Quote 1
"We are war brothers. Kiss me good-by." (10.70)
We admit it. We want to be war brothers with Rinaldi, too. We want him to call us "baby." The love between Rinaldi and Frederic is complicated. The erotic overtone of the scenes between the two men is not to be denied. Oh, you can deny it if you want. Some critics do. One 1990s critic says, "Rinaldi and Frederic are not gay and they know it." Maybe that’s true, but can we at least admit they are flirting?
Quote 2
"We won’t quarrel, baby. I love you too much. But don’t be a fool." (10.66)
Rinaldi is warning him not to love Catherine. Remember, he knew Catherine first, and took Frederic to meet her. Rinaldi now seems to be jealous of them both, but perhaps more so of Frederic. Rinaldi parodies the stereotype of a lovers quarrel, but, at the same time, he means it. Now that Frederic is wounded, people are reacting to him even more intensely than usual.
Quote 3
"Tell me, baby, when you lie here all the time in hot weather don’t you get excited?" (10.35)
Rinaldi’s speech drips with sexuality. We wonder if this wouldn’t sound better in Italian. For Rinaldi, masculinity is all about sexiness, and he can’t seem to turn it off.