An English nurse in Italy, she bears the spiritual scars of having lost her fiancé in the Battle of the Somme. When she meets Henry, she is ready to throw herself into a new relationship in order to escape the loss of the old one, enlisting Henry to pretend that they are deeply in love almost as soon as they meet. Emotionally damaged, she can never bring herself to marry Henry, but wants to be with him in an idealized union apart from the rest of the world. Through the constant understatements and deprecating humor in her dialogue, even at moments of extreme danger such as the labor that goes wrong, she reveals herself to be a stoic match for Henry, the female side of the Hemingway hero, who does much and says little.
Catherine Barkley Quotes in A Farewell to Arms
The A Farewell to Arms quotes below are all either spoken by Catherine Barkley or refer to Catherine Barkley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
"You don't have to pretend you love me. That's over for the evening. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"
"But I do love you."
"Please let's not lie when we don't have to."
"But I do love you."
"Please let's not lie when we don't have to."
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Chapter 14
Quotes
God knows I had not wanted to fall in love with her. I had not wanted to fall in love with any one. But God knows I had.
Chapter 16
Quotes
"There, darling. Now you're all clean inside and out. Tell me. How many people have you ever loved?"
"Nobody."
"Nobody."
Chapter 18
Quotes
"You're my religion. You're all I've got."
Chapter 19
Quotes
"I'm afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it."
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Chapter 40
Quotes
We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together.
Chapter 41
Quotes
God please make her not die. I'll do anything you say if you don't let her die. You took the baby but don't let her die. That was all right but don't let her die. Please, please, dear God, don't let her die.
But after I had got them out and shut the door and turned off the lights it wasn't any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.
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Catherine Barkley Quotes in A Farewell to Arms
The A Farewell to Arms quotes below are all either spoken by Catherine Barkley or refer to Catherine Barkley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
"You don't have to pretend you love me. That's over for the evening. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"
"But I do love you."
"Please let's not lie when we don't have to."
"But I do love you."
"Please let's not lie when we don't have to."
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14
Quotes
God knows I had not wanted to fall in love with her. I had not wanted to fall in love with any one. But God knows I had.
Chapter 16
Quotes
"There, darling. Now you're all clean inside and out. Tell me. How many people have you ever loved?"
"Nobody."
"Nobody."
Chapter 18
Quotes
"You're my religion. You're all I've got."
Chapter 19
Quotes
"I'm afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it."
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 40
Quotes
We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together.
Chapter 41
Quotes
God please make her not die. I'll do anything you say if you don't let her die. You took the baby but don't let her die. That was all right but don't let her die. Please, please, dear God, don't let her die.
But after I had got them out and shut the door and turned off the lights it wasn't any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
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Explanation and Analysis: