost his family, save for Eladio, and though he considers himself “an unfortunate man,” he is also determined to “fight to live,” and like Pilar, he truly believes in the Republican cause.

Agustin

Like Rafael, Agustin is a guerilla with a penchant for violence. He speaks “so obscenely, coupling an obscenity to every noun as an adjective, using the same obscenity as a verb, that Robert Jordan wondered if he could speak a straight sentence.” However, Anselmo tells Jordan that Agustin is a “very good man”; indeed, like Fernando, he regards his duties as a soldier with dignity and seriousness, and he values his fellow guerillas for their trustworthiness (save for Pablo and Rafael). By the end of the novel, Jordan thinks of him as his true “brother.”

Primitivo

As a character, Primitivo is less fleshed-out than the other guerillas; he is described only as “flat-faced” but commended by Agustin for his “dependable value.” Like Agustin, Primitivo is motivated by a strong sense of duty: Primitivo and Agustin are motivated to save El Sordo and his group when they hear the other guerillas controlling a fascist attack up on the hills, but Robert Jordan refuses to let them leave the camp.

Eladio

Andrés’s older brother. Eladio is the most anonymous of the guerillas. He is given no clear personality traits, though it is mentioned that he and Andrés are orphaned, since their family members were killed during the war. Eladio is one of the guerillas killed during the offensive on the bridge.

Eladio

Andrés’s older brother. Eladio is the most anonymous of the guerillas. He is given no clear personality traits, though it is mentioned that he and Andrés are orphaned, since their family members were killed during the war. Eladio is one of the guerillas killed during the offensive on the bridge.

Joaquin

Joaquin is a guard for El Sordo’s guerilla group. He is “very young” with a “rather hawk-nosed face” and “friendly” eyes. He flirts aggressively with Maria, whom he helped carry to safety after discovering her in the wreckage of the train. Like Eladio and Andrés, Joaquin no longer has a family, since his father, mother, brother-in-law, and sister were shot by fascists in their hometown, Valladodid. As a younger man, Joaquin wanted to be a bullfighter, but he was fearful of bulls; now, however, he has “no fear of them,” since “no bull is as dangerous as a machine gun.”

General Golz

Golz is a Russian general and the head of the Republican command for which Robert Jordan works. He is the leader who orders Jordan to blow up the bridge. Golz is a stern, authoritative commander with a surprisingly wry sense of humor; he asks Jordan about his history with “girls,” and Jordan calls him “gay,” remarking that Golz’s seemingly cheerful attitude is actually a reflection of his own pessimism and flippancy about the war. Golz, like several of the other Republicans, realizes early on that the Republicans’ cause is doomed and resigns himself to their loss.

Kashkin

Kashkin is a Russian soldier who worked alongside Pablo and Pilar’s guerillas before Robert Jordan. He was an experienced dynamiter, like Jordan, and earned a great deal of respect from the guerillas after successfully blowing up a train. Jordan knew him as a fighter and reflects that “there was something wrong with [him] evidently and he was working it out in Spain”: the two had a friendly relationship, though Jordan was forced to shoot him after he was wounded in action. Jordan realizes that he did not feel much emotion about this killing (perhaps because it was a mercy killing and not outright murder).

Karkov

Karkov is a Russian reporter for Pravda, a Soviet newspaper, and a close friend of Robert Jordan whom he meets at the Hotel Gaylord, a popular Russian spot in Madrid. Karkov is Anselmo’s counterpart, fiercely committed to morality, justice, and the Republican cause. Karkov is also “the most intelligent man” Robert Jordan has ever met, with “more brains and more inner dignity […] than any man that he had ever known.” Karkov ends up saving Andrés and Gomez when André Marty accuses them of being fascist spies, and he believes that Jordan is a talented writer, having read the one book Jordan published about his experiences in and observations of Spain. Karkov gives Jordan information about the war because he believes that he is a strong reporter, capable of delivering the truth: Karkov himself is devoted to the pursuit of truth and the defeat of the fascists, whose actions conflict with his own Communist leanings.

