18. Romero's Strength

In chapter 18, the next rounds of bullfighting begin. Romero had spent a few days with Brett at this point, and he found himself in love with her. However, unlike Jake and the other characters that also found themselves in love with her, Romero does not become weak or overpowered because of her affection. During the bullfight she only seemed to aid him, according to Jake "because he did not look up to ask if it pleased, he did it all for himself inside, and it strengthened him... he did not do it for her at any loss to himself. He gained by it all through the afternoon," (220). This greatly sets Romero apart from Jake and Brett's other "loves" because he maintains his original loves and values of bullfighting over Brett. In contrast, the other characters sacrificed their feelings and values just to be near her or in an attempt to regain her affection.

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.