What Does it Mean to be an "Aficionado"?
In The Sun Also Rises, one of the things that really stood out to me about Jake’s time in Spain was his friendship with Montoya, and Montoya’s admiration for bullfighters with “afición.” Aficionados are people with true passion for bull-fighting, and Montoya respects them more than the commercial bull-fighters who are just in it for the money. In the first scene with Jake and Montoya together, Jake says, “Montoya could forgive anything of a bull-fighter who had afición. He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. For one who had afición he could forgive anything” (Hemingway 136). One of the people Montoya considers an aficionado is Romero. After the first bullfight Jake says, “Montoya caught my eye and nodded his head. This was a real one. There had not been a real one for a long time” (Hemingway 168). However, as the book continues and Romero starts spending more time with Jake and Brett, Montoya seems to disapprove. What does afición have to do with the falling out between Montoya and Jake and Romero?
I think that for Montoya to consider someone an aficionado, bull-fighting has to be the most important thing in their lives. So when Romero starts being interested in Brett and possibly marriage, Montoya feels like bull-fighting is no longer Romero’s main priority. Other characters are not as passionate about bull-fighting. For example, near the end of the book when a man in the crowd gets badly injured by a bull, Jake is talking to a waiter who says:
“A big horn wound. All for fun. Just for fun. What do you think of that?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s it. All for fun. Fun, you understand.”
“You’re not an aficionado?”
“Me? What are bulls? Animals. Brute animals.” He stood up and put his hands on the small of his back.
“Right through the back. A cornada right through the back. For fun – you understand.”
Many of the people in the town take bull-fighting extremely seriously, and risk their lives for it. This seems out of place in the peaceful, idyllic Spain that Jake describes. It makes you wonder how noble being an aficionado really is, if it means risking your life and giving up all other passions.
I also found it interesting how Montoya was so biased towards aficionados. I think that Brett and Jake's distraction of Romero was what caused so much tension between them. Not only does Brett's romance distract Romero from his bullfighting, she is also what leads to him getting beaten up, as a result of her history with Cohn. Jake is also brought into this situation as he was the one who introduced Brett to Romero. As someone who really loves bullfighting, it definitely makes sense that Montoya would be so upset to see one of his "idols" distracted from the sport.
ReplyDeleteI think Montoya's bias towards aficionados is reasonable. It seems like the type of sport that you should only involve yourself in if you have true passion for it. It's the same thing with boxing. The most passionate boxers are often the best and also the most loved by the crowd.
ReplyDeleteA true "aficionado" doesn't take any risk--they just watch and enjoy the show, with knowledge and passion. There is a definite gulf between the elite class of matadors who fight the bulls in the ring, and the aficionados who are informed fans and devotees of the old traditions (like Montoya, who does not fight bulls himself). There is this "dissenter" in town who speaks of the true life-and-death gravity of this form of entertainment, and Hemingway is careful to eulogize this man who is killed during the running of the bulls in some detail. But as an aficionado, Jake understands the "tragic" aspect of bullfighting, and the real stakes, and the real violence--it's part of the artform he is a connoisseur of.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't talk about it enough in class, but Jake's "aficionado" status in Spain is a really interesting exception within this novel--this is a deep and long-standing *tradition* that he is a part of, which long predates the war, and he respects its values, aesthetics, and ethics. There's nothing ironic or decadent about bullfighting (except for this "new generation" of less impressive "decadent" matadors), and this seems like a scene that is mostly untouched by the war.
I feel like it's important that we fully grasp how rare and significant this "aficionado" status is for Jake, and how seriously he takes it (in a novel where no one takes anything seriously)--because it's precisely this rare and unique status that he *willingly gives up in order to introduce Brett to Romero.* He is sacrificing the most meaningful thing in his life at this time ("corrupting" a "pure" matador with the decadent/ironic Paris culture by way of Brett Ashley), and there's no clear indication that he'll ever be able to regain this status. And as usual, Brett doesn't seem to fully grasp just what she's asking Jake to sacrifice on her behalf.
I never thought much about Montoya and aficionado and how it ties into the larger story. I definitely agree that the idea of Romero becoming distracted by Brett and changing priorities is significant to the story, especially because Jake is involved in setting the two up. The fact that Jake does this despite being so passionate about bull-fighting tells readers something significant about what he would sacrifice for Brett's satisfaction.
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