Hemingway and the fair sex

Ah, good ol’ Ernest! What’s not to like about him? The novels with their themes of masculinity, perseverance, commitment, and war. But there are some who take issue with him. See, to them Hemingway with his philandering, his boozing, and his writing represents an outlook and a time period that they despise; that they associate with male chauvinism, oppression of, and condescension towards women. And in Hemingway they’ve found an easy target. To many his female characters are but pretty dolls waiting with their legs wide open. I have always been critical of such accusations: Hemingway’s reputation as a misogynist is undeserved.