In “The Sea Change” by Ernest Hemingway, we follow a conversation between a young woman and who we assume to be her significant other. The two are at odds for a reason we don’t know as the story begins, but it is slowly revealed that the woman is ending the relationship in order to be with another woman. The story is almost entirely self-contained within the context of this single conversation, and introduces new information to us, the audience largely via dialogue. Throughout this conversation, we are introduced to themes of conflict and pride framed to us through the issue of sexuality, which paints a larger picture of how the state of things were for LGBTQ individuals at this time.
It’s interesting in the story that the man is so taken aback and insulted by the woman’s decision to leave him. The reality of the woman being bisexual and introducing this idea to her significant other was something that was considered taboo and was not accepted by society as a whole. We see the man react with surprise, indignancy, and anger, even going so far as to outright refuse to accept what his girlfriend is telling him. This may be intended by Hemingway to show the extent to which people may have rejected the sexuality of others at this time. IF a reaction like the man’s in the story was common, it reflects a larger mindset held by society that was anti-gay or really anti- anything other than straight. This framed idea of what sexuality could or should be was one that was common during the 20s, but now has changed to adapt more of a spectrum-like model.
Another idea that “The Sea Change” discusses is the pride of both characters. This manifests itself differently in both the man and the woman, as the man’s indignancy resulting from the woman’s revelation can be seen as him taking insult to his pride. The fact that he has been undermined and that his partner may have taken part in infidelity could have played a part in the nature of his insult, but it is more likely that he is upset with the fact that the paramour of his lover isn’t even somebody he can compete with or be angry at in the traditional sense of the word. For him, this is such a different issue that the act of his girlfriend’s infidelity insults his pride far more than “If it were a man…”
At the same time, the woman is prideful enough of her sexuality to make her admission to the man and introduce conflict in the first place. While we don’t really get any background on the issue being described, we know that she’s cheated on him with a woman and that this has led to their current predicament. It would have been far easier for her to explain that she had been unfaithful to her boyfriend, and the relationship would likely have ended all the same, but it says something that Hemingway chose to actually make her explain how she’s in a relationship with a woman, and is leaving him to choose to pursue that relationship. She tells him exactly what her situation is and insists several times, against his will, that this is the way things are. The woman is firm in her statement, and shows the man that regardless of how he thinks she should be, this is the way she actually is, and she is proud of it.
Comments