The Paris Wife

Ernest is the novel’s deuteragonist, a complex and magnetic figure whose psychology is governed by the twin forces of his all-consuming artistic ambition and his deep-seated psychological wounds. As a round character, he is portrayed as both a passionate, vulnerable romantic and the eventual antagonist of his own marriage. His arc is defined by his struggle between a profound need for the stability Hadley provides and a restless hunger for the new experiences he believes are essential to his work, making him a central figure in the theme of The Competing Demands of Love and Artistic Ambition. He is driven by an almost religious devotion to his craft, stating simply, “I want to write one true sentence” (81). This quest is the core of his identity.

Beneath his charismatic and often arrogant exterior, Ernest is depicted as a man deeply scarred by his experiences in World War I. Hadley’s narration reveals his ongoing trauma through his nightmares, his inability to sleep without a light, and his own admission that his soul had briefly left his body on the battlefield. This vulnerability is what initially draws Hadley to him and defines her role in their early relationship. She is his “Feather Kitty,” the steadying presence who makes him feel safe enough to face his demons and his artistic goals. He tells her, “I can do anything if I have you with me” (58), revealing a dependence that stands in stark contrast to the hyper-masculine myth he would later build around himself. This need for a stable home base is genuine, but it is ultimately not enough to overcome his other, more destructive impulses.

As his career begins to gain momentum, Ernest’s ambition increasingly functions as the primary antagonist to his and Hadley’s intimacy. The act of writing is a sacred, solitary pursuit that physically and emotionally separates him from his wife. He requires new material—new places, new people, new conflicts—to feed his work, a need that leads him away from the quiet domesticity he shares with Hadley. This restlessness, combined with a desire for fresh admiration and intellectual stimulation, draws him toward Pauline Pfeiffer and the wealthy, sophisticated expatriate crowd. The novel portrays his infidelity not as a singular event but as the culmination of The Gradual Erosion of Trust and Intimacy, a slow process of emotional withdrawal as his focus shifts from his marriage to his career and his own desires. In prioritizing his ambition above all else, Ernest sacrifices the “holy” bond he once shared with Hadley, becoming a man who achieves literary greatness at the cost of his first and, as he would later reflect, truest love.

Pauline functions as the primary antagonist of the novel’s central romance and the embodiment of the modern, sophisticated world that ultimately lures Ernest away from Hadley. Characterized as sleek, wealthy, and supremely self-confident, Pauline represents everything the more traditional Hadley is not and acts as a foil for Hadley in both the novel and in Hadley’s mind. Her arrival is ominously foreshadowed in the prologue, where Hadley describes her as “the girl who will come along and ruin everything […] in a gorgeous chipmunk coat and fine shoes” (xvii). As an editor for Vogue in Paris, Pauline is a professional and fashionable woman with “fast smart talk” who moves easily within the glamorous social circles of the Right Bank, a world where Hadley feels increasingly out of place.

Pauline’s role in the narrative is defined by her gradual infiltration of the Hemingways’ marriage. When she first meets the couple, Hadley is her main connection and friend, through whom she gains intimate access to the couple’s life. This dynamic allows the affair to develop insidiously, as she shifts her attention from Hadley to Ernest, dismantling the marriage from within rather than assailing it from the outside. Her pursuit of Ernest develops to be both relentless and strategic, reflecting her determination to get what she wants, which Hadley sees as a feature of the “modern” woman. Pauline becomes the catalyst for the complete breakdown of the marriage, particularly during the torturous summer in Antibes, where her presence forces Hadley to accept the “three-person arrangement.” In this, Pauline serves as the human face of the novel’s theme of the gradual erosion of trust and intimacy, representing the alluring and destructive power of novelty that ultimately shatters Hadley and Ernest’s bond.

Kate Smith serves as the catalyst for the novel’s central relationship while also acting as an early voice of caution. It is at her party in Chicago that Hadley and Ernest first meet, but Kate’s own complicated history with Ernest immediately introduces a note of tension. She functions as a Cassandra figure, warning Hadley that Ernest is “just young. He likes women—all women, apparently” (17). Her advice, born from her own past hurt, foreshadows the pain Ernest will eventually cause Hadley. Though her role diminishes after the couple moves to Paris, she represents a clear-eyed perspective on Ernest’s character that Hadley, in the throes of new love, chooses to disregard.

Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound function as Ernest’s primary artistic mentors in Paris. Together, they represent the intellectual heart of the expatriate literary scene and are instrumental in shaping his early career. Stein, with her famous salon and authoritative presence, provides Ernest with critical feedback, famously advising him to focus on “[s]trong declarative sentences” (88). Pound, portrayed as a “bumptious and half crazed” but brilliant poet and critic (83), uses his connections to help get Ernest’s work published. Their salons and studios are the classrooms where Ernest hones his modernist style. Furthermore, their unconventional domestic arrangements—Stein’s partnership with Alice B. Toklas and Pound’s open marriage to Dorothy Shakespear—expose Hadley to the bohemian moral codes of their circle, subtly foreshadowing the later challenges to her own more traditional marriage.

Don Stewart and Chink Dorman-Smith represent loyal and honorable friendship, acting as foils to the more volatile relationships in Ernest’s life. Chink, an old army friend, shares a deep bond with Ernest, rooted in their shared experience of the war, and provides a unique understanding of his trauma. Don Stewart, a humorist, is an early admirer of the Hemingways’ marriage, memorably declaring it “holy” in the idyllic early days in Paris. This initial observation provides a benchmark against which the relationship’s later decay is measured. As the marriage unravels, Don becomes a compassionate and sympathetic confidant for Hadley, offering her a stable and non-judgmental presence amidst the emotional chaos. Both characters stand for a simple, steadfast loyalty that contrasts sharply with the betrayals that come to define the novel’s central conflict.