For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls

by

Ernest Hemingway

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The Eternality of the Present Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Love in War Theme Icon
Cultural Connections Theme Icon
Violence, Cowardice, and Death Theme Icon
The Eternality of the Present Theme Icon
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The Eternality of the Present Theme Icon

Although the antagonizing fascists are a central topic of discussion in the novel, it is not until its end that Pablo, Pilar, and Robert Jordan’s guerilla group encounter the fascists themselves. It is immediately clear that the Republican fighters are outmatched: the novel ends with Robert Jordan confronting death and planning an act of sacrifice. The idea of the future plays a major role throughout For Whom the Bell Tolls, since Pilar predicts Robert Jordan’s death at the beginning of the novel, and both Jordan and Pablo seem to foresee a tragic end for the Republic. Despite these predictions, however, the novel is concerned mainly with the narrative present—the last days of the Republic. As Robert Jordan says, “there is only now […] now is the thing to praise,” suggesting the fundamental importance of living in and for the present, regardless of negative omens for the future.

It is suggested that the anti-fascists’ mission is doomed from the beginning, since the guerillas are disorganized and prone to disagreement, while the fascists are highly militarized and command a great deal of societal power; many of the guerillas are civilians forced to become combatants to restore the Republic. Nonetheless, instead of concentrating solely on the threat of fascism, the novel concerns itself with the precise details of the anti-fascists’ work for the Republic, giving credence to their beliefs and struggle for power. Hemingway creates a feeling of urgency and immediacy: the novel begins in medias res, plunging readers into the action and allowing for a charged narrative present. The past—meaning Jordan and the other guerillas’ backgrounds—occasionally factors into the plot, but Hemingway’s focus remains on tensions building in the present.

As the fascists close in on the guerillas, Robert Jordan’s thoughts turn to timelessness and the eternality of the present, which helps to sustain him in the face of disaster. “This was what had been and now and whatever was to come. This, that they were not to have, they were having. They were having now and before and always and now and now and now. Oh, now, now, now, the only now, and above all now, and there is no other now but thou now and now is thy prophet”: Hemingway’s repetitive, ode-like incantation of “now” emphasizes the importance of living in the present, since every moment lived is a moment that the guerillas “were not to have,” given the likelihood of sudden death. Jordan wishes that he “were going to live a long time instead of going to die today” because he has “learned much about life in these four days”—more “in all the other time” of his life. Thus, the four days that the novel covers become the whole of Jordan’s life, especially since little information is given about Jordan’s life outside of his experiences with the guerillas.

Throughout the four days of the novel, Jordan develops substantially, as one might develop over a lifetime, learning to form bonds with his fellow fighters and coming to understand the meaning of love. “A good life is not measured by any biblical span,” Jordan reflects: “that is all your whole life is; now.” On one hand, Hemingway’s compression of time reflects the collapse of civilization: the normal boundaries between past, present, and future have been disrupted, resulting in an eternal (yet simultaneously fleeting) present, consistent with the sense of disaster and disruption civil war creates. At the same time, however, by focusing on Robert Jordan’s allegiance to the “now” and his marked development within a short period of time, Hemingway uses the idea of the present to affirm the notion that there is no fixed standard for a “good life.” Even lives that occur outside of the norm—such as Robert Jordan’s—have value.

Thus, For Whom the Bell Tolls can be read not only as a war novel, concerned with the pathos of tragedy and dedicated to exposing the ugliness of war, but also as a highly optimistic work focused on the value of living in the moment. If fascism, the future, entails rigidity and obedience, Robert Jordan’s brief life in the narrative present is filled with moments of joy, hope, and relief.

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The Eternality of the Present Quotes in For Whom the Bell Tolls

Below you will find the important quotes in For Whom the Bell Tolls related to the theme of The Eternality of the Present.
Chapter 13 Quotes

For him [Robert Jordan] it was a dark passage which led to nowhere, then to nowhere, then again to nowhere, once again to nowhere, always and forever to nowhere, heavy on the elbows in the earth to nowhere, dark, never any end to nowhere, hung on all time always to unknowing nowhere, this time and again for always to nowhere, now not to be borne once again always and to nowhere, now beyond all bearing up, up, up and into nowhere, suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all nowhere gone and time absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped and he felt the earth move out and away from under them.

Related Characters: Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man, Maria
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:

But in the meantime all the life you have or ever will have is today, tonight, tomorrow, today, tonight, tomorrow, over and over again (I hope), he thought and so you had better take what time there is and be very thankful for it. If the bridge goes bad. It does not look too good just now. But Maria has been good. Has she not? Oh, has she not, he thought. Maybe that is what I am to get now from life. Maybe that is my life and instead of it being threescore years and ten it is forty-eight hours or just threescore hours and ten or twelve rather. Twenty-four hours in a day would be threescore and twelve for the three full days.

Related Characters: Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man (speaker), Maria
Related Symbols: The Bridge
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 37 Quotes

If I die on this day it is a waste because I know a few things now. I wonder if you only learn them now because you are oversensitized because of the shortness of the time? There is no such thing as a shortness of time, though. You should have sense enough to know that too. I have been all my life in these hills since I have been here. Anselmo is my oldest friend. I know him better than I know Charles, than I know Chub, than I know Guy, than I know Mike, and I know them well. Agustin, with his vile mouth, is my brother, and I never had a brother. Maria is my true love and my wife. I never had a true love. I never had a wife. She is also my sister, and I never had a sister, and my daughter, and I never will have a daughter. I hate to leave a thing that is so good.

Related Characters: Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man (speaker), Maria, Anselmo / The Older Man, Agustin, Chub
Related Symbols: The Hills and Mountains
Page Number: 381
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 43 Quotes

I have fought for what I believed in for a year now. If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it. And you had a lot of luck, he told himself, to have had such a good life. You’ve had just as good a life as grandfather’s though not as long. You’ve had as good a life as any one because of these last days. You do not want to complain when you have been so lucky. I wish there was some way to pass on what I’ve learned, though.

Related Characters: Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man (speaker), Robert Jordan’s Grandfather
Page Number: 467
Explanation and Analysis:

Lieutenant Berrendo, watching the trail, came riding up, his thin face serious and grave. His submachine gun lay across his saddle in the crook of his left arm. Robert Jordan lay behind the tree, holding onto himself very carefully and delicately to keep his hands steady. He was waiting until the officer reached the sunlit place where the first trees of the pine forest joined the green slope of the meadow. He could feel his heart beating against the pine needle floor of the forest.

Related Characters: Robert Jordan / Roberto / The Young Man, Lieutenant Paco Berrendo
Page Number: 471
Explanation and Analysis: