16. Brett's Influence

In Chapter 16 Brett is introduced to Pedro Romero, the young bull-fighter. She immediately feels as if she has fallen in "love" with him. She expresses these feelings to Jake when they take a walk alone in the park. She tells Jake that she wants to be with Romero, and she also says, "I've got to do something I really want to do. I've lost my self-respect," (187). Jake tells her not to do it, but she remains stubborn about what she wants to do, so Jake leads her to the cafe where he knows Romero is at. Earlier in the chapter, Jake admits to Brett that he is still in love with her, so why on earth would he ever help her to be with another man? He was so in love with Brett that he was willing to compromise all of his own feelings just to give her what she wanted, no matter how bad it may hurt him. Brett does not even seem to care that she has hurt all these men. She continues to hurt Jake, she used Cohn, and now she is cheating on Mike with a young boy of only 19. Brett has some serious issues. I do not understand how Jake can continue to love this woman, let alone watch her be with so many other men.