Sigmund Freud theorized that the primary motivating force of all human behavior is sexuality. Freudian theory greatly influenced the “lost generation” affected by the First World War. Those who were dealing with the effects of war on society had begun a search for meaning in new places. They found what they were looking for in Freud's theories. The great American modernist Ernest Hemingway reflected this Freudian theory in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. The sexual motivation of Hemingway's characters shapes their actions, and ultimately the novel, into a tangled web of sexual desires and frustrations. This is especially true of Lady Brett Ashley, who hurts everyone around her with her sexual activities. Hemingway uses the character Lady Brett Ashley to reflect Freudian theory throughout the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lady Brett Ashley's relationship with the Jewish writer Robert Cohn indicates that she is the personification of Hemingway's Freudian theory. His life is lived from one sexual experience to another. She likes to have many admirers. As Robert Cohn notices Brett, Jake Barnes tells her, “You made a new one there. I imagine you like adding them together” (30). Other than acknowledging “So what if I do this,” Brett pays no attention to Cohn (30). The next time Jake sees Brett, she tells him about a weekend affair she had with Robert Cohn in San Sebastian. Brett's willingness to move forward with a man he has only met once suggests that he is only seeking sexual gratification and nothing else. After using him for sexual satisfaction, she is appalled that he "follows her around like a damn steer" (146). Brett considers nothing other than his own sexual desires; he doesn't consider Cohn's feelings at all. Her perspective is so clouded by her sexual activities that all Brett sees is that she slept with him and wants nothing more to do with him. Brett Ashley's relationship with young bullfighter Pedro Romero is another indicator that she is a reflection of Freudian theory. When Lady Ashley sees Pedro Romero fighting for the first time, she is immediately attracted to him. He says, "Isn't that lovely, and those green pants!" (169). Mike says he "couldn't take his eyes off them, she's an amazing girl" (169). Just by catching a glimpse of him, Brett is "falling in love with this bullfighter" (172). Of course, Lady Brett Ashley uses love as a euphemism for sexual desire. What she really means by “love” is that she wants to have sex with him (187). Not being able to have sex with the man she wants makes her “so unhappy [that] she can't stand it” (33). Because Brett wants to meet Pedro Romero so badly, he asks Jake Barnes to "go see him" (188). Jake takes Brett to a bar, where he ends up having a drink with Pedro. Jake excuses himself to find his friends. When he returns shortly thereafter “Brett and Pedro Romero [are] gone” (191). After her sexual conquest, Brett is “radiant” and “happy” (211). However, Brett's love lasts as long as his pants stay buttoned. She is only "in love" with Pedro until she has sex with him, then sends him away, telling Jake, "I made him go away" (245). Her dismissal of her bullfighter lover so quickly after having sex with him shows that she actually never had any interest in him other than that of a sexual nature. Brett Ashley's treatment of Jake Barnes further proves that she is Hemingway's demonstration of Freudian theory in the novel. Jake Barnes loves Brett, but she refuses to be with him because she is physically unable to have sex:.