On this day in history, July 8th in 1929, Ernest Hemingway’s novel “A Farewell to Arms“ was published.
The novel, narrated by a young, injured WWI American soldier named Frederic Henry, tells the story of Frederic’s relationship with Catherine. Frederick and Catherine meet in Milan, Italy during WWI. Catherine is his army nurse, several years his senior. She is tending to Frederic after he suffered serious wounds from the front line. They fall in love and live together after the war. The book ends tragically with Catherine dying from cesarean labor while delivering a stillborn child. The title, A Farewell to Arms, connects Frederic’s farewell to the arms of war and farewell to the arms of Catherine.
The novel is semi-autobiographical. As a WWI soldier, Hemingway fell in love with his nurse, seven years his senior, named Agnes. However, the end of A Farewell to Arms is vastly different from Hemingway’s real-life experience. Hemingway agonized how to end his book, drafting at least thirty-eight alternate conclusions. In reality, Agnes, ended their relationship after the war. Hemingway wrote the conclusion to The Farewell to Arms that ended up in the book while his second wife, Pauline, was giving birth by cesarean section. Their son, Patrick, survived.
It would be fascinating to read the thirty-eight other possible endings to the story of Frederic and Catherine. Each version likely reveals Hemingway’s varied emotions, hopes, and regrets about his relationship with Agnes. They likely also disclose his inner hypotheses about what he thought could have been if he and Agnes did live together after the war. Hemingway biographers say that his heartbreak over Agnes was a major turning point in his life and led to his subsequent distrust of women. The multiple versions of The Farewell to Arms, I can imagine, was Hemingway’s way to find catharsis and conclusion to what could have been yet never was. Perhaps through writing the novel, Hemingway was able to say farewell to Agnes for good.
Like Hemingway, we would like to write different versions of real life events. “What if”; “imagine” and “if only” are repeated refrains in any life. Regret, suffering and pain will do that.
Sorrowfully, Hemingway’s real story reveals that he never found an escape from the pain. After years of addiction and brokenness, he ended his life at age 61.
Yet in God, there is always hope: no matter how deep the trauma or loss. One needs only to look at Job in the Bible. As chronicled in forty chapters, Job struggled through heavy questions of God’s sovereignty, his responsibility, grief, pain, hope, regret, life and death. In the end, Job declared:
I know that you [Lord] can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ There I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear and I will speak: I will question you, and you make it known to me. I had heard of you be the hearing of your ear, but now my eyes sees you: therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:2-6).
This confession came before the Lord restored his fortunes and revealed that after much loss, Job learned the hope of God’s power and sovereign will. Job also learned about God’s grace that invited him to confess and pray through this doubt and pain.
Likely, there is a part of your story you would like to write an alternative ending to. Job’s experience speaks that there is hope in saying farewell to what could have been and laying down what one is holding against God. Job would say to you to seek the Lord, take time to listen to His Word, and embrace the mysteries of His sovereign plans and purposes of your life where there is great hope.
Ultimate hope, however, is found in Christ. “Although without sin, He became sin” (2 Cor. 5:21) and experienced the ultimate hopelessness: having the Father turn away from Him and facing death where the enemy gained victory over Him for three days. Yet because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice, those who place their faith and trust in Him are fully forgiven of their sins and will never be separated from the love of God. There is always hope in God, and always a good end to the story for those who believe.