For whom the bell tollls- HELP

[ErnieO]

Hello guys. I have a question thats harresing me for the ones that read the book. A Couple of days ago I commenced on the classic by Hemingway and because i'm such a perfectionist I stumbled on a pretty meaningless question. Anyway, on the first chapter, it is described that When Pablo leads Anselmo and Robert to his horses, after he inspects Roberts knowledge of horses and gets excited from them, he complains on them coming to blow up the bridge, that he won't have a place to live, that Robert is a foreigner, etc... Then, it's written: "Seeing the horses had seemed to bring this all to a head in him and seeing that Robert Jordan knew horses seemes to loosen his tongue".
I didn't quite understand how did Robert's knowledge of horses seemed to loosen his tongue, and why.. Was it because the horse-knowing meant pablo could trust him?Or was pablo annoyed that Robert mentioned the flaws in his horses?
I know it's silly but it's driving me crazy..
Tnx alot

[Alexander III]

You know that feeling when you meet a stranger and you find out that he is a crazy perfectionist just like you, and that makes him relatable and makes both of you more comfortable with each other and readier to talk. Yea thats it.

[Charles Darnay]

^pretty much.

I don't know how far you have read into the book, OP, but Pablo has a strong connection to horses - that is what is coming out here.

[ErnieO]

R u speaking about you and me, or to answer my question? :) hehe

[ErnieO]

And yeah i thought about that solution. But the thing is that after Pablo sees thw mutual connection between the 2 and horses, he becomes more aggresive, and therefore i find it hard to think the he felt more comfortable...

[bIGwIRE]

For Pablo this was a way to see if the foreigner, Robert, had the skill sets required to complete his mission. Blowing the bridges also meant blowing the cover of their small guerilla group. To be worth the risk he had to believe in the mission and in Robert. These guerilla fighters also needed to accept him into their family.
By watching how he handled horses he was able to discern that Robert wasn't just another jar head, he had real world experiance that can't be taught from a book. He was comforted to find Robert was a person dedicated to the same cause, not just to a goverment.

[ErnieO]

Of course, but why the tounge-loosening was expressed in Pablo being more hostile to the eye? Shouldn't it be opposite?

[bIGwIRE]

When Pablo was younger he was a fierce fighter, a fact his woman testifies to later on. Now he is old and tired. He hates the war and just wants it to end. Robert coming represents the war and its much larger scope.

Roberts knowledge of horses would have been inspiring to Pablo as a younger man, and maybe he knows that. To see Roberts passion and moral determination probably remind him of how much of his own spirit is lost. Since the war is still raging, it may be hard for him to look back on past heroics and sacrifices with pleasure.

I see his frustration as being more toward himself, and at the war, than at Robert.