Regeneration
Pat Barker
 The novel begins with Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, an army psychiatrist at Craiglockhart War Hospital (a mental institution at the time), reading poet Siegfried Sassoon’s declaration against the continuation of the war. Sassoon’s "wilful defiance of military authority" has led to Sassoon being labelled "shell-shocked", a label which the authorities hope will discredit his views on the continuation of the war. Rivers states that he feels uneasy about Sassoon entering Craiglockhart, doubting that he is shell-shocked; the doctor feels uncomfortable about the prospect of sheltering a "conchie". Sassoon’s friend and fellow poet Robert Graves advises Sassoon to give up his protest against the war; although he largely shares Sassoon’s views, he still thinks it would be impossible to stop the war. Sassoon had hoped for a court-martial so that his opinion could be publicly aired, but Graves, believing that he is helping his friend, manages to persuade a medical board that Sassoon should be sent to Craiglockhart instead. Rivers meets Sassoon, and their discussion demonstrates that while Sassoon objects to the sheer horror of the war, he does not have any religious objection to fighting. Rivers warns Sassoon that since his job is to return Sassoon to combat, he cannot therefore claim to remain neutral. This troubles Rivers, as he knows the horrors soldiers suffer when sent back to France. Sassoon struggles with the idea that he is safe in Craiglockhart while others are dying. In addition to Sassoon's conflict, the opening chapters of the novel describe the suffering of other soldiers in the hospital. Anderson, a former surgeon, now cannot stand the sight of blood. Burns is haunted by terrible hallucinations after being thrown into the air by an explosion and landing head first in the ruptured stomach of a rotting dead soldier; the memories of this experience cause him to vomit whenever he eats anything. Another patient, Billy Prior, suffers from mutism and will only talk to Rivers through the use of a notepad. Prior eventually regains his voice, but he remains a difficult patient for Rivers as he does not wish to discuss his memories of the war. Prior is visited by his father, an unfriendly man who beat his wife and emotionally abused his son. The last chapters of the first section of Regeneration introduce the concept of class. In his conversations with Rivers, Prior - the rare officer from a working-class background - states that there are strong class distinctions in the British Army, even during war. Sassoon meets Wilfred Owen, a young man who also writes poetry. He asks Sassoon to sign some copies of his work, and Sassoon offers to review Owen's poetry. Sassoon goes off to play golf with Anderson and Prior goes into Edinburgh and meets a girl called Sarah Lumb, whose boyfriend was killed at the Battle of Loos. They come close to having sex, but Sarah refuses Prior at the last minute. Prior’s absence from Craiglockhart causes him to be confined to the hospital for two weeks as punishment. Rivers suggests that it may be a good idea to now try hypnosis on Prior. This treatment causes Prior to remember the gruesome death of two soldiers in his platoon. A new patient, Willard, is examined by Rivers. Willard was injured in a graveyard when, under heavy fire, parts of a gravestone were shot into his buttocks. While there is no physical damage to prevent Willard from walking, he insists that there is an injury to his spine. Sassoon visits the Conservative Club with Rivers, who notices that Sassoon is depressed after learning of the deaths of two close friends. Rivers realizes that although it would not be difficult to convince Sassoon to continue fighting, he does not want to force him, because he will eventually want to return to the fight on his own. Later Owen and Sassoon talk in Sassoon’s room. Sassoon gives Owen some poetry to publish in the hospital magazine The Hydra and again agrees to mentor the younger man on his poems. Prior goes into town to meet Sarah and explains why he did not show up for their arranged meeting. They take a train to the seaside and walk along the beach together. Prior explains to Sarah how he has to censor the letters of soldiers before they are sent home. He is eager to return to France as he feels unable to relate to anyone back home – he feels as though only fellow soldiers understand his emotions and experiences. He and Sarah get caught in a storm and later have sex in the shelter of a bush. On the train back to town Prior has an asthma attack. Rivers, suffering from exhaustion, is ordered to take three weeks holiday from his work at Craiglockhart. As a storm sounds outside, Sassoon and Owen work on their war poetry together. Rivers' departure resurrects for Sassoon his feelings of abandonment when his father left him, and he realises that Rivers has taken the place of his father. Part III of the novel begins with Rivers attending church with his family. He compares the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac with the war where soldiers - mostly younger men - are sacrificed by the older generation in an act of mass-slaughter. Rivers also recalls the visits of Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, to his family home as a child. Back at Craiglockhart Sassoon helps Owen draft one of his most famous poems, "Anthem for Doomed Youth." Sarah accompanies her friend Madge to a local hospital, so Madge can visit her