From Martha To Ernest

Mislaid during our moves, the stars aligned in time to help me locate my stash of John Julius Norwich's Christmas Crackers in time for the holidays, and while I do not believe in coincidences, a day after visiting Nancy Gellhorn's St. Louis neighborhood I came across this snippet of a letter Martha wrote to Ernest, reprinted in the 2011 edition Christmas Cracker.


28 June 1943

Ernest:
I wish we could stop it all now, the prestige, the possessions, the position, the knowledge, the victory: and that we could by a miracle return together under the arch at Milan, with you so brash in your motor cycle side car and I badly dressed, fierce, loving, standing in the street waiting for your picture to be taken.  My god, how I wish it.  I would give every single thing there now is to be young and poor with you.  As poor as there was to be, and the days hard but always with that shine on them that came of not being sure, of hoping, of believing in fact in just the things we now so richly have.
                                                                                      Martha


I bet many agree with Martha's sentiments. The early struggle, the belief in yourself and your partner's future, is often more fun than having arrived.

Toad

Hemingway's wives

While not worshiping at the shrine of Ernest Hemingway I have come to love his many wives. Not a one of the four became a caricature of the artist's wife which in turn made them more real and their lives more fascinating than his.

Ernest Hemingway's first 3 wives, Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer and Martha Gellhorn were each St. Louis girls.  As Ernest wrote, "if one is perpetually doomed to marry people from St. Louis, it's best to marry them from the best families"  to which Gertrude Stein replied "anyone who's married three girls from St. Louis hasn't learned much." Several of my friends would agree.

St. Louis was a much smaller town in those days, and although not close in age, Hem's personal First 3 Wives Club had more than him in common. Growing up in the same neighborhood, one which became a modest midwest Bloomsbury (more on that soon) they had money, travelled in the same social circles, knew the same families and liked each other at least for a while. 

I have a picture in my mind's eye of Hem, who doesn't visit STL often and is unwilling to take direction, driving to his in-laws for Thanksgiving, turning left when he should have turned right,and arriving, family in tow, at the wrong wife's house. Never happened but could have. A boy can dream, can't he?

Hadley and Pauline's families each owned pharmaceutical companies. Martha's MD father was Hadley's OB/GYN. 

 Hadley Richardson

 Pauline Pfeiffer

Martha Gellhorn

Perhaps more troubling for Hem than not knowing his wives local references was keeping their birthdays straight. Today is Martha Gellhorn's birthday, tomorrow would be Hadley's. How would any husband be expected to remember back to back birthdays ?

A Moveable Feast (pre-2009 edition) is considered the beginner's guide to Hemingway's first 2 wives, Hadley was clearly the love of Ernest life, the one he let get away. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain tells her story clearly and convincingly.  

History is somewhat unkind to Pauline, the beautiful, young, rich girl Hemingway dumped Hadley for. Ultimately, it was her money and her family connections that gave Hemingway's talent room to blossom. 

Martha Gellhorn quickly saw through Hemingway's act, and tired of it. She was the only wife to divorce him.  Martha was a more talented writer, and braver than he'd ever be, and would not allow herself "to be a footnote in anyone's biography." Travels with Myself and Another, written by Martha is a good intro. The Another is Hemingway although he is never mentioned by name.

Fourth wife Mary survived Hem and was his literary heir.  A Moveable Feast, while completely written by Ernest, supposedly was edited by Mary after Ernest's death. Maybe/Maybe not. Pauline's family felt the Pfeiffer contribution was slighted in the original. The 2009 edition, edited by Pauline's grandson Sean, adds their story.  Read the earlier edition.

Toad

hem days

For fat, old, white guys with a penchant for khaki, chin whiskers and Key West today may be bigger than Christmas.  In honor of Ernest's birthday, Sloppy Joe's bar in the Conch Republic is holding their 33rd anniversary Ernest Hemingway look alike contest finals.

To win the prize you need to look something like this guy  Can you smell the cigars? 

Mrs. T suggests that much of the world's problems may be laid at the feet of boys and beer. I can easily understand how beer may inspire a retiree to redefine his tall tale telling, beer swilling habit into a bona fide literary hobby, and looking like Ernie isn't much of a stretch for a guy with hair, but Key West in July?

Toad

Hem

50 years ago this morning the leading light of mid 20th century American Literature was extinguished in Ketchum, Idaho.

Hemingway House-Key West, Florida

For a concise look at why Ernest left so suddenly, take a read at John Walsh's analysis in the Independent.

Toad