Saint Sebastian’s Abyss is a true testament to just how far a bromance can go. Bromance, as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as “a close nonsexual friendship between two men”, is a term that can be used to describe the complex relationship between two men presented in the story. Haber’s narrator who navigates the history of his intense bromance with his scholarly companion, Schmidt, is faced with the mortality of his long term friend. While deeply reflecting his past, our narrator remains unnamed and seemingly ties all of his life to Schmidt in one way or another. It seems that his identity is so deeply intertwined with his decades long relationship with Schmidt, that he cannot identify himself as an individual. While as readers we do not learn our narrator’s true name or his true nature beyond Schmidt, we can observe his codependent nature closely.
A “Bromance conundrum” is “when your heart is torn between two loves: your spouse and your best bro”, as defined by Remy Bluemfeld in The Hollywood Reporter. Our narrator navigates this conflict with both of his ex wives and Schmidt in a cowardly nature, in which he refuses to dispute Schmidt’s arrogant and discourteous acts towards his wives. This is a clear characterization of not only Schmidt, but our narrator. Our narrator becomes known through these actions as conflict avoidant, in which he seems to be unable to simply tell Schmidt that he is a pretentious asshole. It is this conflict avoidance that leads Schmidt and our narrator to their inevitable downfall when after decades, our narrator says the “terrible, no good, very bad thing”.
Even after their fallout, our narrator and Schmidt seem to still obsess over each other, by closely studying their writings and speeches and dissecting them to the point where it seems as if their worlds are no longer about the painting of Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, but rather about their complex feelings towards each other. This complexity follows both characters throughout their lives so closely, that it consumes their livelihood. It seems to lead our narrator to the ending of his two marriages, and Schmidt to no livelihood at all. This bromance, and obsession, seems to destroy their lives and any true chance at happiness.