The Progression of Love in A Farewell to Arms There are two main themes in A Farewell to Arms that Hemingway clearly conveys: war and love. The theme of war is evident because the book is set during the World War. The theme of love is less obvious, it begins weakly due to the uncertainty between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley. Neither desires love or commitment with anyone, but acts on their desires for passion. As the story progresses, their love also progresses. The strength of their love is strengthened by various understandings and agreements. Love is the theme that closes the book, leaving a final allusion to what their love is about. When the two first meet, Catherine is still dealing with the death of her fiancé in battle. This presents her as a woman who knows the dangers and possibilities of war. As a nurse physically present during the war, she is rightly not perceived as grieving and mortified by the death of her fiancé. She didn't marry him because he wanted to go to war, "I would have married him or something... But then he wanted to go to war and I didn't know it" (Hemingway, 19). Typically, many women married their lovers attracted by the war. She goes on to say that she “knew nothing then,” but the fact that she knew the war was no excuse to get married presents her as insightful and intelligent (19). The war alone could not justify her love for her lifelong friend and boyfriend. This tragic event initially explains her confused emotional behavior towards Henry. The fact that Henry does not remember his date with Catherine because he was drunk shows that he did not take Catherine too seriously. However, his surprising heartbreak when she can't see him shows that... middle of paper... a whirlwind romance of Henry and Catherine's relationship. Henry's involvement in the war always leads him back to Catherine, whether by choice or accident. His love for her became an important push for him to move forward: when he was wounded, during the retreat, when he killed a man and when he abandoned the Italian Army. Henry's life was war, but his motivation was love for Catherine. Works cited and consulted Hemingway, Ernest; A Farewell to Arms; Simon & Schuster, Inc.; New York, New York; 1929 The Cambridge Companion by Ernest Hemingway; edited by Scott Donaldson; Cambridge UP; New York, New York; 1996Mandel, Miriam B.; Reading Hemingway: Fact in Fiction; The Scarecrow Press, Inc.; Metuchen, New Jersey; 1995 Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Farewell to Arms; edited by Jay Gellens; Prentice-Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; 1965