Every time I read The Sun Also Rises, I am struck by how much of a nonperson Lady Brett Ashley is.  We know from Jake's rather unflattering portrayal of her at the beginning of the novel that she has been married multiple times, and that she served as a V.A.D. nurse.  He also tends to avoid describing her infeminine terms, except for when he describes parts of her body and even that is qualified by a lack of femininity (specifically when he describes her legs with no tights or stockings on them).  Later readers learn through observing her behavior that she has a tendency towards promiscuity that is bolstered by the constant amount of alcohol that she consumes.  Additionally, any time she speaks she essentially says the same five-ish phrases over and over again.  As much as this is a tale of adults in arrested development following their involvement in the War, it still appears to me that Brett is a character denied the same sorts of agency that Jake, Bill, Robert, and Michael have access to, whether they exercise it or no.

The closing of the novel is especially problematic as Brett struggles against being perceived as a "bitch".  It would make more sense to me if she just owned the fact taht she's a 34 year old woman that doesn't always dress how others think she should, nor behave as such.  However, since we have not had access to this vulnerable side of Brett, it just comes across as apologist dribble following another one of her benders.  Taken alongside some of the other racist and anti-Semitic sentiments that other characters can't help but sharing when describing characters different from themseles, I found myself disappointed that someone as central to the narrative as Brett is not given as much depth.