A Farewell to Arms facts for kids

A Farewell to Arms is a famous novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway. It tells a story set during World War I, specifically focusing on the Italian part of the war. The book was first published in 1929.

The story is told from the point of view of Frederic Henry, an American who works as a lieutenant in the ambulance corps for the Italian Army. The novel also describes a special connection that grows between Frederic and an English nurse named Catherine Barkley.

When it was published, A Farewell to Arms helped make Hemingway a very important American writer. It became his first best-selling book and is often called a top American war novel from World War I. The title might have come from a 16th-century poem by George Peele.

This novel has been turned into other forms of entertainment many times. It was made into a play in 1930, then into films in 1932 and 1957. A three-part TV show was also made in 1966. The 1996 movie In Love and War shows parts of Hemingway's own life as an ambulance driver in Italy before he wrote this book.

As of January 1, 2025, A Farewell to Arms is in the public domain. This means anyone can now use or share the book freely.

Main Characters

• Lieutenant Frederic Henry: An American officer who drives ambulances for the Italian Army.
• Miss Catherine Barkley: An English nurse who becomes close with Frederic.
• Lieutenant Rinaldi: A lively army surgeon and a good friend to Frederic.
• The priest: An army chaplain who often talks with Frederic about life and war.
• Helen Ferguson: A friend and fellow nurse of Catherine.
• Miss Van Campen: The head nurse at the American hospital in Milan. She and Frederic do not get along well.
• Miss Gage: Another nurse at the American hospital in Milan who becomes friends with Frederic.
• Major Valentini: A skilled and cheerful surgeon who helps Frederic with his injury.
• Gino: A friendly Italian soldier whose strong patriotism sometimes bothers Frederic.
• Bonello: An ambulance driver under Frederic's command.
• Piani: An ambulance driver who stays loyal to Frederic.
• Passini: An ambulance driver who is killed during a mortar attack.
• Aymo: An ambulance driver who is killed during the army's retreat.
• Emilio: A bartender in Stresa who helps Frederic and Catherine escape.
• Count Greffi: A very old nobleman whom Frederic knows.
• Ralph Simmons and Edgar Saunders: Two opera singers studying in Italy.

Story Summary

The novel is divided into five main parts, or "books." Frederic Henry tells the story from his own perspective.

Book One: The Start of War

Frederic Henry is an American medic serving in the Italian Army during World War I. The story begins in winter, when many soldiers get sick. Frederic visits Gorizia and meets other soldiers and a priest. He also meets his friend, Surgeon Rinaldi.

Rinaldi introduces Frederic to Catherine Barkley, an English nurse. Frederic is drawn to Catherine. She shares that her fiancé died in battle. Frederic and Catherine begin to spend time together, and their friendship grows.

Frederic and his ambulance drivers, including Passini, take their ambulance into the war zone. During a mortar attack, Passini is killed, and Frederic is badly wounded in the knee on the Italian front. He is then sent to a hospital.

Book Two: Recovery and Growing Feelings

Surgeon Rinaldi visits Frederic in the hospital and praises his bravery. Frederic is told he will be moved to a hospital in Milan for better care. He asks for Catherine to be his nurse there. The priest also visits, and Frederic talks about his feelings against the war.

Frederic arrives at an American hospital in Milan. Nurses Miss Gage and Mrs. Walker care for him, along with Superintendent Miss Van Campen. Catherine soon arrives, and Frederic realizes his strong feelings for her. Their connection deepens. Doctor Valentini examines Frederic's injury.

This part of the story shows Frederic and Catherine's relationship growing stronger over the summer. They enjoy activities like boating and horse races. Frederic also meets Helen Ferguson, another nurse and Catherine's friend. After his knee heals, Frederic gets sick with jaundice.

He is given three weeks of leave to recover. However, Miss Van Campen finds empty bottles in Frederic's room. She thinks he is trying to avoid the war and reports him. His leave is canceled, and he is called back to the war front. Catherine tells him she is expecting a baby. They promise to get married when he returns.

Book Three: The Retreat

Frederic goes back to Gorizia. Rinaldi checks his leg, and the priest notices a change in Frederic. The priest also believes the war will end soon. Frederic travels to Bainsizza, where he learns about powerful Austrian guns. He realizes the Italians might be in danger.

Heavy rain begins, and bombs start falling. Frederic sees that the soldiers' spirits are very low. Soon after, the Austro-Hungarians break through the Italian lines in the Battle of Caporetto, and the Italian army has to retreat. Houses are emptied, and people are loaded into trucks.

During the chaotic retreat, Frederic decides to take a different path to avoid the main road. He and his men get lost, and their cars get stuck. Two sergeants refuse to help, and Frederic has to take action. One of his drivers, Aymo, is later killed. Another driver, Bonello, runs away.

Frederic and his last companion, Piani, catch up to the main retreat. After crossing a bridge, Frederic is stopped by military police. Officers are being questioned and executed for the Italian defeat. Frederic escapes by jumping into the river. He then travels to Milan to find Catherine.

