Papa Hemingway or the Tragic Alterity of the Work of Art

Abstract

This article examines autofiction in Ernest Hemingway's writing and the entanglement between work of art, biography and psychic conflict in order to articulate science and humanism and to enhance personalized understanding of illness and creativity in artists. Following an interpretative method, the author will analyze Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea after placing this short story in its bio-bibliographic context. She will explore the following hypothesis: in this novel, Hemingway's personal conflict and his posture as a writer are disclosed under the form of allegory. Finally, the artist’s block (i.e. the absence of major publications after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea) and his suicidal act will be considered in the light of infantile traumatism and its reviviscence after the death of Hemingway’s mother.