Having read this novel, I have come to the conclusion that Parade's End is centralised around women.
From pre-first world war Britain to post-D-day Britain, the book follows the life of Christopher Tietjens (portrayed by the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC adaptation), an English aristocrat who tries to live by Edwardian values, surrounded by the prejudice, arrogance and pettiness of others, suffering through the horrors of the trenches, death and hardship. Throughout the book he is tormented by his wife Sylvia, made an outcast by his colleagues and friends and slowly and deeply falls in love with Valentine Wannop, a petite, pretty, bright young woman who is an enthusiastic surrogate.
Despite Chrissie's many bad experiences with the fair sex (rather inappropriately named considering the nature of many women in the novel), he sympathises with Valentine and her feminist views, he is also very accepting of people from all the classes, unlike many of his peers.
Valentine Wannop represents the strongwilled, open-minded and caring side of womankind, who aren't afraid to have their own mind. She portrayed as a petite, loyal and strong young woman with a simple prettiness which Christopher comes to adore. She is also intelligent and strong-minded; being one of the only people who could argue a point again Chrissie and succeed, and her strong-mindedness being the cause for Christopher's change in values and lifestyle- from a government statistician to a footsoldier in the trenches, a rich man surrounded by antique furniture and expensive suits, to a poor minimalist man adorned in simple clothes. Valentine was also the only reason Christopher hoped to come out of the war alive- her strength, hope and beauty illuminating his dark days.
Sylvia Tiejens. Well I would certainly relish the chance to push her off a high, rocky cliff. She represents to tormenting, egomanical, disloyal and heartless shadow of womankind; her words poisonous and each slithering movement a butterfly effect. There are points in the novel where one feels that Sylvia could almost redeem herself from her sins, perhaps even make oneself feel sorry for her, however these feelings didn't last long, and one wishes for her violent death once more.
Another woman in 'Parade's End' include Mark Tietjens' (Christopher's brother's) French mistress, Marie Léonie. Marie is a simple, sensible woman, who cleans her house to perfection, cooks traditional meals, does gardening and preserves fruits of all sorts, just as a 'normal' housewife was expected to do. The relationship between Mark and Marie is an unusual and symbiotic one; he buys her expensive gifts like any male suitor, pays for her home and expenses, however when he visits her home on a weekly basis, he expects no more than for her company, a good hot meal, a warm bed to sleep in, to have some of his clothes washed and listen to her endless nattering in French. Theirs is not an intimate relationship but, I think, a beautiful one; Marie knows very little about Mark, as he is content to listen to Marie talk for hours, and does not talk about his work, just as Marie does not ask anything of him, looking after him without his asking.
I could go on, however I don't want to reveal any more about the book, should you want to read it yourself without my having spoiled it. However, my interpretation of this book is that is about women, and the female characters in this book representing different attitudes of women in pre-WWI Britain; those who were strong, independent women making sacrifices at suffragettes in order to get women the vote, women who were the cancer of society- spreading rumours, cheating on their husbands, and exploiting good people, and women who were neither of the previous, content to care for their husbands and leading simple lives.
Despite Chrissie's many bad experiences with the fair sex (rather inappropriately named considering the nature of many women in the novel), he sympathises with Valentine and her feminist views, he is also very accepting of people from all the classes, unlike many of his peers.
Valentine Wannop represents the strongwilled, open-minded and caring side of womankind, who aren't afraid to have their own mind. She portrayed as a petite, loyal and strong young woman with a simple prettiness which Christopher comes to adore. She is also intelligent and strong-minded; being one of the only people who could argue a point again Chrissie and succeed, and her strong-mindedness being the cause for Christopher's change in values and lifestyle- from a government statistician to a footsoldier in the trenches, a rich man surrounded by antique furniture and expensive suits, to a poor minimalist man adorned in simple clothes. Valentine was also the only reason Christopher hoped to come out of the war alive- her strength, hope and beauty illuminating his dark days.
Sylvia Tiejens. Well I would certainly relish the chance to push her off a high, rocky cliff. She represents to tormenting, egomanical, disloyal and heartless shadow of womankind; her words poisonous and each slithering movement a butterfly effect. There are points in the novel where one feels that Sylvia could almost redeem herself from her sins, perhaps even make oneself feel sorry for her, however these feelings didn't last long, and one wishes for her violent death once more.
Another woman in 'Parade's End' include Mark Tietjens' (Christopher's brother's) French mistress, Marie Léonie. Marie is a simple, sensible woman, who cleans her house to perfection, cooks traditional meals, does gardening and preserves fruits of all sorts, just as a 'normal' housewife was expected to do. The relationship between Mark and Marie is an unusual and symbiotic one; he buys her expensive gifts like any male suitor, pays for her home and expenses, however when he visits her home on a weekly basis, he expects no more than for her company, a good hot meal, a warm bed to sleep in, to have some of his clothes washed and listen to her endless nattering in French. Theirs is not an intimate relationship but, I think, a beautiful one; Marie knows very little about Mark, as he is content to listen to Marie talk for hours, and does not talk about his work, just as Marie does not ask anything of him, looking after him without his asking.
I could go on, however I don't want to reveal any more about the book, should you want to read it yourself without my having spoiled it. However, my interpretation of this book is that is about women, and the female characters in this book representing different attitudes of women in pre-WWI Britain; those who were strong, independent women making sacrifices at suffragettes in order to get women the vote, women who were the cancer of society- spreading rumours, cheating on their husbands, and exploiting good people, and women who were neither of the previous, content to care for their husbands and leading simple lives.
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