The Sun Also Rises -- Uncertainty

 The ending of The Sun Also Rises seems to raise more questions than it answers. But is this necessarily a bad thing? What more is there to life than a series of chapters and reflections on those memories? I find the final interaction between Jake and Brett to be very illuminating of both their past and their future, and the idea of uncertainty/certainty becomes interesting when discussed in terms of their relationship. At the beginning, Brett and Jake were unable to be together. They were certain that they could not provide each other with enough of what the other needed, and they spent a significant amount of time in a futile search for something they couldn't have. This led to Brett's idealization of her relationship with a "healthy" Jake and Jake's inability to be in a real relationship with other women. Though they may have shared some affection or passion for each other, the physical injuries, which represent his "loss of masculinity" at war, make it so that Brett cannot give herself to Jake. Due to this feeling of inadequacy, Jake is hostile and intolerant of anything that resembles a threat to his remaining masculinity. This circumstance is symbolic to the tragic irony of soldiers entering war as a means to prove their masculinity (War being the most powerful figure of "Man"), but leaving as a shell of their former selves to be mocked and ostracized in the future. I believe that the scene towards the end of the novel with the bullfighters also represents this idea of soldiers returning from war. The legendary bullfighter tries and fails to overcome the expectations set up for him, and he is ultimately turned into a mockery of his former self. 

At the end of the novel, Brett and Jake have a conversation about what they could have been.

    "Oh, Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together."

    Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed                   suddenly pressing Brett against me. 

    "Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

Finally, their relationship is not based on what could have been. From this passage, I gather that Brett will probably still romanticize the relationship they may have had, but she has come to terms with the fact that Jake will not be what she believes to be "whole". However, because of Jake's injuries, he is the only one to truly be able to know Brett without lust being his primary motivator. They are now able to fantasize about the uncertainties of the past while being rooted in the certainties of their future.