On a follow up to the aforementioned point, escapism proves weakness. This passage also reveals STANHOPE’s weakness when deprived of alcohol. He says he, “couldn’t bear being fully conscious all the time” and he’d “go mad if he didn’t break the strain.” It is hard to define STANHOPE as a hero, as heroes do not wander around wars drunk and out of their senses. STANHOPE prefers to drink himself into oblivion and claims he is therefore able to cope with the stresses of war.
STANHOPE is also branded a pessimist in this passage. When RALEIGH arrives at his battalion, STANHOPE immediately starts thinking negatively about his presence, remarking, “It’s rather damnable for that boy...to have come to me. I might have at least been spared that.” OSBORNE replies, “You’re seeing things in a rather black sort of way.” Pessimists choose to view the world negatively and draw no goodness from it. Most soldiers during the trenches are constantly being let down and disappointed due to the countless, brutal deaths and the wastage of time spent in the uncomfortable dug outs. STANHOPE has also become a strong pessimist as he has served at the trenches longer than anybody else.
STANHOPE’s ability to remain at the trenches for such a long period of time shows his devotion to the army. Evidence for this includes the colonel encouraging a leave for STANHOPE, to which he replies, “He thinks I’m in such a state that I want a rest, is that it?!” The tone of this remark implies that STANHOPE is dedicated to serving the army and will stay until the war ends. A devoted soldier is difficult to find in the damned trenches which are filled with lost hope and gloom.
Through his devotion to the army, he has come to despise cowardly soldiers such as HIBBERT. HIBBERT is a soldier whose form of escapism is very real – he tries to fake neuralgia to escape the trenches. STANHOPE refers to HIBBERT as a “worm” and remarks of his attempts to leave, “That little worm in there – neuralgia in the eye”. This hatred of cowardice is not uncommon in nationalist soldiers, who are proud and completely at ease with living in the trenches. STANHOPE sharing this hatred is rather ironic as he too can be tried as a coward for his inability to stay fully conscious all the time which therefore results in his addiction to alcohol.
Another characteristic of STANHOPE’s personality derived from this passage is his role as a hero and guardian to RALEIGH. He was asked by RALEIGH’s father to care for RALEIGH and STANHOPE said, “I rather liked the idea of looking after him” which shows STANHOPE’s happiness of being appointed the guardian of RALEIGH.
Lastly, this passage reveals STANHOPE’s hopefulness to return from the trenches a hero and marry MADGE, his fiancée. He says that his hopefulness is fading due to RALEIGH’s arrival. STANHOPE said to OSBORNE, “I’ve hoped that all the time… [I’d] get fit and then go back to her.” OSBORNE replies, “And so you can” to which STANHOPE bitterly says, “If RALEIGH had gone to one of those other one thousand eight hundred companies.” Due to RALEIGH being MADGE’s sister, STANHOPE fears that RALEIGH will write home and reveal his addiction to alcohol and how he had changed into a “bad” person during his time in the trenches. The army consists mainly of men, who also share their dreams of returning to their loved ones, and STANHOPE is no different.
