# III explained — The Sun Also Rises

> Chapter companion for The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

## What happens

Jake and Georgette dine at a restaurant, then join Braddocks and his party at a bal musette. Brett arrives with a group of gay young men, and Jake's irritation grows. Brett and Jake leave together, and in the taxi Brett confesses her misery.

## Themes in this chapter

### Expatriation and Alienation

Jake and his circle are American expatriates adrift in Paris, seeking distraction but feeling disconnected.

### Alcohol and Hedonism

The characters drink heavily at the bal, using alcohol as a means of escape and social lubrication.

### Love and Sexual Frustration

Jake and Brett's intimate but impossible relationship is highlighted by their taxi ride and Brett's confession of misery.

## Character check-ins

### Jake Barnes

Narrator; dances with Brett, leaves with her, feels angry at Brett's companions.

### Lady Brett Ashley

Arrives with a group of gay men; dances with Jake; leaves with him; confesses she has been miserable.

### Robert Cohn

Present at the bal; watches Brett with eager expectation; asks her to dance.

### Georgette Leblanc

Jake's dinner companion; introduced as his fiancée as a joke; dances with the gay men.

### Braddocks

Hosts the party at the bal musette; invites Jake and Georgette.

### Frances Clyne

At the dinner table and the bal; engages Georgette in conversation.

## Key lines

> Oh, darling, I've been so miserable

Brett confesses her unhappiness to Jake in the taxi.

_Reveals the emotional turmoil beneath Brett's carefree exterior._

> She was built with curves like the hull of a racing yacht, and you missed none of it with that wool jersey.

Jake describes Brett's athletic, attractive figure, emphasized by her tight sweater.

_Highlights Brett's physical allure and Jake's admiring gaze._

> He looked a great deal as his compatriot must have looked when he saw the promised land.

Cohn gazes at Brett with the same longing as a pioneer seeing the Promised Land.

_Emphasizes Cohn's infatuation and idealization of Brett._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/chapters/iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/chapters