Ernst Hemingway traveled to Spain becausse que wanted to attend bullfights and study them in detail in order to get a first hand knowledge that allowed him to write truthfully about death or, as he says, about the feeling of life and death.
In the first chapter of his famous book “Death in the afternoon”, he explains what should be the psychological attitude of those who are going to attend a bullfight for the first time
1- Fidelity to what you see and feel
When we judge a fact we must distinguish what we feel and what we think we should feel. The bullfight is not an exception. Hemingway wanted to talk about bullfights without prejudice or preconceived ideas, and from the absolute fidelity to what he feels during the show.
2- A general and total visión of the show
A correct judgment of bullfighting must be based on a complete and total vision of the show. Separating a part of the whole or decontextualizing it, inevitably leads to a biased view.
3. Knowing in depth
The appreciation and pleasure that an artistic event can provide increase with a deeper knowledge of it. The greater the knowledge of bullfights is, the greater our ability to appreciate them will be. First one perceives the anecdotal and then, little by little, gets to the essential.
4- Patience
Probably the first bullfight we attend will be not artistically good. An artistically good bullfight requires good bulls and good bullfighters. Good bullfighters with bad bulls do not give an interesting show. Who goes to the bullfight for the first time can not expect to find a combination of an ideal bullfighter with an ideal bull. He must be patient.
