Female Characterization:

Women played a significant and valuable aspect in the Republican war effort, and this

transition towards gender re-identification provides a specific context for exploring the

characterizations of Pilar and Maria in For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway may have consciously infused his female characterizations with these major changes

in Spanish gender roles during this significant historical period. In addition to that, the portrayal of

the characters of Maria and Pilar draws attention towards female gender re-identification and sheds

light over gender issues. In reality, there are features in both Pilar and Maria that can be seen as

Hemingway's revolutionary response to the new woman of Spain. Hemingway was quite well

aware of the rise of a newly empowered Spanish woman. He introduced a connection to this

social phenomenon in his narration for the 1937 pro-loyalist documentary The Spanish Earth. In

this documentary he gives a description of La Pasionaria, whose real name was Dolores ibarurri,

who was the most famous woman in Spain . The Civil War held out the possibility for

empowerment of Spanish women to a far greater extent than that of relatively more advanced

nations at the time, such as Britain and France. For Pasionaria, it was about empowering women

as much as it was about empowering the working classes.

There are important comparisons between the heroic figure and Hemingway’s multi-

layered image of Pilar in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Not only do the two women share many

physical characteristics, but Pilar also embraces ibarurri's rebellious spirit, enthusiasm, and

eloquence ability as well as her iconic status as a symbol. Pilar and ibarurri share strong

similarities in their physical appearance. In fact, period photos of ibarurri recall Pilar, described

in For Whom the Bell Tolls as barbarous and ugly but braver than Pablo, with a square, heavy

face, lined and pleasantly ugly, and with big shoulders. In the narrative of The Spanish Earth,
Hemingway observes that ibarurri is not a romantic beauty. Pilar is a woman of about fifty, about

as big as Pablo, in a black peasant skirt and trousers, with thick wool socks on heavy legs, black

rope shoes and a brown face as a model of a marble statue. She had large but nice hands, and her

thick, curly black hair was twisted into a twist on her neck.

The most revolutionary female character that the novel witnesses is that of Pilar. In the

novel, she is seen playing the role of Pablo’s wife but the author comments that she is “braver

than Pablo” (29). Significantly, this speaks of empowerment of Spanish women. Furthermore,

Pilar is described in For Whom the Bell Tolls as “barbarous” and ugly with a “square, heavy

face, lined and pleasantly ugly” (98) and with “big shoulder. Her physical description also

speaks for the strength of her character. Contextually, Pilar easily takes on the role of female

revolutionary leader and clearly demonstrates her ability to inspire and mobilize. For instance, in

the novel For Whom the Bell Toll, after demanding that Pablo’s men change their allegiance she

becomes “Señora Commander” and makes it clear to all: “Here I command. No one commands

but me. Here I command” (60). Also, Robert acknowledges Pilar’s leadership qualities in the

novel: Without the woman, there is no discipline here.

Undoubtedly, Pilar, the pillar of power is the best commander-fighter of Hemingway who

serves as a leader, a guide to a group of men. She is a challenging exemplar of physical power,

who surpasses the male characters, gives them inferiority complex by her strength, intelligence,

courage and command. Many critics have been successful in comprehending the daring

personality of Pilar. Pilar would be the only woman who signifies masculine

characteristics of firmness and strength. She also compares her

having a woman as leader”.

Another notable aspect is that Pilar’s character does not invite such negative backlash

perhaps because of her more advanced age, lack of attractiveness, and maternal qualities. Though

according to her own revelations, she is highly sexed, Pilar largely escapes being labeled as

sexually dangerous. Notably, Robert also observes about Pilar that, “Look at her walking along

with those two kids. She is like a mountain and the boy and the girl are like young trees.