fiance, who has been wounded. Sarah gets lost and walks into a tent filled with injured amputee soldiers. She is angry at her shocked reaction as well as the fact that society hides these injured soldiers away. Prior is examined by a medical board. Prior fears that they suspect he is faking illness and want to send him back to war. Rivers meets with some old friends, Ruth and Henry Head, who discuss Sassoon. Rivers suggests that Sassoon has the freedom to disagree with the war. However, Rivers reaffirms that it is his job to make Sassoon return to military duty. At the end of their conversation Head offers Rivers a top job in London. Although it would be a career leap, Rivers is unsure whether he should take it. Burns, who has since been discharged from hospital, invites Rivers to visit him at his seaside home in Suffolk. Rivers expects to talk to Burns' parents about his condition and is surprised to discover that Burns is alone. They spend a few days together, with Rivers not bringing up the topic of the war. One night, when there is a severe thunderstorm, Burns walks outside and hides in a tunnel which floods at high tide, suffering flashbacks to his experiences with trench warfare in France. The trauma causes Burns to finally open up and talk about his frontline experience. He describes to Rivers the sheer horror he felt when taking part in the Battle of the Somme and how he hoped he would suffer a minor injury so he could be sent home. When Rivers returns to Craiglockhart, he tells Bryce that he will take the job in London. In another appointment Sassoon has with Rivers, Sassoon describes how he has been having hallucinations of dead friends knocking on his door. Sassoon admits he feels guilty about not serving with his friends and decides he should return to the front. Rivers is pleased with Sassoon's decision, but at the same time the doctor worries about what may happen to him there. Sarah tells her mother, Ada, about her relationship with Billy Prior. Ada scolds her daughter for having sex outside marriage; she reminds Sarah that contraception is not always reliable (repeating a rumour that every tenth condom is purposely defective) and declares that true love between a man and a woman does not exist. Sassoon meets his friend Graves and tells him of his decision to return to war. Graves lectures Sassoon on the importance of people keeping their word. Graves then tells Sassoon about a mutual friend, Peter, who has been arrested for prostitution and is being sent to Rivers to "cure" his homosexuality. Graves stresses that he himself is now writing to a girl called Nancy, implying that he is not homosexual. This conversation leaves Sassoon with a feeling of unease, implying that he himself may be unsure or worried about his sexual orientation. The girls at the munitions factory joke that many of the men serving are gay. When Sarah asks why one munitions worker called Betty is not there, her co-worker Lizzie replies that Betty is in the hospital after attempting a home abortion with a coat-hanger. Sassoon talks to Rivers before he is sent back to France, and they discuss Peter and the larger question of the official attitude towards homosexuality. Rivers theorizes that during wartime the authorities are particularly hard on homosexuality, wanting to clearly distinguish between the 'right' kind of love between men (loyalty, brotherhood, camaraderie), which is beneficial to soldiers, and the 'wrong' kind (sexual attraction). The medical board meets to review the cases of various soldiers and to decide on their fitness for combat. According to the board, Prior should have permanent home service due to his asthma. Prior breaks down at the news, fearing that he will be seen as a coward and ashamed that he will not be to find out what calibre of soldier he is. Sassoon tires of waiting for his turn to see the board and leaves to have dinner with friends. Rivers, angry at this flippant behavior, demands an explanation, at which Sassoon apologises and admits that he was afraid. Sassoon assures Rivers that although his views of the war have not changed and he still stands by his "Declaration," he does want to return to France. Prior and Sarah meet again and admit their love for one another. Sassoon and Owen talk in the Conservative Club about how awful it will be for Sassoon to remain in Craiglockhart for another while without Rivers or Owen there; Owen is deeply affected by his imminent departure. Before he leaves Craiglockhart, Sassoon comments to Rivers that Owen’s feelings towards Sassoon may be something more than mere hero worship. Rivers spends his last day at the clinic saying goodbye to his patients, then travels to London and meets Dr. Yealland from the National Hospital, who will be his colleague in his new position. Dr. Yealland uses electro-shock therapy to force patients to quickly recover from shell-shock; he believes that some patients do not want to be cured and that pain is the best method of treatment for such reluctant patients. In a horrifying scene, Yealland demonstrates his brutal 'therapy', which is vastly different from Rivers' own approach and which makes Rivers question whether he can work with such a man. Sassoon is released for combat duty; Willard is able to overcome his psychosomatic paralysis and walks again; Anderson is given a staff job. The novel ends with Rivers completing his notes, meditating on the effect that the encounter with Sassoon, and the last few months, have had on him.