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  • Essay / Characterization of Hadley

    Ernest Hemingway fondly remembers his time in Paris in his memoir A Moveable Feast. The book chronicles his writing process and other fond memories in Paris with his wife, Hadley. Hemingway often refers to Hadley strictly as his wife, but he eventually switches from calling her his wife to Hadley. Throughout the book, Hemingway describes Hadley as a fun-loving and supportive wife. Although Hemingway's book has no chronological order, he uses this subtle transition to mark a fracture in his relationship with Hadley. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hemingway tells the reader about his experiences in Paris and his meetings with other famous authors. The first chapter of the book begins with Hemingway describing his café where he prefers to write. At the end of the chapter, he recalls a brief conversation with his wife about a vacation they want to take. He describes her: “She had a lovely shaped face and her eyes and smile lit up during decisions as if they were rich gifts” (Hemingway 19). With a simple description of his wife, Hemingway allows his dialogue to be the focus rather than minutely describing his wife. The images Hemingway uses to describe how she reacts to the decision to go on vacation show how she views vacations; she views the holidays as a rich gift that she doesn't often receive. Since Hemingway is so determined to make this trip, his wife is excited to go. She supports Hemingway's decision to leave Paris, so that he can write about Paris. Hadley also supports Hemingway when he decides to grow his hair long. She even decides to cut her hair to the same length as Hemingway, so they can grow their hair together. One of the greatest decisions Hemingway made during this Parisian era was to bet on horse racing. Hadley asks Hemingway, "Do we have enough money to really bet, Auntie?" (42). At this point in Hemingway's career, he was still writing for newspapers and had submitted a few short stories for publication. The Hemingways are far from rich, but they don't consider themselves poor either. They certainly don't have the money available to bet on horse races, but Hadley supports Hemingway anyway: "I think we should go... We haven't been in so long" (43). Hemingway even says that he has been limited with all their income, so when he wants to play the little surplus, if you can call it that, that they have, Hadley always supports him. Hemingway expresses how deep his relationship with Hadley is. in a specific scene: “It was a wonderful meal at Michaud's after our arrival; but when we were finished and there was no question of hunger, the feeling of hunger when we were on deck was still there when we took the bus home” (49). He shows in this scene that their hunger was not just a physical feeling, but it was a desire for something more. Hemingway knew his wife so well that he could tell that she was hungry the same way he was. Hemingway shows with this scene that he and Hadley had a strong bond which only made their divorce more tragic. In the sixth chapter of the book, Hemingway uses Hadley's name for the first time instead of referring to her as his wife. Although this may seem insignificant, it hides a deeper meaning. The chapters in A Moveable Feast are not arranged chronologically, so this change in reference to Hadley could symbolize the beginning of how the relationship between Hemingway and Hadley began..