Lieutenant Frederic Henry is the protagonist of A Farewell to Arms. His character is based off Hemingway himself and he personifies Hemingway's perspective of the war. Henry is an American ambulance driver serving in the Italian army. The novel does not fully explain why Henry enlisted in the ambulance corps. He does his job dutifully and is not seeking honor, glory, or valor, what many of his fellow soldier are seeking from the war. His conflicts begin when he begins a relationship with Catherine Barkley. This is especially difficult because of the war going on, which on multiple occasions separates him from Catherine. Henry also suffers an internal conflict about his views of the war. By the end of the novel, Henry just sees war as a great tragedy that makes everyone suffer. His relationship with Catherine starts off artificially but quickly turns passionate. In the end, he is forced to watch his beloved suffer through childbirth and die
Catherine Barkley serves as Henry's love interest. She is a British nurse who has recently lost her fiancé to the war. Looking for love, she sets her eyes on Henry. Together they play a game of love until their feelings intensifies and turn into true love. Catherine always seems to sense that dreadful things will happen will happen to Henry and her. She is also frightened by rain. Catherine does not believe in any organized religion but has her own set of firm values, one of which includes love. During her agonizing childbirth, Catherine shows courage before succumbing to her hemorrhages. Unfortunately, the child she delivers also dies
Besides Henry and Catherine, the other characters do not play a big role in the story. Rinaldi is the most prominent secondary character. He is a physician and is probably Henry's closest friend because he really does care for Henry and visits him in the hospital. The two joke around while they consume alcohol. He personifies the masculinity and promiscuity that the other soldiers display. Rinaldi lives life to the fullest and is true to himself. He is also a womanizer and visits brothels. Rinaldi probably escaped when the Italians were in retreat. Henry assumes that Rinaldi contracted syphilis