Pilar also reflects ibarurri's love for the republic and shares her sharp intellect and efficient and
intimidating speech skills. Pilar, an intelligent and wise woman, has a deep voice and a thriving laugh.
She believes in the republic, and Hemingway states that if she is provoked by anyone, she will scare
them to death with her mouth like ibarurri. Pilar illustrates the liberated behavior supported by the
Mujeres libres. She continuously fails to recognize social propriety. Pilar informs Maria on things that
can be done for a husband. The fact that she gives sexual advice to Maria, as well as the essence of that
advice, suggests that Pilar has broken from conventional feminine conduct . Like Ibarurri, Pilar quickly
takes on the role of a progressive woman leader and clearly demonstrates her potential to encourage
and mobilize. Although there are many parallels between ibraurri and Pilar, Hemingway based the
character of Pilar entirely on ibarurri, a partial model. Moreover, the relation between Pilar and La
Pasionaria takes a somewhat convoluted turn. Hemingway explicitly incorporated elements of her
powerful iconic presence as the "new woman of the Spain" in Pilar's character. Not only this, but the
character of Pilar is also shown has almost omnipotent and an indispensable root of the mission. In For
Whom the Bell Tolls, she plans for the mission with Robert and El Sordo, provides the band with all the
necessities including food. On top of it, she fights holding a heavy rifle performing her tough role as a
commander-fighter. Furthermore, there is no room for pessimistic attitude in her life. She retorts to
Robert indignantly when he sounds pessimistic about the future of their lives and rehabilitation of Maria
after the bridge and says that weightless talk and pessimism can never bring luck to anybody. She shows
her extreme patience and optimism at the time of Pablo’s temporary withdrawal from their mission with
the grenades. She is disappointed to a great extent though, but never lets Robert and others to feel the
lack of one important member in the group; instead she accepts the responsibility with a smile.

Hemingway has not created one, but two embodiments of the new Spanish woman in For

Whom the Bell Tolls. The novel features another protagonist, apart from the formidable Pilar, and

while Maria does not share Pilar's viciousness and dominant attitude. Hemingway also gives

Maria some clear characteristics that mark her as a new woman. The nineteen-year-old Maria
would seem to exhibit the conventional actions of the stereotypical Spanish woman which are

passivity, subjugation, and self-denial. She is Jordan's "little rabbit". But Maria is heroic in her

own right. During the fascist invasion of her village, the young woman displays bravery in the

face of unthinkable terror and misery.

The fascist soldier tormenting Maria, then, represents the worst parts of both religion and

state. When religion comes into conflict with politics, politics corrupts what is acceptable to

religion, and vice versa. The soldier terrorizing Maria practically brands this unknown young girl

as his enemy and since she is his enemy, she must also be communist and godless. She is a

Republican, and the Republicans are at war with the Fascists/Nationalists/Catholics. Again, the

pain Hemingway took to create a text that was not limited to generalities of good and bad is as

imaginative as indirectly associating Maria with Catholicism, a faith for which the soldiers who

assaulted her said they were fighting. For example, Maria`s mother was an honorable woman and

a good Catholic. In fact, Maria`s own name is a Spanish variation of that of the Mother of Christ,

the most sacred female figure in Catholicism. Maria takes special care to ensure that Robert

Jordan knows that she has never kissed any man, thus establishing that at the time of her rape,

the soldiers are targeting the real virgin "Mary" and, surprisingly, that they claim to be doing so

in the name of Jesus.

Understandably, Maria was emotionally troubled by the atrocities she witnessed and the horror

she endured. When we picked the girl up at the time of the train, she would not speak, and cried all the

time, and if someone approached her, she would shiver like a wet dog. She was in a really poor

condition, but now she is better off yet, though Maria started to get better physically and mentally

when Robert Jordan first met her, she undergoes a much more complex and profoundly effective

transformation of her character throughout the course of the narrative. Observing this transition helps
us to understand new facets and new personalities in Maria, one of the two wonderful women in

Hemingway's novel Maria is gradually becoming more forceful as the story progresses. Her sense of

responsibility starts with a desire to revenge the death of her parents. She asks Jordan to learn her how

to shoot and finds comfort to him that the fascists who killed her family and raped her are horrible

people and I would like to kill some of them if I could. With a determination indicative of this new

aggressiveness, she shows Jordan a razor blade, given to her by Pilar, which she plans to use to kill

herself rather than to endure more humiliation.

