Volume 8
The Soldier's Art opens in 1941. The Division is still in Ireland. General Liddament takes an interest in Jenkins and arranges for him to see a Major Finn in London for a new post. During an exercise, Widmerpool is embarrassed by Hogbourne-Johnson, who chews him out unfairly for a mess-up with the traffic circuits. Stringham appears as a waiter in F Mess, where Biggs is mean to him. He and Jenkins chat privately, mentioning Robert Tolland's death.
On leave in London, Jenkins applies to Finn for a posting with the Free French, but his French is not good enough. Later he has a drink with Chips Lovell, who tells him Pricilla is having an affair with Odo Stevens and then goes to the Madrid to find her at Bijou Ardglass's fortieth birthday party. Then he dines with Moreland and Mrs. Maclintick - now a couple! - and, by coincidence Pricilla and Odo appear and join them. Pricilla becomes upset and leaves. After dinner, at the Morelands, Jenkins meets their lodger, Max Pilgrim, who tells him that Bijou and Lovell, among others, were killed at the Madrid in a blitz. Jenkins goes to the Jeavons's to find Pricilla, and discovers that both she and Lady Molly have been killed as well, by a bomb from a different blitz. Back at the Division Widmerpool learns he will be leaving the Division, but will do nothing to help Jenkins find a post. One night Stringham and Jenkins try to help Bithel, who is drunk, but Widmerpool discovers them. Widmerpool drums Bithel out of the army and gets Stringham reposted to the Mobile Laundry, knowing that the laundry is being sent to the Far East, thus getting Stringham out of his hair. He accuses Diplock, Hogbourne-Johnson's assistant, of embezzling, but the colonel defends his man. Widmerpool's manoevering to appoint certain officers to important posts is discovered by the General, landing him in hot water. Diplock deserts to independent Ireland. As Widmerpool tries to deal with his troubles, Jenkins receives orders to London, not to the dreaded ITC. |
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These are the major characters in this volume, organized by chapter. The Tollands are not listed, but all of them may be found by clicking their name. Chapter 1 Widmerpool - himself Lt. Bithel - recently appointed head of Mobile Laundry General Liddament - imperious general, Commander of Division Col. Hogbourne Johnson - in charge of operational duties Col. Pedlar - "A and Q" (quartermaster) Capt. Biggs - Company Physical Training Officer Pvt. Charles Stringham - Jenkins's old school friend, a mess waiter Mr. Diplock - Hogbourne-Johnson's chief clerk (never appears, often mentioned) Chapter 2 Maj. Finn - liason officer in charge of Free French David Penniston - acquaintance of Jenkins, works for Finn Chips Lovell - married to Pricilla Tolland, Jenkins's sister-in-law Hugh Moreland - composer, Jenkins's good friend Audrey Maclintick - living with Moreland Odo Stevens - acquaintance of Jenkins, having affair with Pricilla Max Pilgrim - entertainer, Moreland's lodger Eleanor Walpole-Wilson - old friend of Jenkins Chapter 3 Cheesman - new commander of Mobile Laundry Sgt. Ablett - in Mobile Laundry |
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Doug Presley War is loud. Bombs don't explode quietly and guns don't fire silently. Yet the most ominous sound in The Soldier's Art, seems to be silence. The deafening noises of the war do not instill the fear that is to be expected of them; the situation always seems to turn out alright, despite the noise. When the volume of the war is soft or silent, however, the war seems to wreak its worst havoc, as silence surrounds unhappiness and misfortune within the book. When the German Luftwaffe attacks, the air raid sirens begin to blare. "The melancholy dirge of sirens, like ritual wailings at barbarous obsequies" (5) announce the arrival of the enemy planes, and once the attack has ceased the "All Clear" sirens begin to sound. In addition to the sirens, the brens on the ground generate a "good deal of noise" (7). Nick describes the "noise of the cannonade" (11), as well as the "concentrated burst[s] of ack-ack fire" (13) and the "clatter of the guns" (14) that cause Bithel so much difficulty in being heard. While the picture painted of these attacks is loud and grim, everyone seems to weather them, as there is no mention of death in the surrounding pages. Nick also uses the cliché of "the rattle of musketry from distant hills" (15) to stir Bithel into further conversation about his boyhood aspirations. Once again, sound, while ominous and foreboding, turns out to be an ally, recalling for Bithel happy memories of reading childhood stories. During the dinner