I Forgot to Give This Chapter a Title

It's funny to me that Jake feels the need to explain to his audience what an aficionado is, but he expects them to know what "getting tight" means.

In any case, when Brett says, "My God, isn't he beautiful?" in reference to Romero on page 144, it's an invocation. She is talking to God, although she can't see Him and is not religious, so she is unlikely to believe that God is always everywhere. It's worth noting, I suppose, that some people use the phrase more as an interjection than as an appeal.

Additionally, Mike mocks Robert for his allusion to Circe, mythological daughter of the Sun who turns men to pigs. While I can certainly see Mike's point, Robert's allusion makes an astute excuse for his behavior. He simultaneously implies that Brett is supernaturally beautiful and pleads for forgiveness for his pigheadedness. This also serves as a reminder from Hemingway that Robert writes for a living, and the audience recalls the beginning of the novel for a moment.