Is Brett the Main Character in The Sun Also Rises?

During panel presentations today, one group while discussing the role Brett plays in the novel brought up the idea that in some ways she is the main character of The Sun Also Rises. Although Jake is the narrator of the novel and the only character whose thoughts we have access to, Brett is truly the person who drives the plot and who the other characters are defined in relation to. She is also the character who arguably shows the most growth over the course of the novel.

Although Brett is not introduced until the end of chapter three, it is only when she makes her first appearance that we get some real insight into Jake and the plot starts to pick up. Jake’s feelings for Brett are the first thing in the novel to dismantle his “tough-guy” facade and allow the reader to see through to his actual character. The scenes in the taxi with Jake and Brett, and then of Jake alone in his room thinking about her paint a clearer and more honest picture of him than we had gotten in the entire three chapters preceding. This theme of the reader learning more about Jake through his interactions with and feelings for Brett continues throughout the novel, from where she comforts him in his bedroom to their conversations in Pamplona to the final scene in the taxi in Madrid.

Brett is also the character who drives the plot of The Sun Also Rises. If she were not in the novel, there would not be much of a story to tell. Jake would continue with his life on the outskirts of expatriate society in Paris, interrupted by a brief interlude in Spain where he fishes with his old friend Bill. The trip would be made only slightly less relaxing by the presence of his annoying acquaintance Cohn. There would be almost none of the tension that exists between Cohn and Jake, Mike would be out of the picture entirely, and Jake’s value system would remain unchallenged as he and his friends wholeheartedly joined Montoya in supporting Romero in the bullfights. Brett is the character who again and again defies the reader and characters’ expectations, creates the tension and drama, and forces the other characters to question their values and what they hold to be true.

Brett is also the character who grows the most over the course of the novel. At the beginning, she is perpetually drinking and rushes from one relationship to the next to avoid looking back at the damage both that she’s caused and that’s been done to her. However, in the last chapters she acknowledges that she “can’t just stay tight all the time” and is able to stop and reflect on the status of her relationships instead of just continuing to rush forwards. She sends Romero away when his intention to marry and reform her becomes apparent, plans on returning to Mike whom she identifies as the best match personality-wise for her and someone who will still allow her to have the freedom and lifestyle she wants, and in the final scene appears to be resigned to the fact that she and Jake will never be able to have the relationship they had hoped for.