with Moreland, Mrs. Maclintick, Stevens, and Priscilla, the characters are unable to hear the air raid sirens announcing the blitz. When Priscilla thinks she hears the raid, she "become[s] quite silent" (137). All the characters begin to listen, but are unable to identify the noise of the sirens, and therefore simply ignore the warning. As it turns out, however, the raid the characters did not hear was the one that killed Chips. Later in the same dinner, Priscilla and Stevens begin to quarrel slightly when she claims to be sick. At first, Stevens tries to blame the headache on the restaurant being "noisy" (139). When things get bad, however, is when it gets quiet. "There was silence for a moment. `I think I'll make for home.' [said Priscilla]" (140). Priscilla had only complained about a headache up till that moment, yet suddenly in the silence she has decided to go home. Her decision is a fatal one however, as she arrives at the house only to be killed in another raid. Later in the book, silence is once again present in an unfortunate situation. When Keef reports to Colonel Hogbourne-Johnson that Diplock has deserted, Colonel Hogbourne-Johnson can "find no words at first to register he fully comprehended what Keef had to report" (213). As Keef waits for a response, "the awfulness of the silence that follows" (213) wears on his nerves, until he breaks the silence to relieve the tension. Once again silence accompanies unfortunate situations, in this case even being directly described as "awful." The noises of war, the booming guns and wailing sirens, seem to accompany safety and security. While in peace-time such noises would be frightening, in war the situation is completely different. It is the lack of war noises, when only silence or the normal hum of traffic is present, that seems to bring misfortune. Powell has reversed the roles of sound as we normally think of them; peace is not peaceful, and the real damage is done in silence. |
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Katherine Leonard Just like the majority of people, Charles Stringham does not respond well to public humiliation. He, like the rest of us, only acts and feels worse when embarrassed by someone in front of others. Tuffy Weedon represents this humiliation and criticism. For all of the time that he spends under her `care,' he only makes progress in the wrong direction; retreating farther and farther into his drinking. Receiving only punishments for his errors does not teach him a lesson; rather, it reinforces his 'bad behavior." Modern psychology shows us that operant conditioning, a theory developed by B. F. Skinner, is a method that heads consistent results of shaping behavior.* This theory relies on a series of reinforcements and punishments that are emitted upon a certain behavior. These reinforcements and punishments are deemed either "positive" or "negative," depending on whether they add or remove something from the subject. Stringham is subjected only to negative punishment with Tuffy, in that she adds something unpleasant to the situation with the intention of decreasing the probability of the behavior from reoccurring. (This is true unless the reading of Browning can be seen as positive reinforcement, a possibility Stringham seems to disavow.) This method can be affective, so long as the punishment is paired with reinforcements. However, Tuffy does not chose to reinforce Stringham, but rather she only punishes him, which has shown to be an ineffective method for changing behavior. Punishment alone does not work because the subject, Stringham, has no reason to believe that changing his behavior will get him anywhere; he has never been shown what acting properly will do for him. This is why Stringham never prospered under her; her approach was all wrong. Stringham did succeed, however. Once he joined the army, he kicked his alcohol addiction. He was given a `reinforcement schedule,'* psychologically, Stringham understood that in the army, no matter how low his ranking, he would be rewarded (reinforced) for his positive behavior and punished for his negative behavior consistently. It is this intermittent, but consistent, reinforcement and punishment schedule that ultimately straightens him out. At the end of The Soldier's Art, we see Stringham as a man opposite of the one we have known in earlier books. When we previously saw him, he was a babbling drunk, embarrassing himself at the party for Moreland. But now, he has a sense of purpose, pride, and self now, all things he has found since giving up alcohol and joining the army. The vast improvement between the Stringham before and Stringham after only reiterates what a difference the smallest reinforcement can make. Too bad Tuffy never caught on. *Psychological theories paraphrased from: Modern Synopsis of Psychiatry/III . Harold I. Kaplan, Benjamin J. Sadock. 63-64 |
