A Farewell to Arms

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1929

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Book 3, Chapters 25-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 3, Chapter 25 Summary

It is the fall of 1917. Again, the narration focuses on the landscape, the bare trees, the brown fields, and the wet dead leaves on the road. Frederic notes: “It did not feel like a homecoming” (143).

The major greets him and then immediately tells him that it’s been a bad summer, and that Frederic was lucky to have been wounded. The major says that many are expecting an attack, although he doesn’t believe it because the rains have started, and the snow is on its way. The major tells him that tomorrow Frederic will go out to the Bainsizza plateau to relieve the drivers.

When Rinaldi arrives, he welcomes Frederic and inspects his knee to see how the doctors did with the surgery. He feels Frederic is not ready to be back at the front because he does not have enough articulation in his knee. Rinaldi tells him that he is very depressed over the war. They have drinks, even though Frederic is not supposed to since he just recovered from jaundice. Rinaldi says he kept Frederic’s toothbrush glass as a reminder of how Frederic used to brush away his bad nights with prostitutes.

Frederic realizes how much he missed Rinaldi since they knew each other so well from the past two years. When Rinaldi teases him about Catherine, Frederic tells him to stop, and Rinaldi says he understands about being careful about “sacred subjects” (148). Rinaldi says that he only has two things left to enjoy: alcohol and sex, adding that people cannot improve: “We are born with all we have and we never learn. We never get anything new. We all start complete” (149).

They go down to eat dinner at the mess and are joined by the major. The mess seems quiet with just the three of them. The priest arrives. Rinaldi tries to mock the priest when he talks about St. Paul, but Frederic notes that “the baiting did not touch him now” (151).Rinaldi is getting very drunk, and he leaves after dessert. The major says that Rinaldi is overworked, and he also thinks he may have syphilis. The major reminds Frederic to leave before daylight, and then he too leaves.

Book 3, Chapter 26 Summary

The priest joins Frederic in his room and they talk about the war and when it will end. The priest thinks the war will end soon, but Frederic doesn’t think the Austrians will stop since they are currently winning, and “no one ever stopped when they were winning” (156). Only those who have been defeated know the wisdom of stopping a war. The priest is depressed about this, and Frederic too is depressed: “That’s why I never think about these things. I never think and yet when I begin to talk I say the things I have found out in my mind without thinking” (157). Each says he enjoys talking to the other. They agree to talk some more when Frederic gets back.

Book 3, Chapter 27 Summary

When Rinaldi comes in, Frederic wakes, but no one says anything, and he goes back to sleep. Early the next morning he is driving beyond the place where he was wounded, to the Bainsizza plateau. He finds Gino, who he is supposed to relieve, and they discuss the situation. The Austrians are supposed to attack, but like the major, Gino doesn’t believe it. However, the Austrians are shelling the roads nightly, which rattles Gino. Gino asks where he will be going, and Frederic says he might be going to Caporetto. Gino replies that he has heard that is a nice place.

They then discuss the geography of battle. Frederic expected to see more of a flat land that would be easier to defend, but the land is instead broken up. Gino points out that there is no defense in place, even though there are plenty of good positions to set up a defense. Frederic worries about trying to fight battles in a succession of small mountains. He discusses why he prefers a flatter area. Gino says that the Austrians grew potatoes in Bainsizza, and they have eaten everything planted. There are food shortages, and they know this can lead to losing a war. Gino says, “We won’t talk about losing. There is enough talk about losing. What has been done this summer cannot have been done in vain” (161).

Gino’s use of the phrase “in vain” causes Frederic to reflect on language and his own distaste for abstract words like “glory,” “sacrifice,” honor,” and “in vain” (161). Although he likes Gino and realizes he is a patriot, Frederic is also aware of the dangers of language and the power of propaganda for war. He prefers concrete words.

