Dualities in Garden. "Dark" on virtually every page. Contradictions from one page to another. Strangeness, madness, insanity. Absinthe exacerbates Catherine's mental instability. It does do that. Thujone is a hallucinogen. David knows it makes her more crazy, tries to dissuade her. I don't know yet why Hemingway introduced absinthe.
...she had made the dark magic of the change again and he did not say no when she spoke to him...and he felt the change so that it hurt him all through and when it was finished...she whispered to him, "Now we have done it. Now we really have done it." (20)
...
They went together and swam...
...
"You don't really mind being brothers do you?" (Catherine)
"No." (21)
"You're awfully dark, brother," he said. "You don't know how dark."
"I like it," the girl said. "But I want to be darker."
...
"I'm trying to se such a very good girl," she said. "Truly you don't have to worry darling until night." (22)
...
"The young man [David] put some oil on the palm of his hand and spread it lightly with his fingers over the girl's thighs.
...
"The young man borrowed a pencil...(23)
...
"Is Madame also a writer?"
"No," the girl said not looking up from the clippings. "Madame is a housewife." (24)
...
"Plenty of people would be happy if their damned husbands had good reviews."
"I'm not plenty of people and you're not my damned husband." (25)
...
"...you're my good lovely husband and my brother too. I love you and when we go to Africa I'll be your African girl too." (29)
...
"...I want us to get darker." (Catherine)
"Why do you want to be so dark?"
"I don't know...Doesn't it make you excited to have me getting so dark?"
"Uh-huh. I love it."
"Did you think I could ever be this dark?"
"No, because you're blond."
"...I want every part of me dark and it's getting that way and you'll be darker..."
(Details from Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, (circa 1500), a major source of inspiration for Hemingway in Garden.)
"What will we be?"
"I don't know. Maybe we'll just be us. Only changed." (30)
...
"...Once we're really dark..." (Catherine)
"How dark are you going to get?"
"As dark as I can...I'm going to be so dark you won't be able to stand it."
...She changes from a girl into a boy and back to a girl carelessly and happily.
...
...he looked at the girl and kissed her cheek very lightly and she did not wake...the next day they would both be darker from the sun and how dark can she become, he thought, and how dark will she ever really be? (31)
...
The two young people in the car (David and Catherine. Margin note: Why is he doing this?)
...
"There's a cafe with tables under the trees," the young man said." (35)
...
In the dark the young man pulled a light blanket up over the sheet...
...
She kissed him and he could feel her hand touching him.
"That's good, she said in the darkness. That's lovely. You're sure you don't want me to change?" (36)
...how strange that the sun on her eyes should not wake her. (42)
..."her dark face..." (43)
...her incredibly darkened face. (44)
...
David moved a chair over and put his hand close on hers...
...
"But I hurt you about the clippings."
"No," he said. "You tried. You didn't make it."
"I'm so sorry, David. Please believe me."
"Everybody has strange things that mean things to them. You couldn't help it."
"No," the girl said and shook her head. (49)
...
"...You're the darkest white girl I've ever seen." (Colonel John Boyle) (63)
...
"Tell me where you got so dark," the Colonel said. "Do you know how dark you are?"
...
"And what are you going to do with it?"
"Wear it," she said. "It's very becoming in bed."
...
..."I don't really wear it. It's me. I really am this dark. The sun just develops it. I wish I was darker." (64)
...
...there would, it seemed to him, be no end to the change. (67)
...
"So that's how it is," he said to himself. "You've done that to your hair and had it cut the same as your girl's and how do you feel?" He asked the mirror. "How do you feel? Say it."
"You like it," he said.
...
"All right. You like it," he said. "Now go through with the rest of it whatever it is and don't ever say anyone tempted you or that anyone bitched you." (84)
He looked at the face that was no longer strange to him at all but was his face now and said,..."You know exactly how you look now and how you are." (85)
Of course he did not know exactly how he was.
...
Two girls who had driven up and parked...came over to the cafe...It was the beauty of the two who took the brandy and soda.
"Who are those two?" Catherine said. "Do you know?"
"I've never seen them."
"I have...I saw them in Nice."
"The one girl's handsome," David said.
"They're sisters," Catherine said. "They're both nice looking really."
"But the one's a beauty." (David)
...
"The one is a damned handsome girl." (David) (89)
The weather was insane now...there was no doubt that the weather was strange. Not only the weather, said Monsieur Aurol, everything was changed and what was not changed was changing fast. It might very well all be for the best and he, for one, did not oppose it." (94)
[Marita] had evidently been to the coiffeur's and her hair had been cropped short the way Catherine's had been at Biarritz." (95)
"I did something I know. But it's gone now."
