Agnes von Kurowsky
Encyclopedia
Agnes von Kurowsky Stanfield (January 5, 1892, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– September 25, 1984), an American nurse, was reportedly the basis for the character of "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway
's A Farewell to Arms
.
Kurowsky served as a nurse in an American Red Cross
hospital in Milan
during World War I
. One of her patients was Hemingway, who fell in love with Kurowsky. After the war, Hemingway returned to the United States
and expected Kurowsky to join him there and for the two of them to get married. Instead, soon after, he received a letter from her ending the relationship. Although Kurowsky did eventually return to the United States, they never met again. (see In Love and War (1996 film)
)
Hemingway used his experiences in Italy as the basis for ten short stories. Fictionalized characters based on Kurowsky appear in his short stories A Very Short Story
and The Snows of Kilimanjaro
, as well as A Farewell to Arms
.
-born father was teaching languages at the Berlitz
school in Washington, District of Columbia Although her family would move many times during her childhood, Agnes came to regard Washington as her home. She attended the Fairmont Seminary and a training program for the public library in Washington. She got her first job in 1910 as a cataloguer for the library there. In 1914 she decided to leave the library and attend nursing
school. In her words "[The library] was too slow and uneventful. My taste ran to something more exciting."
She attended the Bellevue Nurses Training Program in New York City
, graduating in 1917. She applied for service with the American Red Cross, and, on June 15, 1918, she sailed for Europe
. It was there, at her first assignment for the Red Cross at the Army Hospital Treviso
in Mila
n that she met Hemingway. In 1919 she rejected him through a letter, while he was in the United States.
One of her uncles was the famous Chicago architect William Holabird
, and her maternal grandfather was Gen. Samuel Beckley Holabird, who served as a Quartermaster
in the United States Army
.
Agnes's identity as the basis for the fictional character was not widely known until Hemingway's brother, Leicester, published a book in 1961 about his brother. Leicester Hemingway
visited with Agnes in Key West
while researching his book. Agnes gave him some photographs from her scrapbook that now reside at the Hemingway Foundation.
. After her Haitian assignment was completed she obtained a quick divorce. She married for the second time to William Stanfield in 1934. Stanfield was a hotel manager and widower with three children.
During World War II
her husband and one of her stepsons both served in the Navy
. Agnes and her two stepdaughters went to New York City, where Agnes worked at the Red Cross Blood Bank on Fifth Avenue. She remained married to Stanfield until her death in 1984, aged 92.
in Washington DC. She was honored for "her gallant and commendable services" with the American Red Cross during World War I
.
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
– September 25, 1984), an American nurse, was reportedly the basis for the character of "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...
.
Kurowsky served as a nurse in an American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
hospital in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. One of her patients was Hemingway, who fell in love with Kurowsky. After the war, Hemingway returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and expected Kurowsky to join him there and for the two of them to get married. Instead, soon after, he received a letter from her ending the relationship. Although Kurowsky did eventually return to the United States, they never met again. (see In Love and War (1996 film)
In Love and War (1996 film)
In Love and War is a romance drama film based on the book, Hemingway in Love and War by Henry S. Villard and James Nagel, starring Mackenzie Astin, Chris O'Donnell, Sandra Bullock, and Margot Steinberg. This film takes place during World War I, and is based on the World War I experiences of the...
)
Hemingway used his experiences in Italy as the basis for ten short stories. Fictionalized characters based on Kurowsky appear in his short stories A Very Short Story
A Very Short Story
"A Very Short Story" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in as a vignette, or chapter, in the 1924 Paris edition titled in our time, and later rewritten and added as a story to Hemingway's first American short story collection In Our Time, published by Boni &...
and The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936. It was republished in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories in 1938, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories in 1961, and is included in The Complete Short Stories of...
, as well as A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...
.
Background
Agnes's parents met while her GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born father was teaching languages at the Berlitz
Berlitz
Berlitz can refer to:* The Berlitz Corporation, formerly Berlitz International* Maximilian Berlitz, founder of the Berlitz Language Schools* Charles Berlitz, grandson of Maximilian Berlitz and author of several Bermuda Triangle related books...
school in Washington, District of Columbia Although her family would move many times during her childhood, Agnes came to regard Washington as her home. She attended the Fairmont Seminary and a training program for the public library in Washington. She got her first job in 1910 as a cataloguer for the library there. In 1914 she decided to leave the library and attend nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
school. In her words "[The library] was too slow and uneventful. My taste ran to something more exciting."
She attended the Bellevue Nurses Training Program in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, graduating in 1917. She applied for service with the American Red Cross, and, on June 15, 1918, she sailed for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was there, at her first assignment for the Red Cross at the Army Hospital Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
in Mila
Mila
Mila , is a female name of Slavic Origin. It is a diminutive of Slavic names beginning or ending with Mila which derived from the element Мил Mil meaning "gracious, dear".- Notable people with this name :First...
n that she met Hemingway. In 1919 she rejected him through a letter, while he was in the United States.
One of her uncles was the famous Chicago architect William Holabird
William Holabird
William Holabird was an American architect.Holabird studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned and moved to Chicago, where he later got married. He worked for William Le Baron Jenney...
, and her maternal grandfather was Gen. Samuel Beckley Holabird, who served as a Quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
.
Agnes's identity as the basis for the fictional character was not widely known until Hemingway's brother, Leicester, published a book in 1961 about his brother. Leicester Hemingway
Leicester Hemingway
Leicester C. Hemingway , was an American writer. He was the younger brother of writer Ernest Hemingway, and authored six books, including a first novel entitled The Sound of the Trumpet , which was based on Leicester's experiences in France and Germany during World War II...
visited with Agnes in Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
while researching his book. Agnes gave him some photographs from her scrapbook that now reside at the Hemingway Foundation.
Marriages/death
Agnes von Kurowsky was married twice. She married Howard Preston ("Pete") Garner on November 24, 1928 while stationed with the Red Cross in HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. After her Haitian assignment was completed she obtained a quick divorce. She married for the second time to William Stanfield in 1934. Stanfield was a hotel manager and widower with three children.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
her husband and one of her stepsons both served in the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
. Agnes and her two stepdaughters went to New York City, where Agnes worked at the Red Cross Blood Bank on Fifth Avenue. She remained married to Stanfield until her death in 1984, aged 92.
Burial
She is buried in the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National CemeteryUnited States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery
United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery, in Washington, D.C., is located next to the Armed Forces Retirement Home. It is one of only two national cemeteries administered by the Department of the Army—the other being Arlington National Cemetery...
in Washington DC. She was honored for "her gallant and commendable services" with the American Red Cross during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.