"And this was friendly joking to what went on later" was Jake's foreshadowing the words Frances, Robert Cohn's wife, would throw at her husband as she prepared to leave him. Cohn is described as one who people should have a hard time insulting, but Frances makes it clear that this she finds ease in emptying her frustrations before Cohn and Jake. Hemingway describes in an oxymoron how
Frances turned to Jake "with that terribly bright smile" because she enjoyed having him there. We know that there was nothing "bright" to Frances' smile, but she simply put it on her face to act unscathed by the news she was about to deliver to Cohn. She hoped that by acting in a calm manner with Jake around, her husband would be further humiliated and hurt by her accusations. Cohn's wife makes fun of his "writer's block" and accuses him of having other women. She knows he is bored with her and has no problems literally laying all the issues on the table in front of them with Jake, Cohn's so-called friend, sitting right there. Her smile mocked the private, touchy subjects she presented.
Frances turned to Jake "with that terribly bright smile" because she enjoyed having him there. We know that there was nothing "bright" to Frances' smile, but she simply put it on her face to act unscathed by the news she was about to deliver to Cohn. She hoped that by acting in a calm manner with Jake around, her husband would be further humiliated and hurt by her accusations. Cohn's wife makes fun of his "writer's block" and accuses him of having other women. She knows he is bored with her and has no problems literally laying all the issues on the table in front of them with Jake, Cohn's so-called friend, sitting right there. Her smile mocked the private, touchy subjects she presented.
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