A Farewell to Arms Characters

Lieutenant Frederic Henry

Frederic Henry is an American who volunteers for an Italian ambulance corps during World War I and is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. He joined the war effort before America joined the war. He falls in love with a British nurse, Catherine Barkley, who transforms his life. Catherine Barkley, who transforms his life.

Catherine Barkley

Catherine is a British nurse with whom Henry meets at the captured town of Gorizia. When her character is first introduced, her fiancé has been killed in the war. She is beautiful and the beauty of her hair is described in an explicitly sensuous manner in the novel. After a brief period of a seduction game, she and Henry fall in love. She dies during childbirth toward the end of the novel. her fiancé has been killed in the war. She is beautiful and the beauty of her hair is described in an explicitly sensuous manner in the novel. After a brief period of a seduction game, she and Henry fall in love. She dies during childbirth toward the end of the novel.

Rinaldi

A good friend and roommate of Henry, Rinaldi is an Italian surgeon, who loves to drink and chase women.

Helen Ferguson

A friend of Catherine Barkley. She is a Scottish nurse at the American hospital with Catherine. At the beginning of the novel, she is welcoming of Henry and Rinaldi’s visits to Catherine, but later, she becomes agitated after learning about Henry’s “immoral” affair that results in Catherine being pregnant. Her paranoia about Catherine’s safety results from her own vulnerabilities and loneliness.

The Priest

A kind and devout young man, who offers spiritual guidance to soldiers at Henry’s unit. Henry is fond of the priest although the officers in his unit constantly ridicule him for being a prude and not visiting a brothel. His conversation with Henry brings forth Hemingway’s take on concepts like glory, honor, love, religion, and so on.

Passini, Bonello, Manera, Gordini, Gavuzzi, Aymo, and Piani

Henry’s fellow Italian ambulance drivers.

Mrs. Walker

An elderly nurse in Milan at the American hospital.

Miss Gage

She is an American nurse who looks after Henry during his recovery. She becomes Henry’s friend, and they often drink and gossip together.

Miss Van Campen

She is the head nurse at the American hospital in Milan. She is not fond of Henry, and believes it is his excessive drinking that led to his bout of jaundice.

Dr. Valentini

Henry’s skilled doctor in Milan who refutes the opinion that Henry should wait for six months before his leg can undergo a surgery. He agrees to operate the next day; in the process, he exudes confidence and composure.

Meyers

He is a shady American expatriate who is a fixer of horse races in Milan and often can be found in racecourses with his wife.

Ettore Moretti

He is a soldier of Italian-American origin, fighting from the Italian side of the war. His attitude about the glory and honor of war acts as a foil to Henry’s attitude toward the futility of war.

Gino

A young, patriotic Italian. Gino’s belief in defending his country stands opposite to Henry’s cynicism about war.

Ralph Simmons

The opera student who is befriended by Henry. After Henry’s escape from the Italian army, he gives Henry civilian clothes.

Count Greffi

A 94-year-old Italian nobleman with whom Henry plays billiards in Stresa. He is an energetic, life-loving guide of sorts for Henry.

Emilio

He is a bartender in Stresa who helps the young couple, Henry and Catherine, to find one another after Henry’s desertion. He gives them a boat with which to escape to Switzerland after warning them that Henry is going to be arrested.