Lieutenant-Colonel Miranda

The Lieutenant-Colonel Miranda is a "short, gray-faced man” who has been in the army all his life. Miranda became a Republican because he could not divorce his wife under fascist regulations, and his sole ambition is “to finish the war with the same rank.” Unlike the guerrillas, who have suffered greatly in the war, Miranda has prospered because of it: he feels more physically fit, and his twenty-three-year-old mistress is pregnant.

Lieutenant Paco Berrendo

The Lieutenant Paco Berrendo is a fascist who leads the fight against El Sordo and his group on the hill. After his best friend, a lieutenant named Julian, is killed, Berrendo kills Joaquin and orders the beheading of El Sordo and his guerrillas after they are dead; nonetheless, he is more cautious about the attack than Captain Mora.

Captain Mora

Mora, with a “red face,” “a blond, British-looking moustache,” and “something wrong about his eyes,” is the brash leader of the fascists who square up against El Sordo and his group. Berrendo thinks of him as a foolhardy “gunslinger”; indeed, Mora is convinced that the Republicans have been killed during the first offensive and mocks the other fascist troops for refusing to believe him. After shouting “filth” at the hill, he sets off alone in an attempt to prove that the Republicans are dead, though he quickly realizes that they are alive and hiding.

André Marty

André Marty is a deeply cynical French commander and Communist allied with the Republican forces whom Andrés encounters when he comes to deliver Robert Jordan’s missive. Marty believes that Andrés and Gomez are fascist spies and refuses to pass the message on to General Golz until it is too late; when he realizes the errors of his ways, he shows little remorse.

Finito De Palencia

Pilar tells Robert Jordan and the other guerillas the story of her romance with Finito, a bullfighter who represents the passion and strength of Spain prior to the Spanish Civil War. Though Finito was “one of the worst paid matadors in the world” and was often injured in the ring, Pilar admired his fortitude and determination, and she often compares him to Pablo, who lacks the same strength.

The British Economist / Mitchell

Karkov tells Robert Jordan about a British economist who spent time in Spain. Jordan has read the economist’s writing and respects him, but he feels that the economist doesn’t understand Spain, and he is offended when the economist interrupts him in the middle of an attack at Carabanchel. Karkov regards him as a “winter fool,” an “impressive man” who nonetheless acts in a misguided way. He is potentially a Soviet spy, and he is profiting from the war by organizing financial transactions outside of Spain for the government.

Chub

Chub is a friend of Robert Jordan’s from Montana who accompanies him to throw his grandfather’s gun into a lake in the high country above Red Lodge. Chub tells Robert Jordan that he knows why he discarded the gun (it was what Jordan’s father used to commit suicide), but the two never discuss the reason directly. Jordan later reflects that Anselmo is his “oldest friend,” and that he knows him better than any of his friends from Montana, including Chub.

Robert Jordan’s Father

Robert Jordan’s father committed suicide with a gun belonging to his father, Jordan’s grandfather, a Civil War veteran. It is clear that Jordan is traumatized by his father’s death—since it is mentioned that he threw the gun into a lake shortly thereafter, perhaps attempting to rid himself of the memory of the suicide—though he does not discuss his grief at length. Jordan’s history with his father casts new light on his fear of death and his ambivalence toward violent acts. Death, it seems, has always been a part of his life, albeit one he is not able to address productively until the end of the novel. Jordan believes his father was a cobarde, a coward, in part because of his suicide, and in part because he let “that woman,” perhaps Jordan’s mother, “bully him.” Clearly, Jordan’s family history has shaped him as a man, because he is reluctant to let any woman control him: Maria, whom he falls for, is subservient to him.

Dolores Ibarruri / La Pasionaria

La Pasionaria was a famous Republican fighter and a real historical figure. She is briefly mentioned in the novel as a distant figurehead of the Republican movement, one untethered from the reality of war: Karkov speaks with a member of her group, who tells him that she has erroneously informed the Republicans that the fascists have begun fighting among themselves (in fact, they have launched an attack on El Sordo’s group in the hills).

