# Chapter IV explained — The Sun Also Rises

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

## What happens

Jake and Brett share a taxi ride, then join friends at a bar where Brett meets Count Mippipopolous. Jake leaves, goes home, and later Brett visits him late at night, drunk, after the count brought her. They talk briefly, she leaves, and Jake lies awake brooding over his war wound and his feelings for Brett.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Sexual Frustration

Jake's unfulfilled desire for Brett is central: their brief kiss in the taxi, Brett's declaration of love, and Jake's sleepless anguish over his wound and their impossible relationship.

### Alcohol and Hedonism

Heavy drinking throughout: champagne at the bar, brandy at Jake's, and Brett's drunken late-night visit, reflecting the escapist lifestyle of the characters.

### Expatriation and Alienation

Jake's isolation in his Paris flat, his detachment from the social scene, and his reflection on being a foreigner wounded in the Italian army highlight his sense of displacement.

## Character check-ins

### Jake Barnes

Narrator; rides with Brett, leaves the bar, goes home, receives Brett late at night, and lies awake reflecting on his wound and relationship with Brett.

### Lady Brett Ashley

Rides with Jake, meets Count Mippipopolous at the bar, later visits Jake drunk after the count brought her, then leaves in a limousine.

### Count Mippipopolous

Introduced to Brett at the bar; buys champagne, offers Brett money to travel with him, and later drives her to Jake's apartment.

### Zizi

Little Greek portrait-painter who introduces Brett to Count Mippipopolous at the bar.

### Braddocks

Calls Jake to a table at the bar and mentions Cohn went home with Frances.

## Key lines

> It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing.

Being tough and unemotional is easy during the day, but at night it becomes much harder.

_Jake reflects on his emotional vulnerability after Brett leaves._

> I suppose she only wanted what she couldn't have. Well, people were that way. To hell with people.

I think she only desired what was unattainable. That's just how people are. Forget them.

_Jake's bitter thoughts about Brett's motivations and his general disillusionment with people._

## Links

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