Chapter 13 Summary

When Henry reaches Milan, he is greeted by an elderly nurse, who has just woken up and is confused. She informs the agonized Henry that the hospital is not prepared for him. However, Henry instructs the ambulance drivers to carry him to a room. When he reaches the bed, there are no sheets on it, but he is too exhausted and falls asleep anyway. The next morning, Miss Gage, a beautiful young nurse, takes care of Henry. He also meets the strict superintendent, Miss Van Campen, who declines Henry’s demand of bringing wine with his meal. Ultimately, he bribes a porter to bring him newspapers and wine that he hides under his bed.

Chapter 14 Summary

When Miss Gage discovers the hidden wine bottle, she says that Henry should have invited her for a drink with him. She informs him that Miss Barkley has arrived at the hospital. Henry requests for a barber as he wants to have a shave. The barber, who is an Italian, is hostile toward Henry as he mistakes him for an Austrian. When Catherine comes to Henry’s room, they declare their love for each other and make love in Henry’s bed. Catherine comes to Henry’s room, they declare their love for each other and make love in Henry’s bed.

Chapter 15 Summary

Several pieces of shrapnel are removed carefully from Henry’s leg by a doctor. Henry is then sent for an X-ray. Later, three doctors inform Henry that he needs to wait for six months for his leg surgery; otherwise he might lose his leg. Henry sarcastically comments that he wishes his leg were amputated rather than being confined to the bed for six months. He requests for a second opinion. Dr. Valentini, a very confident Italian doctor, then inspects Henry and agrees to perform the operation the following morning.

Chapter 16 Summary

Catherine sleeps in Henry’s room that night but Henry is worried about someone finding them together. Catherine assures him that everyone is sleeping. She starts preparing him for the surgery the next morning. Henry wishes Catherine to be on duty in his room that night after the surgery so that they can sleep together again. Catherine tells him that he will be so full of drugs that it will not matter. She is worried that in his drug-induced state, he might say personal things and warns Henry of the possibility.

Chapter 17 Summary

The surgery goes well but Henry gets sick and dazed. In order to spend time with him, Catherine begins requesting night duty each night. Helen Ferguson, Catherine’s friend, gets worried about Catherine’s health and asks her to rest for some time. She aids Henry and Catherine to stay in touch with each other by passing notes between them. Henry invites Helen to their wedding. She unfeelingly tells Henry that she thinks they will not ever get married. He pleads with Henry not to impregnate Catherine. Henry convinces Catherine to take a few nights off. However, after she returns, Catherine and Henry resume their nightly affair.

Chapter 18 Summary

Over the summer, Henry and Catherine continue their affair while Henry recuperates. Both of them begin going out during the day and they eat often at the Gran Italia restaurant. Henry uses crutches to move around. They befriend the headwaiter. During this time, the two start considering themselves married. Henry proposes marriage but Catherine tells him that she would not be allowed to serve on the front lines if she were married. She says that she does not care if they are socially married as long as they are married in their feelings.

Chapter 19 Summary

As Henry regains strength, he starts spending more time outside of the hospital. He makes some acquaintances in Milan since Catherine cannot always be with him. He accompanies an American expatriate named Meyers and his wife to the horse races. The couple is extremely fond of gambling. One day, Henry meets Ettore Moretti at a bar., an Italian American who signed up to serve in the Italian army Moretti brags openly about his war medals and Henry considers Moretti a hero, although he finds him uninteresting. He also meets Edgar Saunders and Ralph Simmons, who are American opera students. Catherine tells Henry that she does not like Moretti because of his bragging. That night, it rains. Catherine reveals that she does not like rain and begins to cry. She confesses that she sometimes visualizes Henry and herself dead in the rain.

Chapter 20 Summary

Henry, Catherine, Helen, and a young American soldier attend the horse races. The American soldier was injured while trying to retrieve the nose cap from a shrapnel to keep as a war souvenir. Meyers advises them to rig the betting, but Catherine does not approve. Instead, she wants to bet on a horse that she thinks has been dyed to hide the fact that it is a champion. She and Henry happily separate themselves from the others, although they do not win much on their horse. They agree that they do not feel lonely when they are alone together.

Chapter 21 Summary

At the end of the summer, the war becomes worse for the Allies. A British major informs Henry that if the situation does not improve, the Allies will be defeated within the year. Henry almost recovers. He is awarded three weeks of leave before resuming his duty. He decides to go on a trip with Catherine. Catherine tells Henry she is pregnant, although she was careful. She is sorry for it as she does not want Henry to feel stuck because of it. Henry tells her that he does not feel so, and they can face it together. Though they cannot identify the author correctly, Henry paraphrases a quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that while cowards die a thousand deaths, brave men only die once. Catherine, however, disagrees with this statement, declaring that she believes that brave men too die many times but do not acknowledge it. She tells Henry to drink a little more and departs, leaving him to read his papers.

Chapter 22 Summary

Henry contracts jaundice and becomes sick the next day. Miss Van Campen discovers all the empty bottles and accuses him of being an alcoholic and further claims that his alcoholism is the reason for his jaundice. She firmly believes that in order to avoid returning to duty, he has intentionally become sick. He does not deserve to have his leave, she says. When she reports this to the authorities, Henry’s leave is cancelled. After his plan to tour with Catherine is jeopardized, he prepares to return to duty.

Chapter 23 Summary

Henry prepares to leave for the front. He sees Catherine inside a café when he leaves the hospital and draws her attention by tapping on a window. They take a walk together. Henry and Catherine see two young lovers during their stroll. Henry comments that the couple is like them. However, Catherine laments that nobody is like them. Henry next buys a pistol and arms. He wants to go to a hotel to spend their remaining short time together. Catherine buys a nightdress, wryly remarking that she feels like a harlot. They have dinner in their hotel room after which they start feeling much better. Catherine assures Henry that she will be okay with the baby. She tells him the plan of finding a nice place for them. Soon, it is time for Henry to leave and head to the train.

Chapter 24 Summary

Henry and Catherine travel to the train station in a carriage. Henry tells Catherine to look after herself and the baby she is carrying. Catherine leaves for the hospital in the same carriage. Henry does not get a seat in the train and ends up sleeping on the floor.

Chapters 13–24 Analysis

In Milan, although he is injured, Henry is able to escape the realities of the war. Firstly, Milan is miles away from the front lines. Secondly, Henry, in an attempt to escape his reality, starts consuming a lot of alcohol. Finally, his relationship with Catherine helps him evade the harsh realities of life and the war. After narrowly escaping death, his cold heart begins to melt for Catherine. Earlier, his affection was driven solely by his physical attraction for Catherine. Their secret nighttime affair becomes comparable to the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Although they confront numerous obstacles, yet they manage to hold on to their love.

Catherine’s character is developed in this section. She declares that she does not believe in God but considers love as her religion. She is intelligent and a keen observer as evident in her observation that she states that brave men die many deaths, only they do not talk about it. Although she gets pregnant, she considers not marrying Henry as it will give them more time to see each other. Her courage shines through when she reassures Henry that she can take care of herself during her pregnancy and does not require his help.

Although the couple are together in Milan spending time with each other, which show moments of immense joy, darkness and gloom lurk in these chapters as well. In Chapter 19, Catherine confesses her fear of the rain because of the strange premonition she attaches to it, that of seeing herself and Henry dead in the rain. Her premonition makes explicit the symbolism of rain as death which runs throughout the novel. This is a foreshadowing of what will occur towards the end of the novel.