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Gauri Kirloskar Widmerpool's sudden appearance at the end of The Valley of Bones surprises us, especially when we realize his new, powerful position. In contrast, in The Soldier's Art, Widmerpool is present throughout the entire book and we see him exert this power and follow through with his merciless treatment on everyone under his control, especially Bithel, Stringham, and Jenkins. This is the first time Powell has given Widmerpool the power to do evil, and he makes sure Widmerpool doesn't miss the opportunity to do so. On page 9 Jenkins remarks, "Widmerpool, as DAAG conveniently placed for furthering this measure, was anxious to oust Bithel at the first opportunity". Widmerpool was jealous of Bithel's position; however he "swallows Bithel's intermittently propagated myth about being the officer of the same name and regiment who had won a VC in the '14-'18 war" (9). The remark Jenkins makes holds true in that the first time that Widmerpool notices Bithel drunk, he says, "I'll see this is the last time the army's troubled with [him]. It will only be a matter of expediting matters already in hand" (185). Widmerpool takes advantage of his position and without giving Bithel a second thought, gets him sent on immediate leave. Bithel has been careful up until this point - when his check bounced he kept it quiet so that the DAAG wouldn't know. "Otherwise Widmerpool might find the opportunity for which he was waiting" (12). Well, now he has found it. When Jenkins informs Widmerpool of Stringham's job as a mess waiter, Widmerpool is clearly uncomfortable because of Stringham's sudden presence. He is not surprised that Stringham holds such a menial job because as he says "Stringham was a badly behaved boy at school … and he took to drink early in life." Widmerpool plainly feels that Stringham does not deserve a better job because of his notorious past. However, later Widmerpool does get Stringham a new job - "Do you know, Nick, he went out of his way to get me moved from F Mess to Mobile Laundry - just as an act of pure kindness. Who'd have thought that of Widmerpool?" (182) This "act of pure kindness" we soon learn, is Widmerpool's attempt to get rid of Stringham, which he does. The Mobile Laundry gets sent to the Far East and Widmerpool is successful so much so that we never see Stringham again. Jenkins says on page 21-22 "I found that when I worked under him there were still comparatively unfamiliar sides to Widmerpool … for example, how difficult he was to work with … perpetual fear, almost obsession, that tasks completed by himself might be attributed to the work of someone else." This reiterates Widmerpool's concern for nobody but himself. He is interested in others only if they will help in his progress, otherwise he does not care about anyone at all. Jenkins great dislike for him is proved on page 23 - "In the first place, I desired to separate myself from Widmerpool". However, Jenkins continues to work with him in the hope of a promotion - which Widmerpool promises him. "I'll see you get fixed up in a suitable job when I move up the ladder myself … Don't worry, my boy, I'll keep you in the picture". However, when Widmerpool does "move up the ladder," he moves up it by himself, leaving Jenkins to the ITC. This only further exemplifies his selfishness and disregard for Jenkins. Widmerpool does not get away unscathed. He gets into hot water with Colonel Hogbourne Johnson in a great comic scene where the Colonel accuses him of making "a disgraceful mess" (56) of the traffic circuits. In another scene he accuses Widmerpool of having "brought a series of accusations against an old and tried soldier" (210). In the end however Widmerpool is leaving the division anyways, so these accusations hardly make a difference to him. He is ready to move along and wreak havoc elsewhere. Is Widmerpool an evil person, deliberately trying to ruin people's careers? Pehaps "evil" is too strong a word. He is just too self-absorbed to notice the damage he is doing. He does not intentionally go out of his way to do evil, rather, he only eliminates obstacles in the way of his advancement and is blind to the consequences of his actions. His progress is of utmost importance to him, and there is no stopping him. |
