Septimus in the Lost Generation
As we have started reading through and
discussing in class some of Hemingway's background and also the background
of The Sun Also Rises, we have oftentimes mentioned the "Lost
Generation". For benefit of analyses: the Lost Generation refers to the
generation who came of age after surviving World War I. Because of the damaging
mental and physical effects of the war, the young adults, who were
on their way to adulthood and the start of their own lives, felt lost. They
were left confused and unable to figure out where and how to start their adulthoods
after tragic events have happened to them and/or their loved ones during the
war.
After our brief background discussion on
Hemingway’s connection to the Lost Generation, I realized that the description
of these post-war dispirited young people matched the image of Septimus very
closely. Septimus, as we have often discussed, was a post-war veteran who
endured numerous tragic events during his time serving in the war, the most upsetting
event being when his dearest friend Evans died before his eyes. When he went
home after the war, the misunderstandings that people (even doctors!) had about
his mental state, intermixed with the presumed confidence/ “strength against
emotion” traits that society believed all men had, came to damage Septimus even
more than before. For us readers in the 21st century
with a grasp on the real disorder of PTSD and an understanding of value in
emotions for men and women, analyzing Septimus’ role in Mrs. Dalloway is incredibly disheartening. Septimus represented all
soldiers who were able to come home from the war alive, but with shattered
minds and broken souls, unable to continue life as it was before the war – in
essence, he was a hyper-representation of the Lost Generation. Though not all
people of the Lost Generation suffered from PTSD or served in the war as
Septimus did, it is easy to find the portrayal that Woolf gave of all people
who lived through the war came out of it damaged – whether that be mentally,
physically, or spiritually.
However, the "lost" in the name of the
Lost Generation does not have to mean completely gone. In this case, we can use
the meaning of gone astray or disoriented. Though still expressing a sense of
obscurity, there seems to still be a gentle hope in the prosperity of the lost
generation, a possibility that one day these troubled young adults would find
their light in life again. In evaluating the last scene before Septimus' suicide, we find him in the most content state of mind that we have seen him possibly in the whole novel. His easy conversation with Rezia gave us readers a little lift in possibility, in hope for Septimus. We saw that, with the disruption of authority figures with degrading views of mentally-damaged post-war veterans like Septimus suffering from the war, Septimus took the jump to death. So, maybe this implies that with a devotion of understanding towards the Lost Generation, there could have been a chance for people like Septimus to find light and live their lives as well as possible given their circumstances.
I think you're right about Septimus being a characterization of the Lost Generation. He suffered many of the same wounds that society suffered after WWI: his disorientation and his extreme emotions are just what his generation as a whole probably went through. This makes his character more ironic in the sense that because society thought little of his wounds, it also thought little of its wounds, and we know what happened to Septimus.
ReplyDeleteI think Wolfe's uses Clarissa and Septimus both to represent the psychological damage of their respective generations-- which brings into question-- what's Clarissas damage?
ReplyDeleteThe similarities between Septimus and the Lost Generation are really interesting. Its pretty sad that due to our lack of knowledge regarding mental disorders we were unable to help these soldiers. I agree that the word "lost" in the term "Lost Generation" implies that the broken soldiers could have potentially been saved. Contrasting that thought, our conversations in Ms. Dalloway suggest that Septimus had to die so that others would not (like a Martyr). Do you think that Septimus's death was in vain? Could he have been saved?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very good point. In "Mrs. Dalloway" we never really spoke in depth about the fact that Septimus is part of a larger group of people that the war has hurt in psychological ways. Now while reading "The Sun Also Rises", we see more examples of others that are still suffering from the effects of the war. We can see Jake fit into this group too. Although Jake and Septimus have experienced similar trauma and therefore both have reactions toward that, it is clear that their reactions are very different.
ReplyDelete(I clicked on this because of your blog name, its beautiful.)
ReplyDeleteI find you connection of the Lost generation to Septimus interesting. When I read that quote I thought that Hemingway was trying to provide a counter argument to the quote because of the quote that followed it. But as I continued reading the novel, I saw more proof for the Lost Generation. Your last thought is very say but also is very true. I think that The Sun Also Rises is trying to provide part of that understanding towards the Lost Generation.
I really like your analysis, your post explained the historical context and how they relate to these characters in a very meaningful way. I think that being part of the "lost generation" is a lot about lost potential, the amount of lives lost of otherwise impaired that, without the war, would have been able to achieve far greater. I think we definitely see this in Septimus, Septimus being an inspired author with big dreams, and I wonder if we will see some of that same potential being lost in a similar way with Jake in The Sun Also Rises. We see that he is a hard worker, the hardest worker of all of his friends, it seems, so I will be curious to see if we get more insight into Jake's aspirations before the war. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that Septimus was a "hyper-representation" since while many of the Lost Generation might not have been quite as psychologically broken as Septimus was, many people were damaged in ways that society didn't recognize or understand. In some ways I think Jake is a more average representation of the Lost Generation since he has some mental trauma from World War 1 but it's not as severe. On the other hand, given his pretty extreme lifestyle and his fairly unusual injury, Jake might turn out to be an extreme representative of his generation.
ReplyDelete