The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain

People
United States	Europe
Ernest Hemingway Hadley Richardson James – father – suicide in 1904 Florence – mother – died shortly before she met Ernest Fonnie – sister – husband, Roland Kate Smith – Hadley’s friend Kenley - brother Bumby – son Sherwood Anderson – wrote Ernest letter’s of introduction in Europe	Ezra Pound Dorothy Shakespear Gertrude Stein Alice Toklas Chink Dorman-Smith Mike Strater Bob McAlmon – paid for trip to Spain Annie Ellerman – wife – heiress Harold Loeb Kitty Cannell – girlfriend – first friend that was just Hadley’s Duff Twysden – flirted with Ernest, character in The Sun Also Rises Pauline Pfeiffer – friend of Kitty and Kate Smith from college Scott Fitzgerald Zelda
Other: Agnes – nurse Ernest loved during war Harry Hindmarsh – unfair boss at Star in Canada Paul Mowrer – Hadley’s second husband

For discussion:

NOTE:  All page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.            Discuss the effect of Hadley’s childhood accident on her personality. 

2.            Discuss the Hemingway family’s negative reaction to Ernest’s first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems.

3.            Consider Hadley’s friends and their importance to her in her life:

                a.            Kate Smith – did not like Ernest. (page 52) Why?

b.            Kitty Cannell – first friend that was truly her own.  (page 184) Kitty kept pushing Hadley to let her buy things for her. Why?

4.            Playing the piano was very important to Hadley, the only thing she had that was her own.   Why did she not pursue this?

a.            Ernest referred to the piano as her “work.”  (page 107)  Hadley felt that, “He lived inside the creative sphere and I lived outside, and I didn’t know if anything would ever change that.”  Was this distinction more important to their lives than just Hadley’s self image of herself as not an artist?

                b.            Discuss being an “artist’s wife.”   (page 107)  What was required?  What was sacrificed?

5.            What was your reaction when Hadley took all of Ernest’s work on the train and then lost it?  Was she to blame?

a.            In the end this turned out to be a positive incident.    Gertrude Stein told him it was a “blessing” and that he “needed to be free.”   (page 152)  Do you agree?

6.            Why was Ernest so fascinated with the Running of the Bulls and bullfighting?  Consider his concern that it would upset Hadley and the fact that it did not, she enjoyed it.

7.            What effect did the war have on Ernest?  He had difficulty forgetting, yet when he and Hadley visited Schio, a woman they met just said “The war is over.” when Hadley told her that Ernest had been there during the war.

a.            Ernest comment was, “Chasing the past is a lousy, rotten game, isn’t it?”  Can we revisit our past?  Did it benefit him to try?

8.            Why wasn’t Hadley included in The Sun Also Rises?  Should she have taken that as a sign?

9.            Discuss the impact of the pregnancy on their marriage and life style.  Ezra Pound warned her that it would be a mistake to “domesticate” Ernest. (page 150) Was he correct?  Was Ernest ever “domesticated?”

10.          Do you think Hadley could have done anything to save the marriage?  Was she right to let Pauline become so integrated in their lives?

11.          Ernest was married four times and had many lovers.  Was his personality just too big for a regular marriage or relationship?

12.          Why did Ernest commit suicide?

13.          What was your reading experience with this book?  Did you like the author’s style?  Did you feel connected to the characters?

14.          If you have read any of Hemingway’s work, did this book change the way you thought about his writing?  Do you think the book also presented his life and art accurately?