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Will Story As Nick goes through his journey of life, he meets a countless amount of people, as we all do. Some of these people are memorable while others are easily forgotten. One of the first characters that we meet in The Dance is Charles Stringham, while Nick is back at school in A Question of Upbringing. Stringham is a very lovable character. He has a witty sense of humor shown with the "Braddock alias Thorne" prank that he pulls on Le Bas. Then Stringham disappears from Nick's life when he leaves the University. He develops a problem with alcoholism that Nick hears about through rumors. He sees Stringham struggle with alcohol first hand at an Old Boy's Dinner and at a party thrown for Hugh Moreland. With the help of Tuffy Weedon Stringham is able to overcome his addiction. Nick encounters Stringham again in The Soldier's Art, when he discovers that Stringham has become a whole new person. Stringham is assigned to be a waiter in the army. Due to the fact that he was born into a rich family he is used to being served and not to serving. He is also an educated person so it would make sense for him to be given a more substantial post. Nick asks Stringham if he wants a higher position, but Stringham replies that he is happy where he is. Nick talks to Widmerpool and gets Stringham transferred to the mobile laundry. Stringham has become more content with life. For the first time ever in his life he has responsibilities. His life has a purpose. He has a sense of belonging to a group. A feeling of belonging to a group is a very important feeling in a human's life. Stringham has never had that feeling. He was an outcast for years when he was an alcoholic. His family tossed him out and put him under the control of Tuffy Weedon. When he is in the military he finally feels as if he belongs. When Nick asks Stringham if he wants to transfer out of the mobile laundry to avoid being sent to the Far East, he says, "I'm wedded to the Laundry by this time. I've really begun to know the meaning of esprit de corps, something lamentably lacking in me up to now" (219, TSA). Another phrase that Stringham applies to himself is "Quis Separabat" (223, TSA). IT means, who will separate? Stringham knows that he will stick with his unit to the end. He has a sense of responsibility and duty towards his unit. Nick says that Stringham can be very depressed at times when they are back at school. Now that Stringham is in the military he has become a very cheerful person. He enjoys his life, and trying new things. Having a structured military life has helped Stringham handle depression exceptionally well. By having responsibilities, duties, and a feeling of belonging Stringham is able to enjoy life and have respect for himself. |
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Madeleine Fawcett "You will therefore be aware that-- like my former unregenerate self-- he is at times what our former mentor, Mr Le Bas, used to call a devotee of Bacchus," says Stringham as he asks for Jenkins's help getting Bithel back to his room, without making evident Bithel's overdoing of the "Dionysian rites." It is interesting to see Stringham as the sober character, helping another drunkard out, as he himself has always been the one being saved. This indicates the improvement Stringhan has made of his life. This scene is very similar to the scene in the Acceptance World, where Stringham is being helped. Powell must have either been thinking ahead about creating the scene with Bithel when he wrote the scene about Stringham, or he was definitely thinking about the scene with Stringham, when he wrote about Bithel. In The Acceptance World, we see Stringham being taken home by Widmerpool and Jenkins. On Nick's way out of the Old Boy dinner at Le Bas's house, he realizes that Stringham is extremely drunk. He sits down with Stringham and tries to get him to leave but instead, Stringham chooses to reminisce of past experiences-- women and Le Bas. Finally, they decide to walk back to Stringham's flat...to have another drink. On the way home, Stringham begins to feel "extraordinarily odd," so he settles down in the middle of Piccadilly. Much to Jenkins's despair, along comes Widmerpool, who is very curious to know why Stringham is in the position he is in. "Stringham has had about a gallon to drink," says Nick. Widmerpool takes one of Stringham's arms, Jenkins takes the other, and they begin to drag Stringham home. Once they arrive at West Halkin Street, Widmerpool and Jenkins attempt to put Stringham to bed. Stringham sits up, completely oblivious to what has happened, and begins to fight with Widmerpool over whether he should be allowed to get out of his bed, in the state he is on, or not. A "positively cosmic change in life's system" is apparent; Widmerpool is now in the position of authority, whereas Stringham has