Amnesia In Rebecca West’s The Return Of The Soldier

Rebecca West, novelist and critic, was widely considered to be among the important public intellectuals of the 20th century. So most of her works reflect her attitude towards the society in her age, and The Return of the Soldier is one of them. West, in fact, shows us a totally turbulent society of war in the novel. Living in that age, people, like Chris actually would rather suffer from amnesia to escape from the battlefield. The last time Chris can remember is 1901, and the date is carefully and precisely chosen, for it is the year Queen Victoria died and her son Edward succeeded to the throne. The Edwardian age was a turbulent time. The First World War, in particular, made the whole society a living hell in which British people lived a hard life. In the novel, after suffering from shell-shocked amnesia, Chris chooses to keep the hidden memory before 1901 in his mind while forget the memory after 1901. Why does he forget this period of time? This blank page in his memory is carefully chosen. Through this absent time zone, West reveals the huge impact of modern society and war on people’s life. Many a critic has persisted in studying this novel through the fields of trauma, feminism and gender equality etc. Few, however, have touched upon the theme of amnesia in the novel. Through the comparison between Chris’s lost memory and hidden memory, this thesis focuses on amnesia to approach the destructive influence made by war and society upon man’s psyche and life. Chris’s refreshed memory in the end has a strong ironical meaning. Chris among others was suffering from amnesia, which was an easy escape from the cruel society.In addition to Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One elaborates Chris’s lost memory through the lens of the cruel society. His depression and the war resulting from the contemporary cruel society disturb him. Chapter Two concentrates on the hidden memory. When forgetting the present cruel memory, Chris chooses to regain the memory before 1901, including the memories of youth, memory on Margaret. According to the description of happy past, the meaning of the hidden memory is revealed. It symbolizes a peaceful world, and it is a way to escape from the present life. Chapter Three studies the refreshed memory. If refreshed memory means coming back to the truth, what means the truth? It means cruel reality, turbulent society and the war. So if one wants to recover from amnesia, he has to return to the cruelty and to the battlefield as well.In Conclusion, the thesis argues that the cruel society and war brought huge impact on people’s life and psyche, and people in that age were suffering from amnesia. The only way to control one’s destiny is to end turbulence in civil society and stop the government from waging war.