The Major is apparently just what he appears to be: a
character with the Hemingway attitude towards his own injury. I thought he might have
been derived from a person who had appeared in one of Hemingway's newspaper articles,
but couldn't find any mention of such a story.
I wonder why
you tagged your question with "science". If it was deliberate, were you asking about
the Major's medical condition or his emotional state, or something
else.
If we are to believe his doctor, the Major's injury
did not destroy structures that could not be healed at that time, WW I. So he could have
recovered some use of his hand, but would probably never fence again. Then again, the
doctor might well have been decieving him; the tone of the story is
ambiguous.
His emotional state, due to his partially
disabling wound, the loss of his fencing prowess, or the death of his wife, is probably
what you would expect from Hemingway at the time he wrote the story, which you will find
discussed by abler critics than me.
The reference can lead
you to much more discussion.
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