Satire of Sentiment. Ernest Hemingway.

Romantic image of a woman becomes ridiculous when she outs herself in the role of the woman in constant danger.
This sentiment satire hits home since almost of all us , at one time we have been led to solemnize / dramatize our lives in response to the romantic stimulus of popular literature and movies around us.
A main theme in 'Across the River and into the trees' a satire of a man who takes his life seriously .
The main theme of the novel is : Age. What it is , what it means the motif is adolescence (in a time of romantic illusion) his name Colonel Cantwell ( a pun)
Colonel Cantwell's behavior:
*Falls in love with a teenager.
*Necks and pets her like a teenager.
*Sees himself as a movie hero.
*Rants against established authority.
Seeks approval from peers.
*Has difficulty expressing emotion.
*Feels sorry for himself.

Conflict in Hemingway's novels is the attempt of the protagonist to straighten himself out ; to know what is REAL and what is ILLUSION.
One major illusion of age is to feel young , every instinct rebels against you , or you will be foolish as Cantwell and self- deluded.
SENTIMENTALITY IS A TENDER TRAP.
Hemingway draws a caricature of his own emotional condition , a combination of satire / pathos that deal with protagonists unable to achieve
*objectivity from their own illusions ,
*love is difficult
*sexual inter course is limited
*fight a battle within themselves to gain equilibrium to get outside themselves