Throughout the novel, many characters dismiss war as necessary and remain ambivalent about it, stating that the only way to be happy is to first have war. Perhaps the most prominent example would be the union of Catherine and Henry; they would never have met if the war had not existed, nor, as Catherine states, “I would not have met you [Henry] if he [her fiancé] had not died” (112). A further example of irony is the relationship between love and pain. The loss of Catherine's fiancé pushed her to find love in Henry, and his life at war made him seek refuge in Catherine's love. Henry sacrifices any chance of honor in war for her; he would have received medals for his outstanding service, but decides to abandon his past to be with Catherine. While the couple lives together in the Swiss mountains, Catherine experiences complications during her pregnancy and gives birth to a stillborn baby. Just a few hours later, she too dies. This unfortunate but inevitable sequence of events linking initial happiness to subsequent pain shows that even love, sometimes considered the most irresistible force on Earth, is still just