Character Analysis of Pedro Romero
...them is vital to the development of the others in the novel, namely Jake and Brett. Pedro Romero is an extremely handsome nineteen year old. Romero is a courageous Spanish bullfighter whose style in the ring charms aficionados and newcomers alike. This young matador is unlike the others in the story in that he does not run away from reality or try to escape life by drinking excessively. In his absolutely realistic approach to life, Romero nevertheless realizes that it is the essential emptiness, which causes the others to drink. This can easily be noticed in the scene where Hemingway has the young matador ask “ Is that why he drinks?” (155). It is not surprising that he is the one who confronts the bull most openly of all, as he is not corrupted by the decay of the modern post war world and the mood of the lost generation. Romero’s confrontations with the bull stand for many faculties within the human mind that take place on various different levels. On the surface level it is Romero’s physical fight against the steer and his fistfight with Robert Cohn, another member of the expatriates. These physical encounters represent the outward masculinity and strength of Romero. On a deeper level, Romero as a great bullfighter is a consummate eluder, deceiving the bulls into thinking they are close to him, them pulling away. This tactic in bullfighting closely mirrors Brett’s style of manipulating the men in her life. Like Brett and her submissive men, Romero is highly skilled at a somewhat feminine manipulation of the bulls, then at the end of the bullfight he penetrates them is a masculine way with his sword. It is no surprise that Romero is the only one who seems capable of manipulating Brett. Throughout the novel Hemingway draws many parallels to bullfighting and sexuality. Almost all of the language Hemingway uses to describe the bullfighting is sexual. The way that Romero penetrates the bull with his phallic sword is very sexual. Jake also describes Romero as penetrating the audience as well. Romero begins as a coy elusive female, and then metamorphoses into the violent dominant male. Romero obtains a certain heroic quality through his actions of manhood and bravery. Romero’s heroic quality is his constant confrontation with death in the form of the bulls. He executes this domination of the bulls with utmost skill and discipline. He performs his bullfighting and stares down death without any fear. By doing so he acquires a kind of manhood that is independent of women and which has a special attraction to Jake whose greatest calamity is his impotence. In a way Romero is an idol for him, as Jake is truly in love with Brett but is unable to reach her. Romero shows us that the only way to defeat the destructive powers, which are existent in all of us, is to oppose them as an individual. Romero does just this, which becomes especially obvious when he stands alone in the bullring shortly before the fight begins. With the help of Romero, Jake is able to grow as a character. Through experiences during the bullfights, he becomes more aware and responsible than he had been before. Jake’s psychological wounds are healed and he...