Lady Brett Ashley

                                     

"'Do you still love me, Jake?' 'Yes', I said. 'Because I'm a goner,' Brett said. 'How?' 'I'm a goner. I'm mad about the Romero boy. I'm in love with him, I think.' 'I wouldn't be if I were you.' 'I can't help it. I'm a goner. It's tearing me all up inside.' 'Don't do it.' 'I can't help it. I've never been able to help anything'" (Hemingway 187).

I think I've found, finally, the one. Not Cohn, Mike, or even Jake, but Romero. A bullfighter - how profound. A confident and dignified man, of purity and strength. Someone who ultimately gives me meaning, instead of this constant drift from one man to another. But Jake, though unattainable, is still relevant. I'm a goner. I'm in love, I think. But he deserves to know, he deserves a fighting chance. He should tell tell me how he feels. I need to provoke him. I know that behind his solemnity, is a man withholding a fury of emotions. But even after my confession, he cannot seem to utter more than a few words. He should convince me not to be with Romero. He should fight! But it's all helpless, because he can never love me the way I want him to... so what am I even looking for him to say that can change things? Do I really love Romero? I don't know. I can never help anything.