Plot Summary (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes

Plot summary

Opening: Sassoon's protest

The novel begins in July 1917 with Siegfried Sassoon, a decorated war hero and poet, writing an open letter protesting against the First World War. This letter, published in the London Times, challenges the conduct and insincerity of the war effort. Sassoon's bold statement threatens to undermine morale on the home front, creating a dilemma for the military authorities.

Initially, Sassoon fears this placement will damage his cause, but Graves convinces him it is the better alternative.

Craiglockhart and Dr Rivers

At Craiglockhart, Sassoon comes under the care of Dr W.H.R. Rivers, a former anthropologist who has transitioned to psychiatry. Rivers' approach to treating war trauma is progressive for its time. He encourages his patients to talk openly about their war experiences and express their memories, believing this helps heal their psychological wounds or "nerves", as they are described in the novel.

Rivers' internal conflict: Despite his compassionate treatment methods, Rivers faces a moral dilemma. Whilst he sympathises with soldiers' horror at the brutality of war, he feels duty-bound to help them recover so they can return to fight. This tension between care and duty troubles him throughout the novel.

The patients at Craiglockhart

The hospital houses numerous soldiers suffering from various trauma-related conditions:

• Burns: An emaciated man who cannot eat after experiencing the traumatic incident of having a shell throw him headfirst into the gas-filled stomach of a dead German soldier
• Anderson: A former war surgeon now terrified of blood, making him unable to resume his civilian medical career
• Prior: A young, stubborn officer suffering from mutism (inability to speak) when he first arrives at the hospital

Rivers works patiently with each patient, helping them confront and process their traumatic experiences. His therapeutic approach involves listening, understanding, and gradually enabling them to face their memories.

Key relationships and developments

Sassoon and Owen

Sassoon's letter is eventually read in the House of Commons but dismissed because he has been labelled mentally unstable. Though disappointed, Sassoon begins forming important connections at Craiglockhart. He befriends Wilfred Owen, another poet who greatly admires Sassoon's work. Sassoon generously offers to help Owen develop his poetry, forming a significant literary friendship.

Prior's recovery and romance

Prior gradually regains his voice under Rivers' care. On a trip to Edinburgh, he meets Sarah Lumb, a young munitions worker. They strike up a relationship and continue seeing each other. Their developing romance provides Prior with a connection to life beyond the hospital.

However, Prior still struggles with his trauma. Rivers attempts to use hypnosis to help Prior remember the events that triggered his breakdown.

Later, Prior takes Sarah to a seaside town where crowds of people stroll on the beach. The normalcy of these people simply escaping the war frustrates Prior. During their visit, a storm arrives, and Prior and Sarah shelter under a thornbush where they make love.

Rivers' personal struggles

Rivers himself experiences psychological stress from his work. He has a recurring nightmare about nerve regeneration experiments he conducted with his former colleague, Henry Head, at Cambridge. In these experiments, the two men severed a nerve in Head's hand and charted its gradual recovery. Rivers feels guilty about the pain he inflicted on his friend, and this guilt mirrors the pain he causes patients by forcing them to confront their traumatic memories.

After an exhausting period, Rivers suffers chest pains, and his doctor insists he take a three-week holiday. During this break, Rivers visits his brother and reflects on his relationship with his deceased father. He also visits Henry Head, who offers him a position at a war hospital in London. Finally, Rivers visits Burns at his home in Suffolk.

Burns' crisis and rescue

The Review Board has granted Burns an unconditional discharge from the army. However, at Suffolk, Burns experiences another crisis and attempts suicide by hiding in a hole that floods at high tide. Rivers discovers him and saves his life, demonstrating his deep commitment to his patients' wellbeing.

Critical decisions

Prior's permanent home service

Back at Craiglockhart, the Board grants Prior permanent home service, meaning he will not have to return to active combat. Prior sneaks into Sarah's room to share this news. Though both remain somewhat sceptical about love, they decide to give their relationship a genuine chance.

Sassoon's return to France

Sassoon faces the novel's central moral dilemma. Although he continues to disagree with the war's brutality and suffering, he makes a crucial decision: he will return to France to care for his men.

This choice reflects his sense of duty and loyalty to the soldiers under his command, even whilst maintaining his objections to the war itself. Both Graves and Rivers are pleased with this decision, seeing it as a sign of Sassoon's recovery and sense of responsibility.

Rivers moves to London

Rivers accepts the position in London and leaves Craiglockhart, though one of his patients, Willard, has recently overcome a mental block and can now walk again. In London, Rivers works under Dr Yealland, another psychiatrist specialising in war trauma. However, Yealland's methods differ drastically from Rivers' compassionate approach.

Rivers observes Yealland conducting electro-shock therapy on a patient named Callan, using harsh and punitive techniques. That night, Rivers has a disturbing nightmare in which he is forcing a horse's bit into Sassoon's mouth, similar to how Yealland pushed electrodes into his patient's mouth. This dream reveals Rivers' growing discomfort with more aggressive treatment methods and his awareness that his own approach, whilst gentler, still involves a form of coercion.

Final outcomes

Rivers returns to Craiglockhart for a monthly Review Board meeting, where final decisions are made about several patients:

• Anderson receives a desk position in the War Office, allowing him to serve without confronting blood
• Sassoon is officially discharged to duty and will return to France to fight

As Rivers bids farewell to Sassoon, he experiences a moment of realisation: his own views about the war have transformed significantly. Through his work with these traumatised soldiers, Rivers has developed a deeper understanding of the war's psychological costs and moral complexities.