The daughter of a wealthy Arkansas landowner and banker, Pauline Pfeiffer found Hemingway too coarse for her taste when she first met him in early 1925, and Hemingway was much more taken with Pauline's sister than with her. Pauline's friendship with Hemingway's wife Hadley, however, threw them together and ultimately became a subterfuge for pursuing their own relationship. By early 1926, their initial indifference had turned into strong mutual attraction, and at year's end, with his divorce from Hadley in the works, the two were planning to be married.
Pauline was unflagging in her efforts to cater to Hemingway's wants. But eventually her ministrations were not enough to prevent the disintegration of their marriage in the late 1930s.
Hemingway with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer 1894- 1951
Unidentified photographer /
Gelatin silver print, circa 1927
Image courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection, John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts
