A Farewell to Arms: The Clash of Love and Religion in the Character of the Priest

Investigating the interconnection between love and religion in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, in this article, the authors explore the conflictual nature of these concepts in the character of the priest. Harold Bloom cursorily remarks that the religious character of the novel, the priest, conveys the definition of love which is in contrast to lust and passion and Lieutenant Henry is greatly influenced by the priest. Here, however, we try to emphasize the conflicting sense of love in the character of the priest and maintain that the priest ambivalently waves aside Henry’s sensual love for Catherine and exerts himself to lead them towards a consecrated love. The priest, implicitly, scorns the sensual love between Henry and Catherine and allusively ignores Henry’s sensual love and redirects him into developing a religiously inspired love in his heart.