always been a superior to Widmerpool. Ten years later, in A Soldier's Art, Stringham has turned his life around and he is seen taking care of a drunkard: Bithel. This scene is very similar to the previous one, however, the roles have been drastically switched around. Although Widmerpool and Jenkins are static in their role, Stringham has gone from the troubled one to a helpful one. This time, he is the one who summons Nick to help him get Bithel home. Unfortunately, they run into Widmerpool again, who is now a known figure of authority. Widmerpool is very angered by the situation and he tells Jenkins to take care of the situation immediately. Stringham and Jenkins take Bithel home, but that is the end of Bithel's career in the army. There are many similarities between the two scenes. In both cases, Widmerpool happens to come across both drunk men, when he is definitely unwanted there, especially in the second one. He does show his position of authority in both cases; however, it is more surprising that he does so with Stringham. The ways Stringham and Bithel react to Widmerpool's power trips are different. Stringham puts up a fight when Widmerpool tries to tell him what to do but Bithel acts much more passively. Widmerpool gives him the alternative of a court martial or a document reporting that he is unfit to be an officer. Bithel accepts the latter, and is sent on immediate leave, departing in tears. Powell mirrored one event from another. Jenkins plays a similar role in both instances. Widmerpool takes authority in both instances, regardless of whether it is his place or not. Stringham progresses from being the helpless drunk to being a helper of a drunk, and this is very significant because it shows how he has cleaned up his life. Although the two scenes are about ten years apart, Powell definitely created them to reflect one another. |
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'Childe Stringham-- in this case.' Ash Verdery The Soldier's Art, the title of the eighth book in Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time series comes from the Browning poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came". The title of this poem derives from Edgar's song in King Lear: "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came/ His word was still 'fie, foe, and fum, / I smell the blood of a British Man" (Lear, III, iv). In his final scene, Stringham quotes a passage from the poem, which Nick inquisitively identifies as "'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came?'" Stringham responds: "'Childe Stringham-- in this case.'" This response betrays the similarities between the speaker of Browning's poem and Stringham. Like Childe Roland, Stringham's end will come if he "should turn aside/ Into that ominous tract which, all agree,/ Hides the Dark Tower" ("Childe Roland", 13-15). Browning's poem illuminates Stringham's motives for going to the Far East, when he knows that death awaits him. Stringham misinterprets a line he quotes from "Childe Roland"; he thinks "I asked one draught of earlier, happier sights" means that Roland feels nostalgic about his past, but, as he later states, Roland thinks "better this present than a past like that" ("CR", 86, 103). Stringham likewise says, "not that I feel in the least nostalgic about earlier, happier sights. I can't offhand recall many" (TSA, 221). Because both prefer their undesirable situations, Roland on the "ominous tract" and Stringham in the army, to their pasts the characters feel "neither pride/ Nor hope rekindling at the end descried, / So much as gladness that some end might be" ("CR", 16-18). Both characters wish to keep on their respective ominous tracts, because they want their painful lives to end. This desire for completion motivates Stringham to stay with the Mobile Laundry for its move. Numerous similarities exist between Roland and Stringham; for instance, both are army men, both cross water to "the other bank... a better country", both are trapped "inside a den", both pass a torture on their paths, and both die remembering "all the lost adventurers" ("CR", 127-8, 174, 195). The characters also share a self-destructive desire to complete their lives, which motivates them to venture onto "ominous tracts". Stringham never tells why he will remain with the Laundry as it goes east; the closest he comes is when he asks "Quis Seperabit" (TSA, 223). Without the Browning allusions, Stringham's motives for traveling East would be unclear, but, because, like Roland, Stringham wishes to complete his life, he is ready to take "one draught of earlier, happier sights [which he remembers unhappily], / Ere fitly I could hope to play my part. / Think first, fight afterwards-- the soldier's art" as Browning says (TSA, 221: or: "CR", 93-94). |
