Men Without Women Summary

Men Without Women Plot Summary

Covers the whole plot, including the ending.

1. The Undefeated: Maera's Final Stand

   Manuel Garcia, known as Maera, is an aging bullfighter trying to make a comeback after being gored many times. He gets a fight in Madrid, which worries his manager, Retana, and makes younger matadors doubt him. Maera insists on fighting the most dangerous bulls, refusing easier ones. During the fight, he is gored again but continues to fight with great courage and skill, eventually killing the bull. Severely wounded, he is carried to the infirmary where the doctor treats his injuries. Despite his physical defeat, Maera keeps his dignity and feels an internal victory. He shows 'grace under pressure' even as his career is clearly over.

2. In Another Country: The Futility of Machines

   An unnamed American narrator, a wounded soldier in Milan during World War I, undergoes daily physical therapy with other officers using experimental machines. He becomes friends with a group of Italian officers, including a major who was once Italy's greatest fencer. The major is at first doubtful about the machines' effectiveness, having lost the use of his hand. The narrator and another young officer receive medals for bravery, but the major criticizes the narrator for his perceived lack of true courage. Later, the major says his young wife, whom he married only a few months before, has died unexpectedly of pneumonia. Despite his stoicism, his deep grief is clear. This shows the random nature of loss and how the machines cannot heal emotional wounds.

3. Hills Like White Elephants: A Difficult Choice

   An American man and a girl named Jig are waiting for a train to Madrid at a station in rural Spain. They order beers and discuss the surrounding area. Jig says the hills look like white elephants, a comparison the man dismisses. The conversation soon turns subtly but clearly to an abortion. The man calls it a 'simple operation' and says it is 'perfectly natural.' He pressures Jig, telling her he will love her again if she does it. But she expresses deep uncertainty and feels she will lose something important. The tension between them is clear. It is a quiet struggle over a life-altering decision that leaves their future uncertain and their relationship broken.

4. The Killers: Waiting for Death

   Two professional hitmen, Al and Max, enter Henry's lunchroom in Summit, Illinois, just before dinner. They terrorize the staff and customers, tying up George and Nick Adams, the counterman and a regular. The hitmen say they are there to kill a boxer named Ole Andreson, who eats dinner at the lunchroom every night at six o'clock. When Andreson does not show up, they leave. Nick, disturbed by the event, goes to warn Andreson. He finds him lying in bed, resigned to his fate. Andreson refuses to flee, saying there is nothing he can do. Nick returns to the lunchroom, telling George he is leaving town because he 'can't stand to think about it.'

5. Che Ti Dice La Patria?: A Road Trip Through Post-War Italy

   Two American men, one of whom is the narrator, are driving through Italy. They pick up two Italian women who offer sexual favors for money, which the men decline. Later, they pick up a friendly Italian priest who shares his food and drink with them. The priest says he wants to return to America. The narrator and his companion observe the poverty and moral decline in post-war Italy. They see prostitution, corruption, and a general sense of disillusionment. The journey has a constant feeling of unease and a lack of clear moral compass. This shows the disillusionment and moral ambiguity of the era, as the men remain detached observers.

6. Fifty Grand: The Fixed Fight

   Jack Brennan, an aging but still strong boxer, is training for a fight against a younger opponent, Walcott. Jack is under pressure from gamblers, including his manager and a man named Jerry, to lose the fight. He feels unwell and struggles with the decision. During the fight, he intentionally fouls Walcott, hoping to be disqualified, but the referee does not see it. In a desperate move, Jack head-butts Walcott, which results in Walcott hitting him below the belt. Jack claims the foul, winning by disqualification. This ensures the gamblers' payoff and his own moral compromise. The story explores corruption in boxing and the protagonist's internal conflict.

7. A Simple Enquiry: A Commander's Unspoken Desire

   An Italian major, Major Paravicini, calls his orderly, Pinin, to his quarters. The major asks Pinin a series of strange and probing questions about his appearance, specifically his hair, and whether he has ever been 'fondled.' Pinin, a young and innocent-looking man, is confused and uncomfortable by the questions. The major's inquiries suggest a homosexual interest, which he struggles to say or act upon directly. The interaction is tense and unspoken. This shows the major's repressed desires and the orderly's bewilderment, creating an atmosphere of unspoken tension and suppressed longing within the strict military environment.

