For Whom the Bell Tolls: Novel Summary: Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

Summary
Jordan is finally at rest outside the cave in a sleeping robe, a form of sleeping bag, when Maria approaches barefooted. He asks her to come inside, and she acquiesces after some initial hesitation. Maria asks him if he loves her and he assures her that he does and wonders if she is a virgin. She answers: "things were done to me," in the prison where she was raped by the fascists (71). Pilar, however, has told her that falling in love will take all that horror away: "I wished to die, you see" (73). They make love after mutual assurances of love.
Analysis
Both Jordan and Maria change during the act of making love. Maria, as Pilar predicted, has been cured of her earlier trauma thanks to Jordan, and he has found a sense of exaltation, which serves as an escape from his mental burden concerning blowing up the bridge. For a while he can stop his calculating and logical reasoning and give in to the bliss of nature and lack of control. It remains to be seen whether this new entanglement, so to speak, will change his outlook on life, the Cause and his mission to blow up the bridge.
Hemingway's language during the love making scene should be examined closely for repetition and alliteration, which mimic the pair's physical coupling.