In Spain, prior to the advent of the week-long festivities, Jake depicts events in a timely-controlled manner; the situation isn’t jumping from one bar to another, but involves spiritual, social, and communal influences. “It was quiet and no one was drunk,” is a description of the mental vacation for the characters, away from the stuffy atmosphere of bars in Paris (154). Jake “went to church a couple of times in Spain for confession (154). Also, in Pamplona after dinner, “all the good-looking girls, the officers from the garrison, all the fashionable people of the town” came together at a square after dinner. Since this story is narrated by Jake, his emphasis of “all” hints at the way everyone in the village comes together as a community at social gatherings. The communal connections are further emphasized in the bull-fighting tradition and how the village meets for this event.
However, Jake’s escaping of the stuffy atmosphere of bars in Paris to the tranquil countryside in Spain is, ironically, an antithesis of the attachment toward the dangerous practices of bull-fighting. Jake prides in his knowledge and “aficion”, or passion, in bull-fighting (136). His attachment to the grim realities of this sport don’t seem to coincide with his personality. The environment in Spain where he achieves his leisurely relaxation is the same place that advertises tragedy as source of entertainment. Jake knows the violence depicted, but still invests to know more about bull-fighting possibly as a scapegoat to prove his masculinity.
While analyzing Belmonte’s history as a bull-fighter, Jake says, “people went to the corrida to see Belmonte, to be given the tragic sensations, perhaps to see the death of Belmonte” (218). Is his masculinity being retaliated by interfering in such eventful activities? It would make sense that Jake isn’t violent because of his consistency to attend church, his caringness towards Brett, and lack of causing drama on the trip. In fact, Jake reacts negatively to Cohn’s incompetence to control his violence. The settings in Spain have given him the openness and freedom of expression to prove his masculinity without getting directly involved. Since the bull-fighting events take place in the daytime, Jake has a better chance to appear “hard-boiled” (42).
Jake's "aficion" for violent and bloody sport indeed might seem puzzling: he's a rather peace-loving guy, personally (he has no patience for Cohn always standing up and wanting to fight), and he himself has been violently wounded in the war, and it seems like he's lost his taste for this kind of thing--he doesn't believe that his wound makes him "heroic," for example.
ReplyDeleteBut the bullfight is a special kind of violence: it's controlled, there are rules, there are elaborate costumes, there's a clear goal, and, importantly, nothing *but* bullfighting is at stake, Each fight is a chance for the matador to perform, to enhance his reputation in the pantheon of matadors, and his performance is judged like a dance or work of art, only with real danger as an important element. Jake seems more like a theater critic in the stands than a bloodthirsty fan. He even tells Brett to look away when there's blood. It's like the violence is a necessary part of this larger artistic context, worlds apart from Cohn's "put em up" posturing.