Don Faustino Rivera

Don Faustina is the oldest son of a wealthy land owner, a womanizer and an amateur (and unskilled) bullfighter. It is rumoured that he once made himself vomit after seeing the bull he was meant to fight in the ring, and the Republican mob taunts him before throwing him off of the cliff.

Don Anastasio Rivas

Don Anastasio is an “undoubted fascist” and “the fattest man in the town,” “a grain buyer” and an insurance agent who loans money at high interest rates. Don Anastasio is the last fascist to be killed in the plaza before the mob overruns the church, and because he is too overweight to be thrown over the cliff like the others, he is beaten to death and left in the middle of the square.

Minor Characters

Fernando

Fernando is a straitlaced guerilla and Rafael’s opposite—he is serious, moralistic, and dignified. Robert Jordan thinks of him as a “cigar store Indian,” rigid and upstanding. He does not drink, and he disapproves of Jordan’s relationship with Maria until he learns that they are engaged.

Rogelio Gomez

Gomez is a Republican officer who escorts Andrés when he attempts to deliver Robert Jordan’s message to General Golz. Though the other Republican officers are either corrupt or misguided, Gomez is able to see Andrés for what he is: a genuine supporter of the Republican cause.

Don Benito Garcia

Don Benito is the mayor of the town where Pablo and Pilar lived at the start of the revolution, and he is the first to be beaten to death by the Republican mob that Pablo organizes.

Don Federico Gonzalez

Don Federico owns the mill in Pablo and Pilar’s town and is a "fascist of the first order.” He is too terrified to walk out into the plaza, where the mob has gathered, and prays silently before being clubbed to death and thrown off of a cliff.

Don Ricardo Montalvo

Don Ricardo is a land owner who insists that he is not afraid to die and goes out willingly into the plaza to face Pablo’s mob of Republicans, insulting them before he is killed: “Down with the miscalled Republic and I obscenity in the milk of your fathers.”

Don Guillermo

Don Guillermo has little money and “was only a fascist to be a snob”: he has accepted fascism because of the “religiousness” of his wife, whom he loves. Like the other men in the plaza, Don Guillermo is brutally murdered.

Don José Castro and Don Pepe

The two remaining fascists in Pablo and Pilar’s town, left in the church with the priest.

Cuatro Dedos

Cuatro Dedos (“Four Fingers”) is a cobbler and an ally of Pablo’s who helps carry out the attack on the town.

Harlow and Garbo

Two women Robert Jordan dated, whom he believes he loved (though not as much as Maria). He occasionally dreams of them coming back to his bed.

Courtesy: www.litchart.com

For Whom the Bell Tolls (Themes)

Themes

Love in War

        For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway examines the role of love and relationships in a time of crisis. The two main relationships described—between Jordan and Maria, and Pilar and Pablo—differ dramatically: Jordan and Maria’s love is pure and all-consuming, while Pilar and Pablo argue frequently, with Pilar often threatening to kill Pablo and take over his position in the guerilla squad. Nonetheless, love is omnipresent in the midst of the chaos of civil war, with both positive and negative consequences for those who choose to love. Jordan (the only one of the main characters in the novel with the last name given) has never experienced love before he meets Maria, and his relationship with her affirms the value of trust and compassion between individuals, while Pilar’s relationship with Pablo reveals the extent to which love cannot cure hopelessness and fear in the face of war and impending disaster.

        Maria serves as a symbol of hope, renewal, and tenderness, tending to Jordan and demonstrating the healing power of devotion. Though she is part of the guerilla fighters, Maria is barely involved in any of the strategizing or political discussions. Whereas Pilar is the clear leader of the group, fiercely devoted to the cause of liberation from Fascist command, Maria’s role is domestic, focused on assisting the fighters behind the scenes. This sense of helpfulness and docility extends into her relationship with Jordan, whom she views as her redeemer, capable of restoring her after her experience of rape at the hands of Falangists (Spanish fascist nationalists): “if I am to be thy woman I should please thee in all ways,” Maria tells Jordan, promising herself to him.