..."But I wasn't unfaithful. Really David." (118)
...
..."Does she [Marita] feel badly?" (David)
"Only when I did. When I knew I was unfaithful." (119)
...she had made the dark magic of the change again and he did not say no when she spoke to him...and he felt the change so that it hurt him all through and when it was finished...she whispered to him, "Now we have done it. Now we really have done it." (20)
...
They went together and swam...
...
"You don't really mind being brothers do you?" (Catherine)
"No." (21)
"You're awfully dark, brother," he said. "You don't know how dark."
"I like it," the girl said. "But I want to be darker."
...
"I'm trying to se such a very good girl," she said. "Truly you don't have to worry darling until night." (22)
...
"The young man [David] put some oil on the palm of his hand and spread it lightly with his fingers over the girl's thighs.
...
"The young man borrowed a pencil...(23)
...
"Is Madame also a writer?"
"No," the girl said not looking up from the clippings. "Madame is a housewife." (24)
...
"Plenty of people would be happy if their damned husbands had good reviews."
"I'm not plenty of people and you're not my damned husband." (25)
...
"...you're my good lovely husband and my brother too. I love you and when we go to Africa I'll be your African girl too." (29)
...
"...I want us to get darker." (Catherine)
"Why do you want to be so dark?"
"I don't know...Doesn't it make you excited to have me getting so dark?"
"Uh-huh. I love it."
"Did you think I could ever be this dark?"
"No, because you're blond."
"...I want every part of me dark and it's getting that way and you'll be darker..."
(Details from Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, (circa 1500), a major source of inspiration for Hemingway in Garden.)
"What will we be?"
"I don't know. Maybe we'll just be us. Only changed." (30)
...
"...Once we're really dark..." (Catherine)
"How dark are you going to get?"
"As dark as I can...I'm going to be so dark you won't be able to stand it."
...She changes from a girl into a boy and back to a girl carelessly and happily.
...
...he looked at the girl and kissed her cheek very lightly and she did not wake...the next day they would both be darker from the sun and how dark can she become, he thought, and how dark will she ever really be? (31)
...
The two young people in the car (David and Catherine. Margin note: Why is he doing this?)
...
"There's a cafe with tables under the trees," the young man said." (35)
...
In the dark the young man pulled a light blanket up over the sheet...
...
She kissed him and he could feel her hand touching him.
"That's good, she said in the darkness. That's lovely. You're sure you don't want me to change?" (36)
...how strange that the sun on her eyes should not wake her. (42)
..."her dark face..." (43)
...her incredibly darkened face. (44)
...
David moved a chair over and put his hand close on hers...
...
"But I hurt you about the clippings."
"No," he said. "You tried. You didn't make it."
"I'm so sorry, David. Please believe me."
"Everybody has strange things that mean things to them. You couldn't help it."
"No," the girl said and shook her head. (49)
...
"...You're the darkest white girl I've ever seen." (Colonel John Boyle) (63)
...
"Tell me where you got so dark," the Colonel said. "Do you know how dark you are?"
...
"And what are you going to do with it?"
"Wear it," she said. "It's very becoming in bed."
...
..."I don't really wear it. It's me. I really am this dark. The sun just develops it. I wish I was darker." (64)
...
...there would, it seemed to him, be no end to the change. (67)
...
"So that's how it is," he said to himself. "You've done that to your hair and had it cut the same as your girl's and how do you feel?" He asked the mirror. "How do you feel? Say it."
"You like it," he said.
...
"All right. You like it," he said. "Now go through with the rest of it whatever it is and don't ever say anyone tempted you or that anyone bitched you." (84)
He looked at the face that was no longer strange to him at all but was his face now and said,..."You know exactly how you look now and how you are." (85)
Of course he did not know exactly how he was.
...
Two girls who had driven up and parked...came over to the cafe...It was the beauty of the two who took the brandy and soda.
"Who are those two?" Catherine said. "Do you know?"
"I've never seen them."
"I have...I saw them in Nice."
"The one girl's handsome," David said.
"They're sisters," Catherine said. "They're both nice looking really."
"But the one's a beauty." (David)
...
"The one is a damned handsome girl." (David) (89)
The weather was insane now...there was no doubt that the weather was strange. Not only the weather, said Monsieur Aurol, everything was changed and what was not changed was changing fast. It might very well all be for the best and he, for one, did not oppose it." (94)
[Marita] had evidently been to the coiffeur's and her hair had been cropped short the way Catherine's had been at Biarritz." (95)
"I did something I know. But it's gone now."
..."But I wasn't unfaithful. Really David." (118)
...
..."Does she [Marita] feel badly?" (David)
"Only when I did. When I knew I was unfaithful." (119)
