Brett, The Men She Dates, and Jake
Jake
and Brett clearly have an intimate relationship. They appear to have a close
bond and are always supporting each other. When they are in the taxi at the beginning
of the book, Jake asks Brett if she loves him and she says, “Love you? I simply
turn all to jelly when you touch me” (34). Brett never expresses this kind of
affection and passion towards any of the other men she dates. Jake is Brett’s
one true love, yet because of Jake’s injury from the war they cannot be
together and make their relationship work. Therefore, Brett is constantly with
other men even though she still loves Jake. Jake seems fine with some of the
men that Brett dates, but some of the men he cannot stand even talking to
Brett.
Jake is perfectly fine with Brett
hanging out with the Count and even tells Brett that “he’s [the Count] nice”
(61). The Count is a fun person who likes to party and is happy to drive Brett
around wherever she wants to go. However, he doesn’t seem to want any real
relationship with her and just wants to have a few fun nights with her. Jake is
also fine with Brett marrying Michael. He tells Brett that, “‘I like him
[Michael],’ I said. ‘I'm damned fond of him’” (69). It is clear that while
Brett likes Michael she still does not have the same intimacy with him that she
has with Jake. It seems that Jake is fine with Brett dating men who seem “cool”
and whom he likes. He is also fine with them if he feels that they are not
going to be as intimate with Brett as he is. Jake is especially fine with men
whom Brett just having a one night stand with.
However,
when Robert Cohn asks Jake about Brett, Jake gets defensive and angry and
starts to say bad things about Brett. Jake tells Cohn, “‘She's a drunk,’ I
said. ‘She's in love with Mike Campbell, and she's going to marry him. He's
going to be rich as hell some day’” (46). Jake clearly does not want Cohn to
have anything to do with Brett. Perhaps because Cohn is a serious person, he
will only be able to establish an intimate relationship with Brett. Jake also
seems to think that he is superior to Cohn; so if Cohn goes out with Brett,
then Jake’s image of Cohn as a hopeless person will be tarnished. There are
other instances when Jake gets mad when he sees Brett with men that Jake thinks
are below him. When the black drummer shows that he and Brett are
acquaintances, Jake gets so mad at the drummer that he reduces his speech to
ellipses and eventually leaves the bar. Jake reacts the same way when he sees
Brett coming into the bar with a crowd of gay men and gets so worked up that he
has to leave.
Jake
appears to be fine with other men dating Brett when they seem like “cool”
people because then it seems that “cool” people are her type and the type of
guys that she is with are a reflection on him. Jake especially seems to be fine
with the men she is with if it is clear that there is no real connection
between them and Brett. However, when Brett is with people that Jake thinks are
below him Jake does not tolerate it because these people are also a reflection
of him. He seems to care a lot about Brett, who she dates, and how this will
affect his relationship with her, even if Jake knows he will never be able to
have a real relationship with her.
That was an interesting examination of Jake's feelings towards Brett, the thing is I'm not sure if the Count is an actual love interest for Brett, as I've read that the Count may have been coded gay. That could just mean that Jake doesn't like straight guys talking to Brett.
ReplyDeleteI think Jake's ego is definitely tied up in who Brett dates because they reflect her interests and therefor all reflect (in an obscure way) on him. I think Jake's approval of Brett's relationships is somewhat separate from his approval of her suitors though; this seems to be contingent on the man involved understanding that Brett's relationship with him is temporary and doesn't really mean anything. Jake is both in support of Mike and of Mike and Brett's relationship because Mike understands Brett's 'nature' and he's also kinda a cool dude. However, with Romero, Jake likes and respects him but he doesn't think it's a good idea for Brett to hook up with him, seemingly because he recognizes how serious Romero really is. Similarly, Jake hates Cohn's "relationship" with Brett, even though he admits to sort of liking Cohn at the beginning, because again Cohn doesn't understand that Brett's fling with him is only a fling and won't ever be something more. In most ways, Jake doesn't seem possessive of Brett. However, his relationship with her is the closest thing to a long term commitment we see anywhere in the novel, and it's possible that Jake just doesn't want any other man to think they have what he does with Brett.
ReplyDeleteYou refer to Jake as Brett's "one true love," and this called to mind for me the moment when Jake alludes to Brett's "one true love" dying in the war of dysentery. This may indeed be a reference to a trauma she suffered earlier in her life, which isn't referred to again at any point in the novel. Maybe (before Lord Ashley? during their marriage?) she had a "true love" who died during the war (when he's telling Cohn all the reasons he shouldn't approach her). But we *could* read this as a subtle allusion to Jake himself--Brett fell in love during the war, it was her "true love," and yet the couple cannot be together because of circumstances beyond their control. He can't quite tell *Cohn* this, and indeed Cohn never seems to grasp that Jake himself has feelings for Brett. But it is possible to surmise that Jake views himself (accurately?) as Brett's "one true love" in this passage.
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