But Maria's transformation goes beyond just a desire for vengeance and a new sense of

self-reliance. A striking photomural by Josep Renau, seen at the 1937 Paris World’s fair in the

Spanish Pavilion, illustrates the radical change in gender perspective that took place during the

Spanish Civil War and is directly linked to this discussion of Maria's portrayal described

by Hemingway. The life-size portraits of two Spanish women are imprinted on the expansive

glass wall and standing side by side. One woman is dressed in a traditional, elaborately made and

richly decorated wedding dress. The other woman, a Republican militiawoman, is wearing an

open-necked shirt and jeans. A woman wearing a traditional dress tends to be weighted with a

broad, multi-layered skirt and long sleeves. Her arms stick lifelessly to her side, her mouth

tightly closed, and she looks straight ahead. In contrast, the fabric of the Militiawoman's

trouser is light enough to seem to float as she steps forward confidently. Her arms show power

and movement, as does her left shoulder, which appears to move towards the crowd. The

woman's mouth is open, and she seems to be offering some kind of order. Her eyes are intense

with intent. Her head is uncovered and her hair is pulled out of her way. Unlike the bride in the

other photograph, this woman seems to be heading out of the show straight to the visitor. The

only embellishment on her clothing is a leather strap across her shoulder, possibly a gun holder,
involving her with an offensive and militaristic individual. The photomural used the visual

contrast to reinforce the message about the freedom of women under the republic, shedding her

age-old conservative dress; the modern woman of the revolution will find equality in her battle

against fascism. The legend on the glass under the militia confirms this message: "The new

Woman of Spain has relieved herself of the superstitious nonsense and misery of her past

subjugation and is reborn and able to take part in the celebration of the future"

Consider Hemingway's picture of Maria at the point of the fascist attack on her village, a

weak and powerless young woman with long braids (soon cut off and stuffed in her mouth) and

wearing a long and heavy skirt (thrown over her head during the rape). Now compare that to the

new Maria who carries, surprisingly enough, trousers and a khaki shirt, open to the neck, who

offers to hold the arms of a gun, and who says to Robert, that she would like to go to a train with

him. If we superimpose these two contrasting photos of Maria on the Renau photomural of the

two Spanish women, the parallels are obvious and thought-provoking. In the same way as Renau,

Hemingway, through these two intertwined pictures of Maria, consciously and visually illustrates

the shift in gender roles during the Spanish Civil War. Maria pleads with Robert to let her come

with him to chase down the militia men the guerrilla group he thinks may have found. In spite of

her insistence, Robert avoids. Hemingway then explains Maria's response I go. Her fist, squeezed

tight in her pocket, beat hard against her thigh. He looked at her and saw tears in her eyes. She

took her fist out of his pocket and put both arms close to his neck and kissed him. He glanced

back and saw her standing there, the first morning sunshine on her brown skin, and the cropped,

tawny, golden hair. She raised her fist at him my emphasis and turned and walked back down the

street, her head down. There are, of course, many ways in which the reader could perceive

Maria's raised fist. One might argue that this is an expression of indignation or frustration. But
set in the background of the Spanish Civil War, this narration of Maria's clenched fist greeting of

the Republican Spaniard shows that she too now passionately supports the "movement."

For whom Bell Tolls deepens our understanding and appreciation of the novel in this

unusual social revolution. In Pilar and Maria, Hemingway simplified his admiration for the "new

women of Spain" who, during the Spanish Civil War, assumed their new sovereignty and

directed it to protect their land and independence against Franco's overwhelmingly superior

equipment and powers. Their stories show how loyalist women coped with death and depression,

and how they showed their resilience and endurance.