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Originally Posted by Andy Kelley
Steve , i humbly disagree with some of the points you raised about my comments and would ask you to condsider , with an open mind, my response.Hemingway was dressed as a girl not to fit in with fashion but because his mother wanted twin girls.This was a fantasy she was very open about.Hemingway had nightmares at Christmas because he was afraid Santa would think he was a girl and bring him girl toys. As I remember it Hemingways mother moved a female student into their house because she was in love with her. You can imagine what this did to his fathers self esteem. Your comments about his wounds not being too much to be concerned with are open to a further debate. I must assume that you like me are a combat vet and have a valid point of view. I can only say that a mortar attack is frightening event and stays with you for a long time .Hemingways uniform was shredded and his body filled with shrapnel.We really don't know a lot about PTSD and there is no hard and fast rule about who is vulnerable to the after effects of combat. When viet nam vets came back early from the war and complained of hearing voices and screaming in their heads they were incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia .Little did the doctors know that real past experiences of combat were being replayed in their heads. Hemingway was diagnosed as bipolar and I think the episodes of fighting and boozing during his manic stages are very well documented. I rest my case and will now open the Bourbon and go to sleep.
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Thank you, Andy for your kind and thoughtful response. I have read several bios of Hem; Bakers, and Hotchners and I've read other biographical pieces. I read them when the works were first published...so some I read 20 years ago, and my memory, being martini soaked may be, and probably is, flawed.
Carlos Baker's book was my fave, and I think I still have it. I should re-read. Concerning the VN war, I was an attack pilot and did not spend time in the bush, as you apparently did. When we experienced the occassional rocket attack we had to get our Marines off of the roofs of their hooches because they wanted to click away with their new Japanese cameras.
The experience of war affects different people differently, and yes, HEM was badly wounded. I believe he spent a year in the hospital where he met and fell in love with his nurse, Agnes, several years his senior. I doubt he suffered from PTSD because he did not hesitate to discuss the event and was proud of it.
Nor do I see evidence of serious metal disease, as you allude to. As I posted earlier, I do believe that he experienced a mental disorder, but only late in life when he suffered brain damage by butting his head into the door of his crashed aircraft. Dura fluid leaked from his ears. Hem must have become depressed and with today's drugs he probably would have done much better than he did. He was under a doctor's care and he took drugs and shock treatments.
Hem experienced many successes which leads me to believe that he was not only sane but also in control, at least for most of his life. Hard writing requires a clear head and organized mind.
Hem was ego driven; not unique. When his self image began to falter (in his eyes) his ego was crushed. He could not tolerate the man he had become and being a man of action, he killed himself.
Which leads us to the question: Can a man with such a gigantic ego and all consuming self awareness who committed suicide also be sane? As I am sure you can tell I am no expert, my degree is in history. Was Hem tormented because he was dressed as a girl? I doubt it, because it was a common practice.
This boy is John Ernest Robert, Sallie and William Robert's eldest son. Sallie was a friend of Billy the Kid. She dressed her son in a dress. He turned out fine. This boy was born in 1881.