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CommentaryThis story introduces the theme of masculinity in these stories. Hemingway turns a typically female act in a female space into a male-dominated situation. Although this story is about a childbirth, it focuses on the experience of the doctor rather than the woman. Plus, instead of a natural childbirth, the baby is brought into the world by a Caesarian section, which is a surgical procedure. The woman does not even have a role in such an operation. Instead, this squaw is held down by the men present as a man takes over the role of child-birthing. After the birth, Uncle George and Nick’s father have a playful, exuberant camaraderie over the job well done.In this masculine atmosphere, the suicide of the Indian father, then, seems to be an example of a man acting in a feminine manner. Nick’s father says that he probably killed himself because he could not stand it. Nick’s father could not think much of this man’s courage because he brought his young son to see what the father could not stand. Nick’s father and Uncle George exhibit more ideal male behavior. Nick’s father does not hesitate to examine the state of the man’s body. And, Uncle George, clearly disturbed by the scene, simply withdraws from company. This kind of stoicism is what Nick's father seems to want to teach Nick--he does not give Nick long answers to his questions, and he treats this incident with silence himself. This strong, silent masculinity reappears throughout these stories.
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