" One is prompted to consider this character relative to another war time figure of literary note, Hemingway's Jake Barnes. The protagonist of
The Sun Also Rises, he fails to find Henry's redemption and must suffer his
wartime injury of impotence with a staggering loneliness. He faces it with
stoicism and sarcasm, and contrary to Henry, must endure it in the company
of an inconstant and flighty woman. The distinction is significant as
Henry is enabled a transformation to this warmth and companionship never
afforded the miserable Barnes. Indeed, I myself find a much more
resonating contentment with Henry's experience, which comports with my own
belief in the importance of companionship.
Henry's experience causes me to reflect on the common trial of
undergoing the

Though Henry initially responds to his own state of grieving by closing himself
off, he finds, just as have I through such situations, that this type of
mourning is best shared with those who can provide comfort. Closing one's
self off as had Henry can be an impediment to truly contending with the
emotionally devastating.
Even still, it is hard to say that Hemingway wished the best for a
character who was briefly redeemed. The most important episode in the text
is Catharine's death during labor, to which Henry responds during its
happening, "Poor, poor dear Cat. And this was the price you paid for
sleeping together. This was the end of the trap. This was what people got
for loving each other." Naturally, this rather cynical presumption tends
to place a final stamp on the novel, suggesting that while love may conquer
all human vagaries, it remains vulnerable to the whims of the universe.