That night at 3 am, the bombardment begins. Frederic and others begin filling the ambulance cars with stretcher cases. The rain has now turned to snow. At daylight there is another attack. The next attack happens at sundown, and it is farther south. There are reports that the Austrians have broken through and that they must prepare to retreat. Then the order is contradicted when the captain reports that “the line of the Bainsizza should be held no matter what happened” (163). Frederic clarifies that he is under the captain’s command, but he needs the order to be clear. He also asks what happens to the wounded during a retreat and is told that he takes as many as he can and then leave the rest.

The next night the order for retreat is given. It is slow-going. That night and the next day they work to carry the wounded to Plava, and then they work to carry the wounded back to Gorizia. The town is almost empty. Frederic sees seven girls from the brothel being loaded into a truck. One of the drivers, Bonello, makes crude jokes about them. Frederic has them load up the equipment from the hospital after checking the car fluids. They then go to the villa to sleep for three hours. Another driver, Aymo, makes them food so that they will have something hot to eat.

Frederic, Bonello, Aymo, and a third driver, Piani, share a meal before leaving. They hope they will be in Udine tomorrow with plenty of food, drink, and sleep. Frederic tells them they are retreating to beyond the Tagliamento to a hospital at Pordenone, which Aymo says is not much of a place.

Book 3, Chapters 25-27 Analysis

In these chapters, there is hardly any mention of Catherine except when Rinaldi teases Frederic about her and Frederic makes him stop. Rinaldi recognizes the “sacred subject” (148) and drops the topic. Frederic is back at war and yet much is unfamiliar. He says it does not "feel like a homecoming" (143). He doesn’t recognize people except for the major, Rinaldi, and the priest. The mood is very dispirited, as the losses weigh heavily on the minds of everyone. Frederic notes marked changes in his friends during his absence. The major says that if he were away like Frederic was, he might not come back. Rinaldi is overworked with all of the war injuries from the difficult summer. He is also possibly suffering from syphilis. Although he is happy to see Frederic, his mood is much more bitter. He gets drunk and belligerent with others.

The priest at first thinks that the war may be ending, but Frederic gives his opinion that it is unlikely the Austrians would just stop fighting when they are winning. This discussion depresses them both. Frederic reveals “that’s why [he] never think about these things” (157). This desire to repress thinking gives the reader insight into his overall character. The clipped nature of his speech suggests that he is deliberately holding back from thinking in order to prevent depression and paralysis. Clearly much is left unsaid in this book and yet the unsaid is still present, as Frederic realizes when he says that even "without thinking" (157) he still finds out things.

These two quiet and sad chapters lead up to the explosive events in Chapter 27. When Frederic arrives at the Bainsizza plateau to join his ambulance detachment, he goes farther than he has ever been before into territory the Austrians previously. He remembers where he was wounded and moves past that area. It is October 23, 1917, the day before the Austrian-German offensive. The discussion of the geography recalls the descriptions in Chapters 1 and 2, which emphasized geography and the mountains. The imagery now seem foreboding.

Frederic distrusts language, especially when describing abstract ideals like "glory" and "honor" (161). He sees through the propaganda. He has been in this war for over two years and sees the reality of war, not the fancy bloated phrases. Frederic sees nothing sacred in war. Instead, he sees the concrete reality of the flash of artillery, the ambulance cars full of bleeding men, and the scared soldiers who are wet to the skin.

The instability of language is even seen in the contradictory orders of the captain who is told to retreat, and then not to retreat, and then to retreat. Frederic wants clarity, but this retreat serves as a retreat from clarity as things become more confused in the following chapters.

On October 25, the retreat starts, and Frederic helps to empty the hospitals with his men. When they share a meal, it recalls the meal shared with the ambulance drivers before Frederic’s wounding, as well as meals shared at the mess. Aymo insists on cooking, realizing that sharing a hot meal together is necessary for their physical and mental strength. He makes sure to see that Frederic has eaten enough, echoing Catherine’s nurturing aspect.

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