Hemingway was famous for writing about manly men doing manly things (soldiers, bullfighters, fishermen, etc.) But I recently heard a rumor that this was all façade for his latent homosexuality – an internal conflict that eventually led him to take his life.
Have I been out to lunch? Has everyone out there figured this out but me? Or is this some kind of silly rumor?
I think that he may have been. My Eng teacher said he wasn’t. My mom said he probably was…
First of all, he was known for being something of a homophobe. A lot of times, when someone is really vehemently against a certain person, its b/c something about that person reminds them of themself- if that makes sense. That is, perhaps the reason he was so anti-gay is because secretly he feared his own latent homosexuality.
Also he didn’t have success with women. His depiction of women in his novels, for example, tend to be prototypes, no real original characters. And he was sort of misogynist…and had about three failed marriages…
That’s all I know though…don’t know if he killed himself b/c of the homosexuality…
It’s not an easy question to answer, since it depends on what you mean by “homosexual.” Did he have sex with other men? I don’t believe there’s any evidence that he had. So on that basis, he wasn’t.
Did he have homosexual fantasies or was he tormented by latent homosexuality? It’s anyone’s guess, and Ernie’s not telling. As far as a macho persona indicating latent homosexuality, well, that’s also hard to pin down. Some people do act macho because of that reason, but not everyone and it can’t be a reliable sign. Even his trouble with relationships is not a sign of homosexuality, unless you want to argue that, say, Zsa Zsa Gabor or Elizabeth Taylor was a lesbian.
And, of course, the irony of Hemingway being gay makes the entire possibility appealing.
At this point, though, it’s just speculation.