        Jordan and Maria’s relationship often seems somewhat one-sided, since Jordan is more pragmatic about love and relationships with other individuals. He tells himself that he has “no responsibility for them”—meaning Maria, Pilar, Pablo, and the other guerillas—“except in action,” yet he also realizes that love has added value to his life and eased his suffering: “but when I am with Maria I love her so that I feel, literally, as though I would die and I never believed in that nor thought that it could happen […] Maria made things easier.” Jordan also acknowledges that the time he and Maria have together is limited, given the danger he faces, and he reflects that they have “two nights to love, honor and cherish. […] Till death do us part. In two nights. Much more than likely.” Most people, Jordan appreciates, “are not lucky enough to have” love, and he feels fortunate to have experienced it; he is contented to imagine a life with Maria in Madrid, after the war, although he knows that this is only a distant possibility.

        Ultimately, Jordan is injured in the final ambush at the bridge, leaving Maria to flee the fascist attackers, though he tells her that even in death, they are united: “there is no good-by, guapa [beautiful], because we are not apart […] I am with thee now. We are both there. Go!” Jordan’s love for Maria and his desire to see her led to safety, lends him strength as he faces death, since while he cannot do anything for himself, he “can do something for another.”

        On the other hand, Pablo and Pilar’s relationship—though also developed during the war—does not prove to strengthen or encourage for either of the fighters. Unlike Maria with Robert Jordan, Pilar cannot control Pablo, soothe his hopelessness, or embolden him. From the beginning, Pilar and Pablo’s relationship is strained by their differing views on the value of destroying a bridge in the mountains outside of Madrid, where the guerillas have been fighting, to cut off access to the area for the Francoist fascist forces. When Pilar announces that she is “for the Republic,” and thus supports Jordan’s plan to detonate the bridge, Pablo calls her foolhardy, with a “head of a seed bull and a heart of a whore”: this debate continues to strain their relationship and makes the guerillas lose faith in Pablo as a leader as he becomes increasingly erratic and fearful.

        Pablo eventually betrays the guerillas by stealing the detonation equipment necessary to destroy the bridge, despite Pilar’s attempts to regain control of the group and prevent her husband from sabotaging their plot. Though Pilar is a stabilizing, maternal force in the novel, encouraging Robert Jordan and the other guerillas to continue agitating for the Republic and constantly working to organize the group, her relationship with Pablo proves to be her weakness: Pilar is unable to manipulate Pablo into acting in the best interests of the group.

        Faced with Pablo’s brash, impulsive behavior, “the woman of Pablo could feel her rage changing to sorrow and to a feeling of the thwarting of all hope and promise.” It is implied that Pilar and Pablo were once deeply connected by their belief in the Republic, but Pablo no longer feels the confidence that Pilar does. Though Pilar tells Robert Jordan about Pablo’s heroic (though entirely brutal and violent) defeat of the fascists in his hometown, the Pablo she now knows is defeated, disillusioned, and, in her opinion, “cowardly,” lacking all hope for victory. The remaining love she ostensibly shares for him—since their marriage endures, despite rising tensions—is not enough to restore his courage.

        Whereas Maria and Robert Jordan’s relationship provides both characters with a sense of security and emotional support, even when death is imminent, Pablo and Pilar’s partnership is only one in the name. Despite Pilar’s strength of character, neither she nor Pablo is able to support each other in the way that Maria and Robert Jordan are. The novel thus provides an ambivalent view of love, suggesting that intimate relationships are not always redeeming or positive; Maria and Robert Jordan’s relationship may merely be an outlier. However, though Pablo survives the war and Jordan does not, Jordan dies with the knowledge that he has experienced the emboldening effects of life-altering love, while Pablo must own up to his own moral failings.

