Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky Stanfield (January 5, 1892 – November 25, 1984) was an American nurse who inspired the character "Catherine Barkley" in

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

's 1929 novel '' A Farewell to Arms''. Kurowsky served as a nurse in an

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

hospital in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. One of her patients was the 19-year-old Hemingway, who fell in love with her. By the time of his release and return to the United States in January 1919, Kurowsky and Hemingway planned to marry within a few months in America. However, in a letter dated March 7, 1919, she wrote to Hemingway, who was living at his parents home in Oak Park, Illinois, that she had become engaged to an Italian officer. Although Kurowsky did eventually return to the United States, they never met again. Hemingway's son Jack called the loss of von Kurowsky "the great tragedy" of his father's early life. Their story is shown in the 1996 film '' In Love and War'' where she is portrayed by Sandra Bullock. 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" (1924) and " The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1936), as well as his novel '' A Farewell to Arms''.

Early life

Agnes von Kurowsky Stanfield was born on January 5, 1892, in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents met while her German-born father Paul von Kurowsky was teaching languages at the Berlitz school in Washington, D.C., where her mother Agnes Holabird was a pupil. One of her uncles was the famous Chicago architect

William Holabird William Holabird (September 11, 1854 – July 19, 1923) was an American architect. Biography Holabird was born on September 11, 1854, in Amenia, New York, the son of General Samuel B. Holabird and Mary Theodosia Grant. He studied at the ...

, and her maternal grandfather Gen. Samuel B. Holabird, had served as Quartermaster General of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Although her family would move many times during her childhood, Agnes came to regard Washington as her home.

Career

She attended the Fairmont Seminary and a training program for the Washington Public Library, and got her first job in 1910 as a cataloger at the Carnegie-built Central 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 decided to attend the Bellevue Nurses Training Program in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and graduated in 1917. She then applied for service with the American Red Cross, and, on June 15, 1918, sailed for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In

, at her first assignment for the Red Cross at the Army Hospital, she met Hemingway. She was seven years his senior, he only 19, but they became engaged. However, several months after he had returned to the United States, in March of 1919, she rejected him through a letter informing him that she was engaged to an Italian Royal Army officer (later disclosed as Domenico Caracciolo). After a year in New York, she was sent by the American Red Cross to the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

for two years. Another two years in New York followed, before she went to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. There she served as director of nurses for Haiti's Public Health Service.

Inspiration for Hemingway

Agnes's identity as the basis for the fictional character "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel '' A Farewell to Arms'' was not widely known until Hemingway's brother,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, published a book in 1961 about his brother. Leicester visited Agnes in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

(where von Kurowsky had moved with William Stanfield, and worked as a librarian) while researching his book. Agnes gave him some photographs from her scrapbook that now reside at the Hemingway Foundation.

Personal life

Agnes von Kurowsky was married twice, but not to the Italian officer for whom (she wrote) she broke her engagement with Hemingway. She married Howard Preston ("Pete") Garner on November 24, 1928, while stationed with the Red Cross in

. 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 or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her husband and her stepson served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Agnes and her two stepdaughters went to New York City, where she worked at the Red Cross Blood Bank on Fifth Avenue. She remained married to Stanfield until her death in Gulfport, Florida, on November 25, 1984, at the age of 92. The cause of her death was not reported; her body was buried in the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.Villard, Henry Serrano & Nagel, James. Agnes's letters to Hemingway are included in ''Hemingway in Love and War: The Lost Diary of Agnes von Kurowsky, Her Letters, and Correspondence of Ernest Hemingway''. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1989. ( H/B/ P/B) She was honored for "her gallant and commendable services" with the American Red Cross during World War I.

References

Sources

*Baker, Carlos (1969). ''Ernest Hemingway: a Life Story'', Scribners *Bell, Millicent. "A Farewell to Arms: Pseudoautobiography and Personal Metaphor", in ''Ernest Hemingway, the Writer in Context'', Nagel, James (ed.) (1976). Univ. of Wisc. Press *Hemingway, Leicester (1961). ''My Brother, Ernest Hemingway'', World Publishing Company *Nagel, James (ed.) (1976). ''Ernest Hemingway, the Writer in Context'', University of Wisconsin Press *Reynolds, Michael S. (1976). ''Hemingway's First War, the Making of "A Farewell to Arms"'', Princeton University Press *Reynolds, Michael S. (1979). ''The Agnes Tapes: A Farewell to Catherine Barkley'', Fitzgerald/Hemingway Annual * ''In Love and War'', film with Sandra Bullock as Agnes von Kurowsky and Chris O'Donnell as Hemingway.

External links

Agnes Von Kurowsky
ernest.hemingway.com.
Agnes von Kurowsky Papers, 1918 - 1985
, National Archives
1921 passport photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Von Kurowsky, Agnes American expatriates in Italy American nurses American women nurses American librarians Ernest Hemingway 1892 births 1984 deaths American people of German descent People from Philadelphia Health professionals from Washington, D.C. Health professionals from New York City People from Gulfport, Florida American expatriates in Haiti Burials at United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery American women librarians American women letter writers 20th-century American letter writers