transitions into the supporting wife role. It eventually develops that Catherine only wants David to work on what is referred to as the "narrative", which is apparently a narrative of their lives, and not his "stories", tales of his childhood and his father. (Catherine characterizes the "stories" as "The dreary dismal little stories about your adolescence with your bogus drunken father.") David (who has been somewhat passive in his reactions so far) really starts to react, however, when Catherine suddenly declares that she had "made decisions and planned things", which turns out to mean that she's going to "have the [narrative] manuscript typed up to where it is now and see about getting illustrations." David takes this as interference in his work ("And if I don't want it copied yet?") and gets very upset. He tells Catherine "I'm sick of all of it, Devil [his private name for her]. Sick all the way through me." It culminates when Catherine tells David while they are on the beach that she burned the press clippings. After they return to where they are staying, he finds that the stories he had written are missing too while the "narrative" is intact. "Now he knew that it had happened but still thought it might be some ghastly joke." Catherine confirms that she destroyed the "stories" too: "They were worthless and I hated them." It later develops that she burned them beyond recovery. David is stunned, but lashes out "I'm sorry I ever met you. I'm sorry I ever married you--" Catherine then announces that she is going to leave for Paris "to see about artists for the book [the "narrative"]" and that she will pay him for the destroyed "stories". Although she says that she loves him and will return, the ending implies a separation of David and Catherine is imminent. Major themes The Garden of Eden indicates Hemingway's exploration of male-female relationships, shows an interest in androgynous characters, and "the reversal of gender roles." Hemingway biographer James Mellow argues the "ideas of sexual transference" did not become clear in Hemingway's fiction until he wrote The Garden of Eden. Catherine Bourne convinces David to dye his hair the color of hers, "so they are twins, summer-tanned and androgynous." Background and publication history Mellow argues the genesis of the story began during Hemingway's honeymoon with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, and shortly after his divorce from