A scene that highlights Brett's effect on Jake in The Sun Also Rises occurs as the last of the fiesta approaches in Pamplona. Brett asks to talk with Jake alone, and she asks him if he still loves her. When he says yes, she tells him that she is "mad about the Romero boy". She seems apologetic and says "I've got to do something I really want to do. I've lost my self-respect". Other than the fact that she is manipulating Jake to help her pursue yet another romantic relationship, Brett didn't lose her self-respect because of her hookup with Cohn (Jake's best friend) and the impact it has on Mike, but because she hadn't acted on her feelings for Romero. Jake, being Jake, says yes as always and sets them up for a date where they eventually leave on their own. In class, we discussed how before Brett arrived in Pamplona, Jake was "in his element". This scene is indicative of how Brett brings Jake down, pulling him back into this cycle where he seems to always get hurt. Jake allows this so happen, betraying his own love for Brett and the purity of bullfighting which he is so passionate about. Earlier in the novel, he tells Montoya that Romero getting mixed up with Americans would be detrimental to his bullfighting success. But the moment Brett asks him to help her start a relationship with him, he says yes without much hesitation. It becomes clear that Jake willingly sacrificed the purity of bullfighting to please Brett.
I think that moment definitely shows how much Jake is willing to sacrifice for Brett. He is constantly putting her before himself in the book and this scene is a good indicator of that. I think there are many scenes that show how Jake is better off without Brett and it seems as if Brett just doesn't see this, or doesn't care. She is constantly using him for emotional support yet gives almost nothing in return (in the context of what he needs).
ReplyDeleteMy question when reading this scene was, "is Jake doing this for Brett, or himself?" Does he do these favors for Brett (namely helping her hook up with Romero) because he truly wants her to be as happy as possible, or does he do these favors moreso to try to make himself be depicted as nicely as possible in Brett's mind? At the start of the book, I would have leaned more towards the first option. But at this point, I'm guessing it's more towards the second option.
ReplyDelete"This scene is indicative of how Brett brings Jake down, pulling him back into this cycle where he seems to always get hurt."
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jake is in a toxic cycle with Brett. Brett seems to always be using Jake to lift herself up while simultaneously pulling Jake down. This moment shows another example of Jake allowing himself to be used for the benefit of Brett. But at the same time, it's a little different from usual. He knows that by letting her hookup with Romero, she will come back to him upset. There's a part of Jake that likes having Brett depend on him.