Cultural Connections

        For Whom the Bell Tolls is a distinctive work in part because Hemingway attempts to translate Spanish idioms and grammar directly, without removing their original contexts. The result is a novel that is acutely attuned to cultural differences. Instead of assimilating Spanish culture into a wholly American writing style, Hemingway combines the two, helping to express Spanish to an English-speaking audience. Similarly, Robert Jordan’s own experiences as American fighting for the anti-fascist Spaniards reveal more resemblances between the two cultures than differences. The United States, Jordan discloses, is no less corrupt than Spain, and Jordan’s own allegiance toward the anti-fascists demonstrates the extent to which cultural differences can be transcended. Though Jordan initially believes that he cannot understand the Spanish people, whom he views as profoundly two-sided—caught between extreme “kindness” and extreme “cruelty”—he finds himself overcoming this conviction to form intense bonds with his fellow fighters, confirming the importance of connection and empathy across cultures.

        For Whom the Bell Tolls takes up the project of cross-cultural linguistics, attempting to depict the Spanish language in an American style without fully “Americanizing” its facets. Some dialogue in the novel reads as archaic or outdated, since Hemingway attempts to express the difference between formal and familiar addresses in Spanish, using “thou” and “thee” to represent “usted,” and “you” to represent “tú.” Hemingway’s translations are not always seamless or modern in feel, allowing the English-speaking reader to “hear” the linguistic differences between English and Spanish. For example, the somewhat awkward, unfamiliar phrase “I obscenity in the milk” recurs throughout the novel, a direct (though partially censored) translation of the Spanish curse me cago en la leche. Thus, English and Spanish are marked as distinct but uniquely intertwined, allowing for cross-cultural exchange at the level of language.

        The novel also explores the impact of cross-cultural dynamics on its American protagonist and Spanish characters, drawing parallels between the political situations of both the United States and Spain, and developing Robert Jordan’s attachment to Spain throughout the novel. Robert Jordan wonders “what sort of guerrilla leader” Pablo “would have been in the American Civil War,” comparing his own knowledge of American warfare—imparted on him by his grandfather, a veteran of the American Civil War—with his impressions of the Spanish Civil War. American and Spanish violence, he realizes, are not so different. Prompted by Pilar’s story of Pablo’s massacre on the fascists in his hometown, Jordan reveals that he once witnessed a lynching in Ohio, incited by the same kind of drunkenness and mob behavior that took shape in Pablo’s town: “I have had experiences which demonstrate that drunkenness is the same in my country. It is ugly and brutal.” Furthermore, Agustin, another guerrilla fighter, asks Jordan about taxes and land ownership in the United States, arguing that “the big proprietors and the rich will make a revolution against such taxes […] they will revolt against the government when they see that they are threatened, exactly as the fascists have done here,” and suggesting that the United States, like Spain, will soon confront fascism, given their shared problems.

        At first, Jordan believes that there are few connections to be made between Spanish and American culture, despite his own immersion in Spanish culture and his former position as a Spanish teacher in the United States. Jordan declares that “there are no other countries like Spain,” and that “there are no finer and no worse people in the world” than the Spaniards, explaining that he does not understand them, because if he did, he “would forgive it all,” and he finds it difficult to forgive their brutality. Yet he also never feels “like a foreigner” in Spain, since the Spaniards trust his command of the language and his knowledge of different regions.

        Ultimately, Jordan sacrifices himself for the safety of his fellow guerrillas, allowing them to escape to safety and devoting himself to the cause of the Republic: “he fought now in this war because it had started in a country that he loved and he believed in the Republic and that if it were destroyed life would be unbearable for all those people who believed in it.” In becoming a martyr, Jordan demonstrates his own understanding of and connection to the Spanish people, and he declares that “I have been all my life in these hills since I have been here. Anselmo is my oldest friend […] Agustin, with his vile mouth, is my brother, and I never had a brother. Maria is my true love and wife.” Though many of Hemingway’s novels and writings are set away from the United States—such as A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises—they usually feature a globalist perspective, drawing comparisons between an American home and a European setting. Cultural differences are likewise emphasized in For Whom the Bell Tolls, but these differences do not preclude the possibility of a cultural connection or mutual understanding. Robert Jordan is familiar with and sensitive to his adopted country, and by the end of the novel, he has reached a level of profound empathy and acceptance, transcending his American roots and living up to the novel’s epigraph, “No Man is an Iland [Island].”

