Hemingway was a douche (see all details)?
Has finding out that one of your favorite authors was not the type of person you could respect changed your view of their work, or in general affected the way you interpreted/recommended/discussed said author? If so, how and who was it?
Before I'm accosted let me explain my question:
I've always been very torn on Hemingway. I really like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and The Old Man and the Sea, but aside from a couple miscellaneous short stories I haven't much liked anything else by him. But I have always loved what he represented in my mind: a man's man, not afraid of adventure or deep thought.
Though, I've got to admit to having been largely ignorant of his personality aside from what could be inferred from his books, and even there it's not a very far stretch for me to separate the art from the artist. So most of the negative inferences that could be made I've dismissed as artistic license/plot necessity.
Then I start researching the whole Max Perkins gang, and lo and behold the most unsympathetic, and flat out unlikable character among them is Ernest Hemingway. Out of Fitzgerald, Wolfe, Lardner, and Van Dine Hemingway is the most obnoxious, self-centered, and back stabbing of the group. I was shocked to find out that not only was Hemingway given his first big break because of Fitzgerald but Hemingway was one of the harshest critics Fitzgerald had during one of the toughest times of his life. How does one forsake a brother to such a degree? And he frequently, and ruthlessly picked on Wolfe's writing knowing full well how unstable and sensitive to criticism Wolfe was. Furthermore the man continuously threatened to leave Perkins despite the fact that Perkins was the only person in America willing to publish his very first book, The Torrents of Spring, and had to fight vigorously with Scribner to do so.
I realize that he was in direct competition with Fitzgerald and Wolfe not only for sales but for Perkins' time, but how does one overlook Hemingway's lack of loyalty, civility, and gross egotism?
Is he not supposed to be a model for American men? How can one put him on that pedestal when he so blatantly shirked such time honored values amongst civilized men?
I'll always like his second and third books and Old Man and the Sea (the last because I like fishing stories, the first two because they demonstrate his genius most ably), but I don't think I can ever look at the man the same or hold him in high regard. I'll always defend his contribution to literature, specifically American literature, as immeasurable, but I no longer respect him for it.
So here's my question, and the question I want answered (But feel free to share your opinions on Hemingway as well, whether you agree or disagree with me.) :
Has finding out that one of your favorite authors was not the type of person you could respect changed your view of their work, or in general affected the way you interpreted/recommended/discussed said author? If so, how and who was it?
TM - Beautiful response. That's actually one of the passages I read over the weekend, and one of the most - in my opinion - overrated and self-indulgent books ever written.
But, for clarity's sake, I'll restate that I'll never downplay the man's significance regarding literature - though his importance is fading with new trends, perspectives, problems, and styles - but I'll also never be able to discuss his work without first getting out of the way that he is not a man to be admired. And should it be asking too much on my part for writers to be decent as well as talented, I'll forever be guilty of asking too much.
lildioicus --> To my knowledge I've never said that Catcher in the Rye was overrated, and certainly didn't in this question or comments afterwards. The work I said was over rated and self-indulgent is A Moveable by Feast by Hemingway. A book that amounts to little more than the author's reflection on his early years as a writer and an excuse to insult practically everyone who helped him break out of obscurity because, in my opinion, he was so insecure he felt that admitting to owing any portion of his success or career to another person was questioning of his manhood.
So many great answers here.
There is a difference between being a "good person" and a "decent person." I don't mind at all if an author, or any person is completely different from myself. Their inherent personality is part of their character and voice. I think what was bothering me about Hemingway when I asked this question is that he espouses values that he clearly didn't live. Hypocrisy casts a shadow of doubt over one's character. I think early on Hemingway lived his life as an adventurer and a decent person by his definition, but as time went on and he became more and more well known he developed some serious self perception issues. I certainly don't underestimate the man's importance, and maybe that importance is why I had a false view of him, but the disappointment in find it false was palpable.
Maybe I'm just really turned off by extremely arrogant personalities?
Anyway, thanks for the great, and thoughtful answers. It was a tough choice choosing best.