Nancy Sindelar reflects on writing her book, Part 4

By Craig Mindrum

Fourth in a series of conversations with Nancy Sindelar about her new book, Hemingway’s Passions: His Women, His Wars, and His Writing. Available here. Check out the first three blogs at #1, #2, and #3, and watch a preview of the book.

Interview

Nancy, from which part or parts of your book do you feel you learned the most about Hemingway?

It’s well known that Ernest’s writing is highly autobiographical, but I was amazed at the extent to which the women in his life became major characters in his novels and short stories. Sometimes his wives and ex-wives showed up in his fiction in not very flattering ways. His marriage to Pauline Pfieffer introduced Ernest to the world of wealth, but he later believed money corrupted writers. Eventually, Pauline, who supported him in every way, was transformed into the “rich bitch” married to the failing writer in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.”

What parts of Hemingway’s life and work should we celebrate and learn from?

Ernest’s success can be attributed to his unwavering work ethic. His parents were very strict and very religious. Their six children were expected to always be doing serious reading or something worthwhile. If the children did something wrong, they were told to kneel on the floor and ask God for forgiveness. There was no fooling around in the Hemingway house.

Ernest desperately wanted to be a writer and didn’t give up or accept rejection. He found women who supported his writing efforts and sought environments to stimulate interesting settings and plots and took risks to produce revolutionary content for his novels and short stories. His mother rejected The Sun Also Rises, telling him it was the filthiest book ever written, but the novel propelled Ernest to fame at the age of twenty-six.

Did you ever feel disappointment with Hemingway as you conducted your research? Or admiration, on the other hand?

Ernest was a handsome, adventurous man who appealed to women of all ages. It’s been fun to research and write about his life and his relationships with women. I believe he truly loved each of his wives, but he also eventually hurt all of them. I used to wear a T-shirt that had an arrow pointing to my face and said, “Hemingway’s Fifth Wife.” After writing Hemingway’s Passions, I no longer feel like wearing the T-shirt.

You sit on the Board of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation in Oak Park, which oversees Hemingway’s childhood home. What aspects of Hemingway’s early life ended up in his short stories and novels? Could we see the beginning of his “passions” even then?

Ernest’s lifelong interest or passion for war was initiated during his childhood and adolescence in Oak Park. Both of his grandfathers were veterans of the Civil War and believed that war was the venue for men to display courage and support strong personal beliefs. When Ernest had the opportunity to drive an Red Cross ambulance in World War I, he jumped at the chance and told his sister, “I can’t let a show like this go on, without getting in on it.” Later he reported on the Spanish Civil War and World War II. As time passed, Ernest developed a fascination for studying men facing dangerous situations and death. Wars stirred this passion and became the setting for some of his most successful novels, including A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Thanks for speaking with us, Nancy.

Nancy Sindelar, Ph.D., is the author of a new biography, Hemingway's Passions: His Women, His Wars, and His Writing. She is the author of several other books, including Influencing Hemingway: People and Places that Shaped His Life and Work. Nancy sits on the Board of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, which oversees the Hemingway Birthplace Museum.

Craig Mindrum, Ph.D., is a member of the Board of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park. He received his doctorate in an interdisciplinary field of ethics, theology, and literature from the University of Chicago. He is a writer and business consultant.