This study breaks new ground by examining the profoundly submissive and masochistic posture toward women exhibited by many of Hemingway's heroes, from Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises to David Bourne in The Garden of Eden. The discussion draws on the ideas of diverse authors revealing that 'masochistic aesthetic' informs many of the texts.

RICHARD FANTINA teaches English at the University of Miami, USA. His work has appeared in The Hemingway Review and he has presented papers on literary portrayals of gender in modernist, post-modernist, and Victorian texts at numerous academic conferences. In 2003 he was awarded research fellowships from the Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA) and the Hemingway Society to complete this book.