8. Ten Indians: Nick's First Heartbreak

   Young Nick Adams is returning home with the Garner family after a Fourth of July celebration. On the way, they meet a group of ten Indians, some of whom are drunk. Nick's father makes a disrespectful remark about the Indians. Later that night, back at home, Nick's father casually tells him that he saw Prudence, Nick's Indian girlfriend, with another boy, an 'Indian boy.' Nick at first pretends not to care, but the news deeply affects him. He goes to bed, trying to suppress the pain and disillusionment of his first heartbreak. He feels a deep sense of loss and betrayal that marks a significant step in his emotional development.

9. A Canary for One: The End of a Marriage

   An American couple is traveling on a train through France. In their compartment, they share space with an older American woman obsessed with her canary. She is taking it to her daughter in Nice as a gift. The woman recounts her daughter's romantic misfortunes, saying 'American men make the best husbands.' The narrator and his wife listen, but their own conversation is strained and shows a deep emotional distance between them. As the train passes through the French countryside, the narrator thinks about the impending end of his marriage. This is subtly conveyed through their lack of intimacy and the wife's comment that they 'aren't going to America.'

10. An Alpine Idyll: The Peasant's Strange Grief

    Nick Adams and another man named John are on a skiing trip in the Alps. They stop at a village inn where they hear a strange story from the innkeeper. A peasant named Franz, whose wife died in the winter, kept her body in the woodshed until spring. When asked why, Franz explained that he had put a lantern in her mouth so he could see to hang up his hayrake. The innkeeper recounts the incident with disgust and bewilderment. The story shows the grim realities of peasant life, the unusual ways grief can appear, and the clash between different cultural understandings of death and respect. Nick and John are disturbed by the tale.

11. A Pursuit Race: The Addled Stage Manager

    A man named Bill is trying to find his friend, a stage manager named William Campbell, who has left their traveling show in Spokane. Bill eventually finds Campbell in a hotel room, disheveled and clearly under the influence of drugs, likely opium. Campbell is delusional and speaks erratically, obsessed with a girl named Louise. Bill tries to reason with him and bring him back to the show. But Campbell is resistant and lost in his own world of drug-induced fantasy and despair. The story shows the destructive power of addiction and the difficulty of helping someone who has lost their grip on reality. It portrays a man in a state of deep mental and physical decline.

12. Today Is Friday: A Reenactment of the Crucifixion

    Three Roman soldiers are drinking wine in a bar after the crucifixion of Jesus. They discuss the event with a detached, almost casual air. One soldier says Jesus was 'pretty good' and 'tough,' enduring the pain without complaint. Another soldier expresses sympathy for Jesus, while the third is more cynical, focused on practicalities and the relief that the day's work is done. The conversation is brief and stark. It shows the soldiers' professional indifference to the suffering they witnessed, yet also hints at a lasting impression left by Jesus's stoicism. The story offers a minimalist, secular perspective on a religious event.

13. Banal Story: A Literary Critique

    This story begins as a commentary on literary magazines and the state of modern writing, especially the trend of publishing 'banal stories' and sentimental poetry. The narrator expresses dislike for the superficiality and lack of substance in contemporary literature. The narrative then shifts to a heartfelt tribute to the bullfighter Maera (from 'The Undefeated'). It praises his courage, skill, and integrity in the arena. It contrasts the authenticity and raw emotion of Maera's life and death with the artificiality of the literary world. It suggests that true art is in confronting reality directly, even if it is brutal or tragic, rather than escaping into sentimentality.

14. Now I Lay Me: Insomnia and War Trauma

    The narrator, a soldier named Nick, suffers from severe insomnia after experiencing trauma during the war. To cope, he develops an elaborate ritual: he lies awake in bed, recounting every detail of his childhood, from fishing trips to encounters with animals, to avoid thinking about the war and the fear of death. He also listens intently to the sounds of the silkworms eating mulberry leaves in the room, finding a strange comfort in their continuous, rhythmic chewing. His orderly, an Italian named Paravicini, stays with him, also unable to sleep. The story captures the deep psychological impact of war and the desperate measures individuals take to maintain their sanity when facing trauma.

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