6. Chapter 8: “They seemed to have changed so much during the war”

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we continue exploring Chapter 8, but this time focus on the role of women in the war. In particular, we focus on the story that the group of women tell about a girl who tries (and fails!) to make some money from prostitution (“There’s this lass and she’s a bit simple…”), the changing roles of men and women in the war (“They seemed to have changed so much during the war”), and the beginning of Prior’s relationship with Sarah, including the difficulty of conversation (“Language ran out on you, in the end”) and the tentativeness of the whole affair (“Oh, no, he thought. No fumbling on doorsteps”).

Course

In this course, we explore Pat Barker’s ‘Regeneration’. Set in 1917 in Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh, the novel follows psychiatrist William Rivers as he treats shell-shocked soldiers, including the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. This course sees Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) read through novel chapter-by-chapter, focusing on key moments and episodes in the novel, thinking about the wider themes and issues with which this rich, complex, and enjoyable novel is engaged.

Lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.