A Farewell to Arms | Themes
One of the primary themes of the novel centers on the notion of a "separate peace." Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American in the Italian Army, is severely wounded, recovers, returns to the war and, finally, after the powerfully rendered retreat from Caporetto, he deserts from the army in an effort to resolve and to escape the contradictions and chaos of a war-maddened world. In a kind of baptismal rite, he plunges into the Tagliamento River: "Anger was washed away in the river along with any obligation." His immersion in the river and flight from the war seal and signify his rebirth in...
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