The Presentation of Robert Cohn

Before the fiesta of San Fermin begins in Pamplona, the bulls are run through the town to be presented to both those who will participate in their deaths and those who will witness them. It is, first and foremost, a chance for the “aficionados” to size up the opponents of their favorite bullfighters, opponents that are certainly to be respected. At the same time, however, this showing of the bulls is a sad display of the most pathetic kind of creatures. Everybody knows they are doomed to die, no matter their strength or the size of their horns. Yes, the bulls are respected for their sheer power, but there is no real fear that accompanies such observations. This is demonstrated by the carelessness with which people taunt the bulls by running from them down the streets of Pamplona. The lives of the bulls are completely out of their control, and held in the hands of their assigned bullfighters. What is especially ironic about this situation is the complete lack of knowledge from the bulls. They have no idea how ridiculous they are, for they have no notion of their guaranteed doom. 

The introduction of The Sun Also Rises is the presentation of another creature to be pitied for his absolute ignorance of his ridiculousness and certain destruction, Robert Cohn. Like the bulls of Pamplona, the description of Robert is not one of a weakling to be ignored. He was, after all, “once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton.” There are hints, however, at certain qualities that will later undermine him. He is powerless against women and deceived in his perception of what he means to them. As Jake tells us, his second major relationship begins because “he had been taken in hand by a lady who hoped to rise with the magazine.” He exerts no choice over his romantic life, but rather accepts what the world gives him. Women are to Robert as the red cape is to a bull. They render him powerless and are ultimately the cause of his ruination. 

The pathetic nature of Cohn’s romantic relationships foreshadows what will later happen to him with Lady Brett Ashley. To Brett, Robert is as disposable as one of the bullfighter’s bulls. Some bullfighters have literally killed thousands of animals. Brett has certainly enchanted her fair share of men. Like the bull mesmerized by color, Cohn appears ridiculous and pathetic to his peers as he follows her desperately around Europe, even in front of Jake and her fiancé, Mike Campbell. The shared knowledge of Cohn’s weakness makes him not an opponent to Mike, but a man to be taunted, just like the bulls who chase the runners through Pamplona. The only interactions between Robert and Mike involve cruel insults and jokes that deal explicitly with Robert’s love for Brett. So in love is he that he cannot even muster the strength to defend himself, instead pleading for kindness from a man who will not give it. In this way, all the power belongs to both Brett and Mike. Robert is a powerless actor in a choreographed bullfight. 

Crucial to Cohn is that he really does have the power to defend himself. As mentioned earlier, he knows how to throw a punch, and eventually uses this skill against Jake, Mike, and one of Brett’s young lovers. Similarly, one of the taunting runners is killed by an angered bull. The tragedy of Cohn’s situation is that he is not powerless due to conditions outside his control, but due to his own choice. He chooses to run for the red cape instead of the bullfighter himself. Perhaps this is what makes Robert so pathetic to his peers and to readers. His situation is supremely ironic because he is the only one who cannot see how his involvement with Brett will lead to his destruction. Jake knows, Mike knows, and we as readers know. It is only a matter of time until his assigned fate is handed out, just as a bull fights blindly until he finally receives death at the hands of the bullfighter. It is for this reason that Robert is presented at the beginning of the novel. We wait through hundreds of pages for his assigned doom.