Lady Ashley Quotes

Lady Ashley, also known as Brett, is the most dominant woman character in the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway. Brett is an extremely attractive woman who was married, then divorced after WWI. Brett’s character can easily be related to many of the women in the present time. Hemmingway portrays women as manipulative, objects of lust, promiscuous and elusive. Brett is the perfect example of a femme fatale which Hemmingway is trying to portray women as, as well. Near the beginning of The Sun Also Rises, we are introduced to the character of Lady Ashley who is portrayed as manipulative from the start. In most cases, Brett has a kind of power over men where they will do what ever she asks them to. Her strong, independent characteristics
In her opinion; a man should not be so open with his anguish. Brett admires the manly man characteristics of Jake; on the other hand, she despises Cohn’s lack of masculinity.
Brett’s values are distorted compared to those of the native women of the city. She lacks direction in life and finds emptiness in many activities that she would have enjoyed when she were younger. Brett values the pleasure of sex before true love and respect and this is why Brett refuses to be with Jake at the beginning of the novel. Brett makes fun of Jake for bringing a date, since he cannot have sex with anyone. Brett thinks that it’s not fair for him to date, because sex is essential for her and she believes that without sex a relationship has no meaning. Brett tells Jake that Romero wanted her to grow out her hair so that she would look more like a woman. He also wanted to marry Brett so she could never leave him. Brett did not like this idea and defiantly did not approve of it. Brett is an individual and is very outside of the norm. She is very frightened by this commitment and of Romero’s desire to change her and make her conform to the other