What about Brett?

    Brett is an interesting character for an older book like this one. I wouldn't expect to see a free spirited female character like her whose drinking all the time and seeing other men even while being engaged to someone in a book written almost a hundred years ago. At the same time, many of the characters and their habits defy my expectations of a literary novel, for example their dialogues and the way they're constantly joking and roasting each other. Brett has some pretty unique ways of handling situations, yet I still wouldn't say that the effects of the strange almost-relationship with Jake are her fault.

    In class it sounded like a lot of people wanted to call Brett manipulative or selfish. Either that or people thought she was just oblivious to everybody's feelings towards her. However I would say the fault lies on Jake more than her. She explicitly states she isn't interested or can't be in an actual relationship with him, and so the fact he's hurt by her sleeping with Cohn doesn't really have anything to do with something Brett did wrong. If anything he's being kind of toxic, since he had previously expressed understanding with the fact she was going out with other men at the same time their relationship (whatever that entails) was going on. Don't get me wrong, Brett has a lot of problems - for example brushing off her issues, having a hard time committing to anybody, and drinking all the time, but I don't think she was being unfair to Jake by refusing to be with him or sleeping with Cohn. 

    It's hard to tell how invested Brett is in her and Jake's relationship or how in love with him she actually is. Sure, she seems pretty enamored with him when they're together and alone, but we don't know what she's like alone with the other men she has relationships with in the book. Along with that the fact that she always seems to be drinking complicates things. She could just simply not be taking this relationship as seriously as Jake is, which makes it hard to blame her for any hurt she caused him. The fact that she doesn't tell Jake about Cohn could just be her not wanting to hurt his feelings, and this isn't necessarily in a toxic or manipulative way, just to stop the fact that she's seeing other men (which she plainly told Jake she would keep doing) from turning into a big deal. Along with that this would be a pretty weird thing to directly tell Jake, since it doesn't seem like they have a relationship where they share everything about their lives with each other.

Comments

  1. Nabeel BashirOctober 17, 2020 at 4:11 PM

    I agree that Brett has good intentions regarding her relationship with Jake and not telling him about her hookup with Cohn. I think that since she wants less out of her relationship with Jake than he does, problems arise between them throughout the novel. And because Jake, our narrator with a terrible wound, is telling the story it is easier to sympathize with him.

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  2. KatelynOctober 17, 2020 at 5:49 PM

    I do think it is interesting though how usually forthcoming Brett is with her relationships with other men, so it must have something to do with who Cohn is to Jake that she didn't tell him outright that she was going to San Sebastian with him, or maybe just what she's surmised about how Jake thinks of Cohn. Is Cohn a possible threat to Jake when it comes to "having" Brett? Or is Cohn just so far out of Jake's ironic comfort bubble?

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  3. KiranOctober 18, 2020 at 12:59 AM

    Although we have to consider the fact that we do not know what Brett is like in her other relationships when alone, it does not matter. The fact that Brett is stringing along Jake by saying how in love with Jake she is and the such. While Jake has chosen to stay in the toxic relationship, the fault lies mainly with Brett, no matter how much she has expressed her intentions to not further this relationship.

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  4. LillianOctober 18, 2020 at 6:41 PM

    Definitelyyy. I think there is too much blame put on Brett, and it bothers me a little bit as it's his fault just as much hers They're both looking to find solace in the devastations left in different ways by the war. I wouldn't call it a toxic relationship, she never gaslights or manipulates him, the worst she can be accused of is using him for support in my opinion. There's no relationship to "leave", as Kiran said, its more of a strained companionship tinged with sadness and romance

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  5. LaraOctober 18, 2020 at 8:12 PM

    That's true! While Brett is possibly guilty of leading Jake on slightly, the root of their issues seem to be Jake's obsession and misconception of their relationship. Brett is very forthright with her feelings, but on some level Jake can't seem to except them.

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  6. Stefania October 20, 2020 at 10:32 PM

    I agree with you that it would be so so interesting to see how Brett interacts with other men one on one - while reading her interactions with Jake so far, it definitely felt to me that there was a very close connection and understanding there, and that she wasn't at all lying when she said she loved him, but I could definitely be proven wrong if she actually has similarily close and special relationships with other men such as Cohn and, of course, her fiance.

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