Catherine Barkley Character Analysis in A Farewell to Arms

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:

"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."

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 81

Explanation and Analysis:

"There, darling. Now you're all clean inside and out. Tell me. How many people have you ever loved?"
"Nobody."

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 91

Explanation and Analysis:

"You're my religion. You're all I've got."

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 100

Explanation and Analysis:

"I'm afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it."

Related Characters: (speaker)

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 110

Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 266

Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 282

Explanation and Analysis:

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: (speaker),

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 320

Explanation and Analysis:

Catherine Barkley Character Timeline in A Farewell to Arms

The timeline below shows where the character Catherine Barkley appears in A Farewell to Arms. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Henry loans him fifty lire (Italian money) so that Rinaldi can impress one of them: Catherine Barkley. (full context)

That afternoon, Rinaldi invites Henry to accompany him to the British hospital to meet Catherine Barkley. Catherine is beautiful, with long blonde hair, and she and Henry begin flirting as... (full context)

Henry goes to pay a visit on Catherine the next day. At the hospital, he speaks with the head nurse, who asks why... (full context)

When Henry returns that night, Catherine is in the garden with Helen Ferguson, another English nurse. After Helen departs, they talk... (full context)

Catherine eventually relents and lets Henry kiss her. Afterward, she cries on his shoulder and asks... (full context)

Henry can't find time to visit Catherine for two days. When he does visit, Catherine tells him how much she has missed... (full context)

After they kiss for a while, Catherine surprises Henry by acknowledging that they are playing "a rotten game." They continue to kiss,... (full context)

...major. Midway through a mug of wine, Henry remembers he was supposed to go see Catherine. By the time he gets there, she has gone to bed. He feels lonely and... (full context)

...Hospital, Henry forces the driver of his car to stop. He runs in to see Catherine, and tells her that he will be in "a show" and that she shouldn't worry.... (full context)

...that he did nothing at all heroic during the battle. Rinaldi leaves, promising to send Catherine to visit Henry. (full context)

...the U.S. will soon declare war on Austria as well, while Rinaldi informs Henry that Catherine is also being sent Milan to work at the hospital there. (full context)

...had told her so that they could have shared a drink. Then she tells him Catherine Barkley has arrived, and that she doesn't like her. Henry promises her that she will... (full context)

A bit later, Catherine appears in Henry's room. He knows that he is in love with her the moment... (full context)

Catherine spends that night in Henry's room, making love and watching searchlights roam the sky. In... (full context)

Catherine then asks Henry how many other women he has loved. He says "None." Next, she... (full context)

Henry feels very sick after the operation, and Catherine doesn't visit him for a while. While he recovers, three new American soldiers appear in... (full context)

Henry also comes to like Catherine's friend, Helen Ferguson, who has started working at the hospital and passes his notes along... (full context)

Henry recovers enough to walk on crutches. He and Catherine share an idyllic summer together in Milan, taking romantic carriage rides and eating at fine... (full context)

When apart from Catherine, Henry spends time with a number of people, including a man named Meyers and his... (full context)

At the hospital that night, Catherine tells Henry that she dislikes Moretti, and prefers quieter heroes. It soon begins to rain,... (full context)

A few days later, Henry goes to the horse races with Catherine, Helen Ferguson, Crowell Rodgers (the boy who had been wounded by the shrapnel shell), and... (full context)

Henry notices that Catherine seems upset, and after a little pressuring he gets her to tell him what's wrong:... (full context)

Henry comments that Catherine is too brave for anything bad to happen to them, though Catherine counters that even... (full context)

...Henry reserves a seat on the train and goes to a wine shop to meet Catherine. They stroll down the street. When they pass a soldier kissing a girl against the... (full context)

...Henry buys a pistol and ammunition to bring to the front. Then he suggests to Catherine that they go some place where they can be alone. They go to a hotel... (full context)

...at my back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near." Henry worries about Catherine being alone when she has the baby, but she tells him not to worry. (full context)

Henry and Catherine say their goodbyes in front of the train station in the rain. (full context)

...heavily than ever. Rinaldi notes that Henry seems like a "married man," then asks whether Catherine is good in bed. Henry refuses to tell him. Rinaldi notes with surprise that this... (full context)

...frightened of the vulgar soldiers around them. Henry looks up at the rain and wishes Catherine good night, promising not to leave her, and falls asleep. He wakes to find that... (full context)

...he hides, Henry tries to avoid thinking about how hungry he is by thinking about Catherine, but thinking about her without being able to see her makes him feel as if... (full context)

...Emilio directs Henry to the hotel where "two English nurses" are staying. When Henry arrives, Catherine is thrilled to see him, but Helen Ferguson angrily accuses Henry of ruining Catherine's life.... (full context)

After Henry and Catherine make love in Henry's hotel room, Henry lies awake and thinks about how he never... (full context)

...the morning, Henry doesn't read the newspaper while they eat breakfast. He promises to tell Catherine about his experiences once he himself understands them, and she jokes that he shouldn't feel... (full context)

While Catherine goes to visit Helen Ferguson, Henry reads the papers and learns that the Austrian advance... (full context)

...the morning. He advises Henry to use his boat to escape to Switzerland. Henry wakes Catherine up. They hurry out into the rain and down to the dock. Emilio gives Henry... (full context)

Henry and Catherine are elated when they step ashore in Switzerland. Immediately, they go to eat breakfast, leaving... (full context)

Henry still wants to get married. Catherine is less interested in marriage, but agrees to marry once the baby is born so... (full context)

As Christmas approaches, Catherine asks Henry if he is restless. He does sometimes think of Rinaldi, the priest, and... (full context)

March and spring arrive, and Henry and Catherine move to the town of Lausanne to get closer to the hospital. Henry reads in... (full context)

One night, at three in the morning, Catherine goes into labor. Henry takes her to the hospital, as she talks in a jovial... (full context)

When Henry returns from breakfast, Catherine has been brought to the delivery room and is strapped to an operating table and... (full context)

The doctors decide that a Caesarean section is the best option to save both Catherine and the baby. They wheel Catherine away. Soon, the doctor emerges with a baby boy.... (full context)

...the paper about some success on the British front. When he returns, he learns that Catherine has had a hemorrhage. Henry begs God not to let her die, but when he... (full context)

...back to his hotel, but he refuses. Instead he goes in to say goodbye to Catherine's lifeless body. But, "it was like saying goodbye to a statue." He leaves the hospital... (full context)

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Catherine Barkley Character Analysis

Catherine Barkley Quotes in A Farewell to Arms

Catherine Barkley Character Timeline in A Farewell to Arms

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