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3 The Sun Hasn’t Set Yet Brett Ashley and the Code Hero Debate Kathy G. Willingham Every tradition grows ever more venerable—the more remote is its origin , the more confused that origin is. The reverence due to it increases from generation to generation. The tradition ¤nally becomes holy and inspires awe. Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra With the publication of The Garden of Eden, Hemingway criticism has become preoccupied with such thematic concerns as androgyny, transsexuality , and sexual fetishism and, in turn, the scholarship is increasingly becoming more sensitive to the issue of gender politics. Very often, though, these critical forays eclipse or ignore some of the more traditional , even stereotypical, motifs in Hemingway’s oeuvre. This is particularly true of the code hero, yet this need not be the case. In fact, heightened insight into the psychosexual dimensions of Hemingway can enhance and expand our understanding of his code hero, enabling us to see not only a much more feminized creation but, moreover, one which actually includes women, and while this may be true of a number of Hemingway’s protagonists, it has particular relevance to Brett Ashley. Of his many characters, speci¤cally females, she has provoked the most disagreement , controversy, and, perhaps, interest, as evidenced by her inclusion in Harold Bloom’s prestigious series, Major Literary Characters. As numerous critics from Wolfgang E. H. Rudat to Jackson J. Benson have suggested, interpretations of The Sun Also Rises inevitably (or necessarily) center on Brett’s characterization.1 Because of her importance to the plot, or her notoriety, or even sensationalism, Lady Brett captivates readers and critics alike. To extricate Brett, then, from some of the more unfavorable interpretations is to simultaneously help destigmatize those women in general who resemble her. In effect, Brett provides a model no less signi ¤cant, important, or romantic than any of the male code heroes who have inspired or in®uenced countless readers, hence contributed in large part to Hemingway’s endurance. In an age where thousands of men and women admire the pop culture icon Madonna, and precisely for her brazen individuality and independence, it is dif¤cult to understand persistent negative criticisms of Brett. For many decades, Hemingway and the code hero have been synonymous , and the numerous historical revisions focusing on his psychosexuality , gender politics, and the like, have done little to erode this association in the minds of many readers—both the general public and scholarship alike. My experience both within and outside academe has convinced me that information about Hemingway’s “sea change” is not as pervasive as those advancing such theories might presume. It appears that the code hero motif is as ¤rmly entrenched as ever, yet, importantly, this does not necessarily do a disservice to Hemingway, his authorial intentions , or to those readers enamored with the general concept of a code hero. In fact, quite the contrary seems true, and for this reason, a renewed look at the motif is warranted, though it seems that a revaluation needs to occur among some Hemingway scholars much more than with the general reading public. The idea of the code hero was born out of necessity, as a means of coping with an unsettling or absurd world, and as we now grapple with the postmodern condition, the concept is not only relevant but, perhaps, more necessary than ever. Because the code hero is grounded in the existential be-ing in the world, in contradistinction to a world of absolutes, it offers the potential for transcendence beyond or escape from arbitrary and restrictive cultural and ideological conventions. In short, the code hero has much to offer to readers today and particularly to any woman who resists criticisms or pressures to perform according to an other’s standards and insists on de¤ning her own authentic self, as does Brett Ashley. The signi¤cance of Brett’s characterization can best be realized by utilizing some long overlooked and sadly undervalued sources. By returning to an early, pivotal study of the code hero, Lawrence R. Broer’s Hemingway’s Spanish Tragedy, we can recognize that his thesis concerning particularismo has profound and direct bearing on Brett’s characteriza34 kathy g. willingham tion. Moreover, that she embodies the characteristics associated with the matador, hence quali¤es as the code hero, becomes further evident if we reassess bull¤ghting in light of its more feminized tradition, namely the folklore of tauromachy. In doing so, an overdetermined trope with important political implications emerges. That...

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