In short, this story was as follows-one son Nick and his father who is doctor and uncle George with Indians went to Indian camp by rowboat to do surgeon one woman. One woman was in the phase of trying to have her baby. Woman’s husband was stayed in the upper bunk of her bed who had cut his foot very badly with an ax three days before.…the Caesarian was succeeded in the situation of having not enough of surgeon tools. After that they ware proud of about it and pleaded the success but got a glimpse of watching the upper bunk, woman’s husband lay with his face toward the wall, his throat had been cut from ear to ear. The blood had flowed down into a pool…in other words he killed himself. The purpose why her husband kill himself was unclear, but probably it was due to he couldn’t stand something. Then they rode on and sat on the stern of the boat, Nick’s father felt quite sure that he would never die.
Killing oneself of woman’s husband happened suddenly, so it’s the realm of supposition, but it could be guessed it was because of sympathy of the pity to his wife or husband’s deed of taboo in Indian or more congenial……I felt from the experience I read a few of Hemingway’s works, in many cases it could be happened the acts that haven’t any motivation like an old man who thought of kill oneself but the reason wasn’t clear in “A clean, well-lighted place" and the Swede who pursued by two killers but that reason was unclear in “The Killers” and this was one of aim to readers for Hemingway, I guess. At the scene of dying dead in the upper part of cabin have the resemblance with "A Rose For Emily" by William Faulkner, the upper might have some kind of meaning. This story was so impulsive for me in the meaning of composition it could be witness who haven’t know much of death in this story father’s son Nick could be watch the death.
Bibliography
Ernest Hemingway, (1958), In our time; stories by Ernest Hemingway, New York: Scribner
(尾上政次・早川浩訳、『対訳ヘミングウェイ1』、南雲堂、1981年)
