How does war affect relationships in Regeneration? Essay example -- En

How does war affect relationships in Regeneration? "Regeneration" is a novel that combines fact and fiction to describe a soldier's experiences of the war. It does this successfully through a series of relationships, not only of a sexual nature but also relationships between Rivers and his patients, which reveal how difficult it is for rivers to form a trust relationship with patients and how stressful their revelations are on him. There are also examples of friendships, between Sassoon and Graves, and love, in particular between Priors and Sarah. One of the first relationships we come across is the doctor - patient relationship between Sassoon and Rivers. Evidence from their first conversations seems to suggest that at least on an intellectual level they are equal. Sassoon indicates his intelligence when Rivers questions him about his declaration, he is quite aware of how it sounds for a "Second Lieutenant" to say "The war must stop" however he doesn't see how any war can "justify this level of slaughter." Sassoon appears defensive at times during the first conversation, particularly when Rivers refers to Sassoon throwing his medal in the river as "agony." He appears to snap back almost immediately "No agony is lying in a shell hole with your legs shot off" indicating his bitterness towards civilian ignorance at emotional and physical suffering for soldiers in the war. At this point Rivers, indicating the honesty of the relationship, makes his opinion on Sassoon's state of mind clear and tells him that he seems to have "very powerful anti-war neurosis" and that it is his duty to "try and change that." This honesty is essential in the relationship between Rivers and his patients. At this time in the n... ...ctant at first she agrees, as "the thought of being collected from her lodgings by an officer was too much for her." There is irony here, as she complains about the class system and wants it to change, however she is thrilled at the thought of being courted by an officer. In the novel "Regeneration" the portrayal of the different relationships gives us an idea of the effect war had on, not only the soldiers but also the people back home, in particular the women. Which as Prior pointed out in the novel "seemed to have changed during the war." These relationships can also give us an idea of how the soldiers felt connected and became comrades, but also of how, after being at war for so long, the soldiers began to hate the civilians back home for being so ignorant as to what was actually happening and being to concerned with trivial things in everyday life.