The Sun Also Rises Chapter 14 Summary

Summary

Jake returns drunk, reads Turgenieff on the balcony, and stays awake long into the night thinking about Brett, men’s friendships, and the morals of their behavior. He remembers undressing, putting on a bathrobe, and keeping the light on so that the room would not seem to spin; he reads the same pages over and over until the brandy loosens the pressure in his head. Brett and Robert Cohn come up the stairs; Cohn says good night outside and goes to his room while Brett goes next door to Mike. Jake lies awake brooding about his relationship with Brett, about having treated her as a friend while taking what he wanted, and about the ‘‘bill’’ that eventually comes for such exchanges. He places himself among other men—Mike, Bill, Harris—and notes characters of drunkenness and cruelty, especially Mike’s unpleasantness when he passes a certain point.

After some hours Jake finally sleeps and then describes two quiet days in Pamplona before the fiesta: the town readies the bull-ring, workers put up numbered timbered barriers, picador horses are exercised, and carpenters repair the barrera. The narrative moves through concrete, everyday detail—the gate of the bull-ring being swept, women cleaning boxes, a long pen formed by fences, venders and gypsies camping out near the fair, and a booth advertising ANIS DEL TORO. Jake and the others sit at a café on the square watching motor-buses unload peasants and the routine watering of the streets. Days are calm: mornings are for reading papers, walks, or studying Spanish; Brett and Mike sleep late; the paseo after dinner draws the town’s people. Jake goes to church once with Brett, who wants him to confess; they meet Cohn leaving and the three visit the gypsy camp where Brett has her fortune told. The weather is fresh and cool, and Jake records a unanimous feeling of health and amiability—an almost suspended peace right before the coming fiesta.

Key events

1. Jake comes home drunk, reads Turgenieff to steady himself, and stays awake thinking.
2. Brett and Robert Cohn return; Cohn goes to his room, Brett to Mike's room.
3. Jake reflects bitterly on his relationship with Brett and on male friendships and morality.
4. He finally sleeps; the town prepares the bull-ring and streets for the fiesta.
5. Descriptions of picador horses, carpenters repairing the barrera, and vendors setting up.
6. Jake and friends sit at the café, villagers arrive by motor-bus, and daily routines continue.
7. Jake goes to church with Brett, meets Cohn, and they visit the gypsy camp where Brett gets her fortune told.

Analysis

This chapter functions as a quiet, introspective bridge between the earlier emotional turmoil and the public spectacle to come. Structurally it alternates intimate interior monologue with precise, observational reportage of Pamplona’s physical preparations. On the character level, Jake’s late-night reflections reveal his ambivalent attachment to Brett—part affection, part resentment—and his moral self-assessment about cruelty, payment, and reciprocity in relationships. His ruminations on drunkenness and the different ways men behave while drunk sketch social hierarchies and tensions among the expatriates, especially toward Cohn and Mike.

The chapter reinforces major themes: the cost of desire (‘‘the bill’’), disillusionment with romanticized philosophies, and the attempt to find practical ways to live. The bull-ring preparations and the rehearsal-like work of carpenters and horse handlers foreshadow the coming ritualized violence and public performance of the fiesta, turning private anxieties toward communal spectacle. Hemingway’s plain, understated narrative voice remains central—Jake’s interior thoughts are candid but clipped, while the descriptive passages use careful, sensory detail to ground the novel in a concrete setting. Symbolically, elements like the rolled sand of the ring, the numbered timbers, and the ANIS DEL TORO sign emphasize order, anticipation, and the cultural backdrop that will shape the characters’ actions in the next episodes.

Important quotes

“To hell with women, anyway. To hell with you, Brett Ashley.”

NarratorJake’s bitter, candid outburst showing his resentful mix of love and anger toward Brett during his sleepless, drunken reflections.

“The bill always came.”

NarratorA concise, thematic line capturing Jake’s belief that pleasures and favors eventually demand repayment—an idea he uses to frame his relationship with Brett.

“Standing at the edge of the smooth rolled sand you could look up in the empty stands and see old women sweeping out the boxes.”

NarratorA quiet, observational image that grounds the novel in the practical preparations of Pamplona and foreshadows the public ritual of the bull-ring.

Characters in Chapter 14

• Jake Barnes
• Brett Ashley
• Robert Cohn
• Mike Campbell
• Bill Gorton
• Wilson-Harris
• Pedro Romero