Book Four: Escape to Switzerland

In Milan, Frederic learns that Catherine has gone to Stresa. He visits Ralph Simmons, an opera singer he met before, who helps him get civilian clothes. Frederic feels strange in these clothes, as people look at him differently.

He takes a train to Stresa and goes to the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromées. Emilio, a bartender, tells him that Catherine and Helen Ferguson are staying nearby. Frederic meets Catherine and Helen. He also meets Count Greffi, an old nobleman he knew from a previous visit. Frederic avoids talking about his war experiences. He feels like a deserter.

Emilio warns Frederic that Italian police are looking for him. Catherine and Frederic decide to escape to Switzerland. Emilio helps them arrange travel by rowboat. The water is rough due to a storm, but Frederic rows all night, with Catherine also helping. They finally reach Switzerland. Guards check their identities and give them temporary permission to stay.

Book Five: A New Life and Sadness

Frederic and Catherine live a peaceful life in the mountains. They move to a wooden house outside the village of Montreux. They meet new friends, Mr. and Mrs. Guttingen. Sometimes, Catherine worries about their baby's health.

They later move to Lausanne to be closer to a hospital. Catherine goes into labor and is taken to the hospital. The doctor tells Frederic that a caesarean operation might be needed. Catherine goes through a lot of pain and sadly, their baby boy is stillborn.

Later, a nurse tells Frederic that Catherine is very ill. He is scared. He goes to see her, and she passes away with him by her side. Frederic leaves the hospital and walks back to his hotel in the rain.

Background of the Novel

The story of A Farewell to Arms was partly inspired by Hemingway's own experiences during World War I in Italy. The character of Catherine Barkley was based on Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse who cared for Hemingway in a Milan hospital after he was wounded. He had wanted to marry her, but she did not return his feelings when he went back to America.

Kitty Cannell, a fashion writer, was the inspiration for Helen Ferguson. The unnamed priest in the book was based on Don Giuseppe Bianchi, a real priest in the army. The character of Rinaldi had appeared in Hemingway's earlier stories.

Much of the plot was developed through letters Hemingway exchanged with his friend Frederic J. Agate, who had letters from his own time in Italy.

Some people thought A Farewell to Arms was completely about Hemingway's life because his previous novel, The Sun Also Rises, was based on real people. However, Michael Reynolds writes that Hemingway was not actually involved in the battles described in the book.

Hemingway started writing A Farewell to Arms at a ranch in Wyoming. Parts of the novel were also written in Piggott, Arkansas, at the home of his wife Pauline Pfeiffer, and in Mission Hills, Kansas, while she was expecting their baby. Pauline herself had a caesarean section around the time Hemingway was writing the scene about Catherine's childbirth.

Hemingway found it difficult to write the ending of the book. He said he wrote 39 different versions before he was happy with it. A 2012 edition of the book actually included 47 different possible endings!

The novel was first published in parts in Scribner's Magazine from May to October 1929. The full book came out in September 1929, with about 31,000 copies printed. The success of A Farewell to Arms made Hemingway financially independent.

In July 2012, The Hemingway Library Edition was released. This new edition included an appendix with the many alternate endings Hemingway had written, as well as parts from early drafts of the story.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has two handwritten pages where Hemingway listed possible titles for the book. Most of these titles came from The Oxford Book of English Verse. One title he thought about was In Another Country and Besides, which comes from a play by Christopher Marlowe.

Book Censorship

When A Farewell to Arms was first published in magazines, some words were changed, and parts of the story were cut short. When the full novel came out in 1929, the cut passages were put back, but some of the strong language was still censored. Hemingway himself later wrote the censored words back into at least two copies of the first edition. These corrected copies were given to Maurice Coindreau and James Joyce. Hemingway's full, uncensored text was finally included in a 2025 edition of the novel.

A Farewell to Arms was banned in the Irish Free State for a time.

Also, the novel could not be published in Italy until 1948. The Fascist government at the time thought the book was disrespectful to the Armed Forces. This was because of how it described the Battle of Caporetto and because it seemed to be against war. Some writers have suggested that the Fascist leader Benito Mussolini personally disliked Hemingway. Hemingway had interviewed Mussolini in 1923 and later wrote an article calling him "the biggest bluff in Europe." Mussolini did not like this article at all. The Italian translation of the book was actually prepared secretly in 1943 by Fernanda Pivano, which led to her arrest.

Other Adaptations

The novel was first adapted for the stage by Laurence Stallings in 1930. It was then made into a film in 1932, and again in a 1957 remake. A three-part television miniseries was created in 1966. In December 2023, a new film version was announced, with Michael Winterbottom directing and Tom Blyth starring.

The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough, shows Hemingway's life as an ambulance driver in Italy before he wrote A Farewell to Arms. It stars Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock.

A radio play version was produced in 1937 as part of the Lux Radio Theater series, starring Clark Gable and Josephine Hutchinson. In 2011, BBC Radio 4 created a 10-episode adaptation for their 15 Minute Drama series.

Images for kids

See also

In Spanish: Adiós a las armas para niños