A lot of feminists have a problem with Ernest Hemingway because his writing is too stoic, too masculine, and they call him anti-Semitic; basically because he portrayed thing the way they really are.  Unfortunately, Hemingway was writing before the time of sensitivity readers.

In fact, one woman whom Hemingway really didn’t like was his own mother.  Hemingway’s mother was an aspiring opera singer who had to quit due to her bad eyesight and weird headaches.  Although Hemingway was the only son, she did not dote on him, quite the contrary.  And weirdly, she dressed him like a girl for the first weeks of his life, which didn’t go over well with the fellas.  To be fair, however, this was not quite so unusual in the late 19th century, especially considering the difficulty of diaper changes (or whatever they used for diapers back then) (Yorston). 

By the time he was in his twenties, Hemingway would regularly refer to her as a “bitch.”  Author Paul Strathern notes that some critics have interpreted this feeling of dislike as a latent Oedipal complex.  More likely, however, was that this was Hemingway’s authentic sentiment. As Hemingway’s contemporary John Don Pasos noted, Hemingway was the only person he ever met who “really hated his own mother” (75). 

As a result of his mother’s efforts to emasculate him: 

“Young Ernest seems to have felt the need to assert his manhood forcefully from an early age–in the process developing a pugnacious side to his character” (Strathern 19).  

Given the love of sport and adventure which Hemingway displayed throughout his life, we can say that he did successfully “assert his manhood,” and all that it might entail to be a man. 

Strathern, Paul. Hemingway In 90 Minutes. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005. 

Yorston, Graeme.  “Ernest Hemingway – The Early Years | Biographical Documentary.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urhwJbCXgEA

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