The Situation: - Robert Jordan, an American volunteer in the
Spanish Civil War, is given
the assignment of blowing up an important bridge
in the Guadarrama mountains. The
significance of the bridge is that it is situated
on the road which is the only supply line for the
Fascists. The bridge is to be blown up when the
attack on the pass by the Republican forces
starts so that the Fascists cannot bring in either
supplies or reinforcements. Anselmo, a
guerrilla, leads Jordan across the Fascist lines
to the hide-out of Pablo.
Pablo’s Resistance to the Plan: - Pablo
immediately recognizes the danger implicit in the
plan because not only is it risky but he will have
to move out of these hills after the bridge
has been blown up. He is sick of being hunted.
The Guerrillas’ Bands: - This band consists of
Pablo, the leader and his gypsy wife,
Pilar. Besides these two there is a young girl,
Maria, who falls in love with Robert Jordan.
Rafael, the gypsy, is useless as a guerrilla.
Agustin, a youngman, and three other men
constitute the entire band. Another band headed by
El Sardo is also there in the vicinity. Pilar
is for blowing up the bridge if it can help the
cause.
Jordan Inspects the Bridge: - Anselmo guides
Jordan to a point from which he can watch the
bridge unobserved. Jordan sketches the bridge to
calculate how much dynamite is needed to
blow it up, and where to place the sticks. The
bridge is guarded by sentries on either bank of
the stream, and there are two pickets for sentries.
In order to destroy the bridge, the pickets
will have to be destroyed too.
Pablo Escapes Being Shot Dead: - Jordan is
informed that Pablo is capable of treachery.
He also learns that the band is divided on the
question whether the bridge is to be blown up
or not. Pablo is against it, and the rest are for
it.
Pilar is
the new leader and supports
Jordan’s plan. In the heated argument that follows,
Jordan at one time is tempted to kill Pablo
but being uncertain of his own position desists.
Jordan consults Pilar who approves of his
decision of not killing Pablo.
Maria Comes to Jordan’s Sleeping Bag: - Maria, who
was the daughter of a village Mayor
and was a victim of Fascist atrocities, comes to
Jordan’s sleeping bag at night. She has been
sent there by, Pilar. They make love that very
night. For Maria, Jordan is the first man whom
she has loved. Jordan regards the whole affair as
a windfall because h cannot think loving a
woman on a permanent basis, especially whets he is
carrying out a dangerous assignment.
Fascists Know of the Attack: - Next morning many
Fascist planes are sighted which
strike terror in the hearts of these guerrillas,
even though there is no bombardment in the
area. Anselmo and Rafael are assigned by Jordan
the tasks of watching the road and the
pickets respectively. Fernando, who has returned
from Segovia informs Jordan fan that there
are rumours circulating in Segovia that some bridges
will be blown up in this area as a
prelude to a Republican attack on these
Pilar Reveals Pablo’s Past: - Leaving the
explosives in Agustin’s charge, Pilar, Maria and.
Jordan set out for El Sardo’s camp. On the way,
Pilar narrates how Pablo had destroyed all
the Fascists in his home town at start of the
revolution. It was a cruel operation, but the
worst came when the Fascists retook the town.
El Sardo Meets Jordan: - El Sardo confirms
Fernando’s information. He also realizes how
difficult the assignment is but he agrees to help
El Sardo’s part will be to destroy one picket
while Jordan plants explosives. He also decides to
steal sore horses for the retreat to the
Gredos.
Jordan and Maria Make Love Again: - On their way
back, Pilar goes ahead leaving
Jordan and Maria together so that they may make
love. Pilar intuitively knows that the lovers
do not have much time at their disposal. After
making love, Jordan’s head is very clear and
he wonders whether he could marry Maria. It is
against the Communist discipline that he has
accepted for the period of the war. He wonders
whether it were possible to lead a life of
seventy years in seventy hours.
