Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Hemingway's characters are defined by what they do, much more so than their appearance or dialogue. The husband's sustained and sedentary reading, the wife's impulsive venture into the rain, the padrone's bow from his desk, and the maid's appearance with the umbrella—all of these actions convey the characters' values, desires, and even their personalities. The way in which characters' words are sometimes at odds with their actions also shows how much more stock Hemingway puts in deeds—think back to the husband's offer to go get the cat. Talk is talk in a story like this…it's the walking that you've got to watch.

Thoughts and Opinions

The significance of thoughts and opinions in a story like this is complex. You get the feeling, especially with allusions to the wife's thoughts, that the narrator doesn't fully trust them. She has a tendency, especially when it comes to the padrone, to project her thoughts and impressions onto others, to assume that she knows what others think and feel. Does she? In a sense, that's up to you to discern for yourself, but it's worth asking why Hemingway does this with her character and none of the others. How do these projections and interpretations define or characterize who she is?