Themes and message

Failed relationships

The short story “A Very Short Story” by Ernest Hemingway presents the theme of failed romantic relationships.

In the beginning, the soldier and Luz appear to share a close, affectionate relationship. However, the period of happiness proves to be short-lived. This idea is expressed also in the title. “A very short story” ironically expresses that any love story is short and will be followed by a much longer period of disillusion and suffering. This is consistent with the pessimistic outlook of someone like the soldier, whose girlfriend announces unexpectedly that she is breaking up with him. 

There is also a paradox in the story. Luz and the soldier begin their relationship in adverse circumstances, in the middle of a war, when the soldier is wounded, and their life can end or change for the worse from one day to the next....