Snow Spoils Jordan’s Plan: - An unexpected
snowstorm overtakes Jordan, Maria and Pilar
before they search the camp. In the cave, Pablo
describes to Jordan how he came to have
Pilar, who was formerly a bull-fighter’s woman.
Pablo worked for a horse contractor in
Zaragoza where he met Pilar. Pablo teases Jordan
that his plan cannot work now that it is
snowing outside.
Anselmo and Rafael Report: -
There has been much
movement on the road that day because
the Fascists are carrying their reinforcements to
the site of the attack. Jordan also learns
how often and when the guards change.
Pablo Escapes Death Again: - Pablo is drinking
heavily. He teases Jordan for being a
false _professor, for making love to Maria, and
for his foolish plan. Jordan cannot fire his
pistol inside the cave because of the presence of
dynamite there. Agustin picks up a quarrel
with Pablo so that he may kill Pablo but the
latter backs out of the quarrel. Pablo is convinced
that Jordan is a bird of ill omen. He leaves the
cave to have a look at the horses but he
stands near the mouth of the cave to hear how his
fate is being decided. It is decided that
Pablo .should be liquidated but Pablo on his
return declares that he is with the group and thus
survives.
Jordan Reflects on His Past and Future: -
Jordan
is aware of the possibility of his death;
so he instructs Anselmo how to blow up the bridge
if the former dies. Maria’s love makes him
wish to live with her for a long time. He recalls
how Karkov, the Russian journalist, had been
instructing him in the Marxist ideology which does
not go well with his love for Maria.
However, he is determined to blow up the bridge at
all costs.
Jordan-Maria Affair: - Maria comes to Jordan’s bag
for the second night also. Jordan
promises to marry Maria after this assignment,
even though Maria considers marriage of no
consequence ; for her Jordan’s love is enough.
Jordan Shoots a Fascist Cavalryman: - Jordan while
lying in the bag hears the sound of
the arrival. of a horse. He sees a Fascist soldier
on horseback, whom he shoots at once.
Pablo takes away the horse to hide. Jordan
predicts that there will be more cavalry to deal
with, so he prepares to meet this threat.
Preparations For Escape: -
Jordan camouflages a
machinegun so that if the cavalrymen
penetrate the camp they may shoot at them. Horses
are kept in readiness for escape, while
their luggage is being packed. Jordan wants to
avoid a confrontation that day because a battle
will destroy his plan to blow, up the bridge. If
the worst came to worst he would take
Anselmo with him and escape, and blow up the
bridge after. Rafael, who is on duty, had been
negligent in his watch to let the first cavalryman
come in.
More Cavalrymen Appear:
- First, a batch of four
cavalrymen comes following the trail left
by their companion. They come very close to the
blind but do not see these guerrillas. They
follow the trail and go out of this area. Twenty
more cavalrymen appear. They also leave the
area without creating any problem. Jordan’s
restraint saves the guerrillas’ lives.
El Sardo’s Fight: - The Fascist cavalry following
the trail reach El Sardo’s camp where a
battle ensues. El Sardo pushes back the attack,
reaches the flat top of a hill in a wounded
condition, digs in, and prepares for his end. In
the afternoon Fascist planes come and
bombard El Sardo’s hill and return to Segovia.
Agustin and others who want to go to El
Sardo’s help ‘are restrained by Jordan in whose
judgment it would be no more than a Quixotic
gesture. In the evening Pablo and Anselmo bring
back reports of El Sardo’s end. El Sardo’s
end increases the element of risk in Jordan’s
plan.
Andres Marty Leaves For Golz’s Headquarters: -
Jordan realizes the futility of Golz’s
attack because he knows that the Fascists will not
be taken by surprise. All preparations for
meeting the attack have been completed. Jordan
decides to send Andres Marty to Golz
advising him to cancel the attack. Andres Marty
leaves for Navacerrada with the dispatch.