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Zachary Smotherman The theme of chance encounters and coincidence has been prevalent throughout the first eight books of the series. In The Soldier's Art, the theme is continued, but it takes on a more serious tone, as the stakes become higher in war. Chance encounters and coincidence have taken on a new form in which they are no longer just an opportunity for friends to catch up or reminisce about old times. Those times have passed and coincidence and chance encounters now result in either death or a chance for two friends to grieve together over mutual losses. The happiness that once surrounded these twists of fate has been translated into misfortune. The joy of the youthful times of innocence has switched to a harsh reality of adulthood during wartime. During a blitz in London examples of both chance and coincidence in wartime are demonstrated. The Jeavons's house is hit by a bomb and Jenkins just happens to be in the neighborhood at a nearby restaurant. Also in the same night, Chips Lovell is killed at the Madrid, where he went to go find Priscilla. Coincidentally and tragically, Priscilla is killed at the Jeavons, after just missing Chips at the Madrid. War is unpredictable and everyone is vulnerable, regardless of class. The bomb that strikes the Jeavons's residence, killing Molly, Priscilla, and a Polish officer, injuring Ted and others, and leaves all of the other surrounding buildings untouched. Jenkins was in a restaurant nearby, with Moreland and Audry Maclintick, but they were unable hear the air raid warning clearly from inside. The blitzes are going on continually and Max Pilgrim fills Jenkins in about the air raid that occurred earlier that night. He informs Jenkins that the Madrid was destroyed, commenting that it was, "Frenzied. Like Dante's Inferno. All in the blackout too."(156) He then goes on to point out how lucky he is in saying, "I suppose a few got away with it--like myself."(156) Now the focus is surviving death in contrast to earlier days where the focus might be on successfully surviving and engaging in a social evening. These statements speak to the destructiveness of the raids and the pure chance involved in being able to avoid a bomb or being hit by one. Jenkins cannot escape the consequences of war even when he is home on leave, visiting family and friends in London. The pictures hanging in the drawing of Jeavons house were moved when the war began, but the pictures cannot escape the dust from the blast. These pictures are a symbol of how Jenkins is unable to escape the war even when he tries to get away from it by coming home on leave. War penetrates everything and everyone, like a dark cloud of dust that is inescapable as it spreads through the bombed house. Jenkins is actually closer to the realities of and the fate that surrounds the blitzes when his is on leave in London. He is no longer worrying about which party he is going to or who he is sitting next to at the table. Now he focuses on keeping his life and the lives of his wife and friends. No one is left out of war, as death levels the field. War gives no invitations like the upper class social dances that Jenkins attended in his past. War casts a dark blanket over all interactions in contrast to the light nature of previous encounters. When Jenkins enters the Jeavons's house he meets Eleanor, who is trying to restore order to the madness that now surrounds her. Eleanor has put up a barrier and she will not let Jenkins penetrate her shell and get into her thoughts. She then realizes that her barrier is just making the pain worse. The two friends stop and take a moment to step back and give support to one another as they grieve their friends' deaths. The war has stripped the joy away from the meeting of friends who have not seen each other in a while. The chance encounter that would once occur at a party and bring happiness now occurs in a bombed out house and brings the deepest sorrow. As Jenkins leaves the house, he views the frenzied scene around him, with fire engines racing away from the scene of the attack. The notice on the door that indicates that the house was struck by a bomb draws up a memory for Jenkins. He thinks back to a time not so long ago when he was traveling in Chip's fancy car and they stopped in on the Jeavons, so Chips could see Priscilla. Jenkins realizes how much the war has changed his life and the life of those around him. The youthful days of innocence and parties are not so long passed, but with the onset of war and blitzes, they seem many decades ago. |