- Year Published: 1929.
- Pages: 355.
A Farewell to Arms Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1 to 5
The novel begins describing artillery troops moving through the rains of autumn. Frederic Henry, an ambulance driver is among those men. Henry is an American who joined Italian troops at the front during World War I.
During the war, Henry returns after winter and departs in early spring. His roommate, Rinaldi, persuades Henry to visit a nearby hospital to meet a British nurse, Catherine. Henry found her tempting and later came back to meet her.
Chapter 6 to 15
Henry begins to regularly visit Catherine but they soon realize that their relationship is empty of love and they both decided to part their ways.
Henry is sent back to fulfill his duty at the front. He and his fellow ambulance drivers take shelter in a dugout and waited for the attack to begin. Suddenly, the mortar shell bombs the dugout and both of Henry’s legs received severe wounds while his friend, Passini, dies. Rinaldi visits Henry at the hospital first and then comes the priest. Rinaldi makes some jokes and tells Henry that Italians will grant him a medal. The priest talks seriously about the bad and inevitable outcomes of the war.
Later, Henry is transported to an American hospital in Milan. Because of having too much staff, Catherine is sent out there as well.
Henry arrives at the Hospital early, even before the doctor arrives. The operation continues but later they found out that surgery is required to remove the deeply penetrated piece of metal. Henry declines to wait 6 months for the surgery to proceed. Another surgeon, Dr.Valentini arrives and states that Henry can be operated the next day morning. The operation proceeds successfully.
Chapter 16 to 25
Catherine visits Henry and he expresses his love for her. Later on, Catherine does the night shifts and they spend them together.
It is summer season now and Henry is recovering gradually. Henry meets an officer named Ettore Moretti while returning from the checkup. He also wants to have medals and get promoted just like Henry.
One day Henry and Catherine decide to watch horse races. They select a random horse to bet on but they end up losing.
At the end of summer, Henry receives a letter from army asking him to return 3 weeks after he is discharged. Catherine also decides to plot a way to escape the hospital.
Henry demands 2 more weeks of leave as he developed jaundice but Miss Van Campen finds empty bottles of alcohol in the cupboard and uses them as