Jordan’s Psychological Problems: - Jordan wants to
survive now so that he may live with
Maria but it has nothing to do with his fear of
death. His father who had committed suicide
makes Jordan ashamed of himself. Jordan prefers
his kinship with his grandfather who had
fought in the American Civil War as a Republican
and acquitted himself well. Jordan is under
some psychological compulsion to prove that he is
not a coward, and that he will face death
boldly. Despite his despatch to Golz, Jordan knows
that he will have to destroy the bridge.
Maria Narrates Her Past: - On the third night
Maria informs Jordan that they cannot make
love because there is “soreness and much pain”.
Jordan is disappointed butt consoles
himself. Maria describes how she was raped by many
Fascists, and how she was rescued by
Pilar. Jordan assures her that he loves her as he
loves Spain, and all the comrades who have
died in defending this country. Jordan’s resolve
to destroy the bridge, is strengthened by his
knowledge of Maria’s suffering.
Pablo Betrays Jordan: -
At about 2 o’clock in the
morning Pilar comes to Jordan to
inform him that Pablo has disappeared taking with
him something from Jordan’s, rucksacks.
They are an exploder, detonators, fuse and caps.
Pablo has also taken with him two of the
best horses. Pilar feels guilty of having been
negligent in her duty of guarding Jordan’s
equipment. As the loss is irreparable Jordan
decides to get some sleep. He brings the
rucksacks out of the cave so that he may guard
them himself. The danger to his life now has
increased many times.
Maria Makes a Soothing Gesture: -
Towards dawn while Jordan lay fuming and
fretting
Maria asks him to make, love to her. On this
occasion he has a sort of mystic experience in
love Maria becomes for him not only his wife but
his sister and his’ daughter as well. His
head being clear now, he makes a new plan to
destroy the bridge.
Andres Marty’s Futile Journey: -
Andres Marty, in the meanwhile, slowly moves
towards
his destination. The arrangements for the attack
are complete. When the message finally
reaches General Golz, the Republican planes are
taking off to go and bombard the pass.
Jordan Improvises: - In the morning, with the
luggage packed, Jordan gives last minute
instructions to the remaining guerrillas who know
that they may not live to see another day.
He is going to use hand grenades instead of
detonators and the fuse. The exploding will be
done by pulling the pins of hand grenades
mechanically. The bridge will be destroyed but so
will be the band that has agreed to help Jordan.
Pilar is to lead the attack on the lower
Agustin is to man the machine gun, and fire upon
every approach object while Jordan plants
the dynamite sticks.
Pablo Returns: -
As the details are being finalized Pablo returns
with five more
guerrillas who are brave but stupid.
He undertakes to attack the upper post. He has
destroyed the stolen equipment ; so
Jordan’s new plan stands. After breakfast, they move to
their respective duties.
The Attack: -
Anselmo and Jordan have
to shoot the sentries on duty. As the morning light
filters through the leaves Jordan
hears a thud, the signal that the Republican attack has
started. Jordan and Anselmo shoot the
two sentries. Pilar and Pablo attack their respective
posts. Jordan, with assistance from
Anselmo, plants the dynamite sticks. Pablo has to deal
with not only the post but also some
vehicles and a tank. Finally, the bridge is blown up.
Anselmo dies on the spot. Pilar loses
two men. Pablo shoots the five guerrillas who have
helped hi in over-running the post.
The band assembles near the horses and prepares to
leave.
Jordan is Hurt: -
Maria is happy to
receive Jordan in her arms. Agustin accuses Pablo of
murder but Jordan keeps his mouth
shut. They move down a slope to cross the road at a
point about 200 yards from the bridge.
They cross the road successfully except Jordan
whose horse is hit by a bullet as a
result of which it falls. Jordan’s left thigh-bone breaks and
he cannot resume the journey. After a
hurried leave-taking, the guerrillas escape towards
the Gredos, leaving Jordan behind to
deal with the Fascist cavalry that is bound to chase
them. Jordan awaits his end lying on
the pine-needles. He is tempted to shoot himself but he
decides against it. Lieutenant
Berrendo who fought against El Sardo is moving towards
Jordan, who aims his rifle at him. It
is obvious both will die at the end.
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