What kind of author describes a critic as "having the eyes of an unsuccesful rapist"? Is this disturbing?

Question

When Hemingway wrote this of Wyndham Lewis in 1960, was it a foreshadowing of his mental problems? Would he have written this in 1927? When did Hemingway become mentally ill?

Answer 1

He apparently felt that Wyndham Lewis as a critic was trying to forcefully violate his standing as an author. Hemingway's style of writing was usually characterized by understatement expressed with an economy of words. So his statement, "having the eyes of an unsuccessful rapist" in a way is expressing his vehement dislike of the man and at the same time says that he (Lewis) could not violate something so pure as an expression of thought put down on paper. The quote itself is an example of his economy of words, but gets his contempt of Lewis across to the reader in a most visceral way.

Hemingway's family suffered from depression, it seems to have been inherited from his father's side of the family. His father, a brother, a sister and his grandaughter, Margaux all suffered from depression and committed suicide.

I doubt he would have made that statement in 1927 even though he was a known depressive even then but it was blamed on the war and his fondness for alchohol. In 1960 he underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depression and paranoia. He found that ECT affected his memory (he lost his memory) and severely crippled his writing. He couldn't keep a train of thought.

His writing was his life and without that, depression over ruled common sense. He attempted suicide in the spring of 1961. He then underwent another series of ECT sessions. By this time he could not write at all because of the ECT induced memory loss and on July 2, 1961 he committed suicide with a shotgun blast to his head.

He was considered depressive around 1928 - but then most of the survivors of war were considered depressive (and alcholoic) - so it didn't seem all that important at the time.

Answer 2

I don't think so. I think it reveals how Hemingway felt about critics. He thought critics were like rapists and that this critic in particular was unsuccessful in his criticism and he was angry about him being unsuccessful. Just because Hemingway chooses an emotionally loaded image does not mean it is predictive of mental illness. It simply means he has a stark image for a line of work and one of its practitioners with which he can use to make sure everyone knows just how he feels.

Answer 3

Although a sick way of describing someone, I think it pertained to the critic having a look of hunger in his eyes because he is only a critic who inside wants to be a successful author. The "rape", again a sick explanation, would be to steal Hemingway's gift of writing from him. Which also falls into his late paranoia.

Answer 4

As he got older, all the drinking made Hemingway paranoid.
That's why he blew his brains out.

Answer 5

its sick