Violence, Cowardice, and Death

        Though the novel is rife with images of murder and destruction, the characters who commit or witness these gruesome acts are highly conflicted about the necessity of killing and the value of brutality in human life. The guerillas Pablo, Robert Jordan, El Sordo, and Anselmo express concern about killing fascists and fear about facing death themselves. Even as the novel seems to uphold a monolithic view of courage, often portraying Robert Jordan as a capable, single-minded fighter destined for martyrdom, this image is undermined by Jordan’s own struggle with motivation and disillusionment as he attempts to understand his place in the war and his perspective on violence, death, sacrifice, and suffering.

        Anselmo, Robert Jordan’s guide, is a “very good man” who wonders about the “problem of the killing,” becoming a source of morality and righteousness in the novel: “I think that after the war there should be some form of civic penance organized that all may be cleansed from the killing or else we will never have a true and human basis for living.” Anselmo tells Robert Jordan that he has killed several times, “but not with pleasure,” since he feels that “it is a sin to kill a man,” demonstrating a kind of religious conviction that the fascists—though heavily Catholic—do not share, given their belief in authoritarianism and oppression. While Pablo, El Sordo, and Robert Jordan face the task of killing fascists with less guilt than Anselmo, they still feel ambivalent about their role in perpetuating violence. On one hand, violence is necessary to match the force exerted by the fascists; nonetheless, the guerillas believe themselves to be supporting a moral cause, the cause of the Republic and thus find it difficult to reconcile morality and violence.

        Feeling guilty about his own participation in killing fascists, Jordan orders himself to “admit that you have liked to kill as all who are soldiers by choice have enjoyed it at some time whether they lie about it or not.” Though he approaches his tasks as a volunteer soldier with steely, grim determination, he also tells himself not to “believe in killing,” regarding it instead as a terrible “necessity” (thus, he refuses to keep track of the number of men he has killed): “but to shoot a man gives a feeling as though one had struck one’s own brother when you are grown, men.”

        Moreover, Jordan’s own equivocations throughout the novel, presented in the form of disjointed inner monologues, demonstrate his vacillation between fear and impassivity. He tells himself that he knows “death was nothing,” and that he must stay focused on his work, believing that “harm to one’s self” can be ignored, and that “if I die on this morning now it is all right.” Yet these attempts at self-reassurance simultaneously demonstrate his severe apprehension about death, which is especially heightened because of his own repressed grief about his father’s suicide: Jordan is forced to command himself to act brave and stoic.

        Additionally, though El Sordo is “not at all afraid of dying,” he “hates” his fate, since death represents “nothing,” while living is a “hawk in the sky […] an earthen jar of water in the dust of the threshing”—that is, tangible and understandable. Like Robert Jordan, El Sordo grapples with the notion of his own inevitable demise, finding a degree of peace but continuing to wonder about the nature of death.

        Pablo presents the most clear-cut example of a fighter disillusioned with violence and killing, since he openly admits that he has become disenchanted with the Republican cause, explaining that the day he murdered the fascists living in his hometown—an act heralded by Pilar as his most courageous—was the “worst day” of his life until the fascists took back the town three days later. Pilar declares that the “depriving of life” is “a thing of ugliness but also a necessity to do if we are to win, and to preserve the Republic,” but Pablo feels that further destruction is useless, given the fascists’ strength—and that violence will only create more danger and suffering for the anti-fascists.

