More than a Period Piece: Hemingway'sFor Whom the Bell Tollsas a Reflection of the Spanish Civil War

This article addresses the possibility of interpreting For Whom the Bells Tolls (1940. London: Marshall Cavendish) not merely as a novel of the Spanish Civil War, but also as a text that provides insights beyond the limits of that historical event itself. Several episodes of the novel are considered, and biographical and historical aspects of the author's concerns are interrogated in order to understand the novel's wider significance.The article explores a claim made by Harold Bloom regarding the current significance of Ernest Hemingway's work, in order to establish the relevance of the text for modern readers.