How would you characterize Catherine Barkley’s role in the novel?

Catherine Barkley is the idealized female counterpart to Hemingway’s hero Frederic Henry. She is beautiful and assured yet vulnerable and selfless. When she becomes pregnant she tells Frederic that he "simply musn’t worry" but concedes that she fears the rain. She is not completely without substance, however, and the moments when she calls into questions Frederic’s motives help to spur his emotional development. For instance, after their first misunderstanding when he uses the word "always" to describe how people feel trapped biologically she takes it as meaning that her pregnancy is hindering him. When he apologizes: "I could cut off my tongue" she immediately responds to his gesture and declares that they are one soul and should not "misunderstand on purpose". In this manner she helps Frederic to understand that she can be affected by what he thinks of her and that their love encompasses responsibility for one another’s feelings.