        Though Jordan and El Sordo die as martyrs, while Pablo is branded a coward for his desertion of the guerillas, the novel refuses to condemn Pablo for failing to live up to the examples set by Jordan and El Sordo. All three men are deeply concerned with death and killing, and all are intent on surviving in some way or easing the pain of death. Though El Sordo and Jordan face death with less fear than Pablo, who wishes desperately to return to an enjoyable, peaceful life, they are no less worried about the end of their lives than Pablo: both El Sordo and Jordan search for images of life to give them solace in the face of death (for El Sordo, the mountain landscape, and for Jordan, his love of Maria). Ultimately, Jordan confronts death peacefully, content with the life he has led and no longer concerned about his own “cowardice,” or his own inability to remain stoic in the midst of destruction and chaos. Using Jordan, El Sordo, Pablo, and Anselmo as examples, Hemingway argues that even emboldened fighters are not immune to the difficulty of maintaining courage, committing acts of violence, and facing certain death.

The Eternality of the Present

        Although the antagonizing fascists are a central topic of discussion in the novel, it is not until its end that Pablo, Pilar, and Robert Jordan’s guerilla group encounter the fascists themselves. It is immediately clear that the Republican fighters are outmatched: the novel ends with Robert Jordan confronting death and planning an act of sacrifice. The idea of the future plays a major role throughout For Whom the Bell Tolls, since Pilar predicts Robert Jordan’s death at the beginning of the novel, and both Jordan and Pablo seem to foresee a tragic end for the Republic. Despite these predictions, however, the novel is concerned mainly with the narrative present—the last days of the Republic. As Robert Jordan says, “there is only now […] now is the thing to praise,” suggesting the fundamental importance of living in and for the present, regardless of negative omens for the future.

        It is suggested that the anti-fascists’ mission is doomed from the beginning, since the guerillas are disorganized and prone to disagreement, while the fascists are highly militarized and command a great deal of societal power; many of the guerillas are civilians forced to become combatants to restore the Republic. Nonetheless, instead of concentrating solely on the threat of fascism, the novel concerns itself with the precise details of the anti-fascists’ work for the Republic, giving credence to their beliefs and struggle for power. Hemingway creates a feeling of urgency and immediacy: the novel begins in medias res, plunging readers into the action and allowing for a charged narrative present. The past—meaning Jordan and the other guerillas’ backgrounds—occasionally factors into the plot, but Hemingway’s focus remains on tensions building in the present.

        As the fascists close in on the guerillas, Robert Jordan’s thoughts turn to timelessness and the eternality of the present, which helps to sustain him in the face of disaster. “This was what had been and now and whatever was to come. This, that they were not to have, they were having. They were having now and before and always and now and now and now. Oh, now, now, now, the only now, and above all now, and there is no other now but thou now and now is thy prophet”: Hemingway’s repetitive, ode-like incantation of “now” emphasizes the importance of living in the present, since every moment lived is a moment that the guerillas “were not to have,” given the likelihood of sudden death. Jordan wishes that he “were going to live a long time instead of going to die today” because he has “learned much about life in these four days”—more “in all the other time” of his life. Thus, the four days that the novel covers become the whole of Jordan’s life, especially since little information is given about Jordan’s life outside of his experiences with the guerillas.

        Throughout the four days of the novel, Jordan develops substantially, as one might develop over a lifetime, learning to form bonds with his fellow fighters and coming to understand the meaning of love. “A good life is not measured by any biblical span,” Jordan reflects: “that is all your whole life is; now.” On one hand, Hemingway’s compression of time reflects the collapse of civilization: the normal boundaries between past, present, and future have been disrupted, resulting in an eternal (yet simultaneously fleeting) present, consistent with the sense of disaster and disruption civil war creates. At the same time, however, by focusing on Robert Jordan’s allegiance to the “now” and his marked development within a short period of time, Hemingway uses the idea of the present to affirm the notion that there is no fixed standard for a “good life.” Even lives that occur outside of the norm—such as Robert Jordan’s—have value.

        Thus, For Whom the Bell Tolls can be read not only as a war novel, concerned with the pathos of tragedy and dedicated to exposing the ugliness of war, but also as a highly optimistic work focused on the value of living in the moment. If fascism, the future, entails rigidity and obedience, Robert Jordan’s brief life in the narrative present is filled with moments of joy, hope, and relief.

Courtesy: www.litcharts.com