It is difficult to argue logically for the "niceness" of a person who sleeps around. But during the panel presentations, there were some arguments that completely ignored the humanity of Brett behind the sleeping around, the fact that not only did she feel guilt, but that she was not just "sleeping around" for the sake of getting men.
The reason it is difficult to argue for Brett is because her situation is somewhat a paradox. Her mentality seems to be of the type:
"I must be cruel only to be kind."
She says that she was going to San Sebastian with Robert Cohn for his own good. She does not pursue Bill whatsoever; probably because he does not pursue her. She spends time with the count because she seems to like his company, and again because he seems to sort of be courting her, in a way. In the least, he shows off his war wound to her.
According to Jake, she is marrying Mike for his money. Why can we make this assumption as readers, along with Jake? He never gives any evidence; we cannot use Jake's assumption as evidence toward this point for Brett's penchant for opulence. We cannot assume that Jake is a reliable narrator on such issues anyways. He will always be explaining Brett's actions in a way that is palatable for him. In order to make her seem loyal to him (to himself), he must make her sound like she is simply having affairs shamelessly with a bunch of men. This is not necessarily the case. We must sort through the few things that Brett actually says about her own actions as the only source of truth.
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