I tried to tell about the night and the difference between the night and the day and how the night was better unless the day was very clean and cold and I could not tell it; as I cannot tell it now. But if you have had it you know. He had not had it but he understand that I had really wanted to go to the Abruzzi but had not gone and we were still friends, with many tastes alike, but with the difference between us. He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget. But I did not know that then, although I learned it later."
-Ernest Hemingway "A Farewell To Arms."
I don't follow this one. Does one have to read the book to understand?
There are a number of reasons that I love this passage, the ambiguity is certainly one of them.I tried to tell about the night and the difference between the night and the day and how the night was better unless the day was very clean and cold and I could not tell it; as I cannot tell it now
-I too have experienced this. I love the night time and I almost always enjoy the evenings more than the days, but his description of how some days can be very clean and cold makes sense to me. For me, these are the days when everything seems new and crisp. This resonates with me.He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget.
-This is one of my favorite Hemingway lines. There are so many things that are like this for me. Things that someone tries to get me to experience but I am unwilling or unable at the time, only later to experience them and truly enjoy them... only to forget or neglect them. -It's important to note that the character is speaking to a priest in this section of the book. It's early on in the novel so we are actually able to see the character develop to the point where he does "learn it" and we see him "forget it" as well. This is a major foreshadowing moment in what I think is one of the best books I've ever read. Just talking about it makes me want to read it again.