Effects Of Regeneration During The First World War

Regeneration During the First World War, soldiers were affected by certain stereotypes that they were expected to uphold such as being strong, brave and willing to die for their country. To avoid these stereotypes, was to commit yourself to the public's scrutiny. This had a major physiological effects, on the soldiers that were returning from war with or without, mental illnesses. The publics perception on the soldiers returning was influenced by the “media” at that time, which was stigmatising them for abandoning their post, their duty, and their country. When in most cases the soldiers needed time to recover from the mental horrors acquired in war.

Every soldier who signs a contract to serve their country has a duty to fulfil. To abandon
They were seen as having fought half the battle but were now running away from the fight and abandoning their country in the process. As shown in the book Regeneration this stigmatisation can have varying effects on the soldiers. For example, Billy Prior refuses to go into public with his ‘Craig Lockhart’ uniform, as he believes people treat him differently (Prior, pg. ). These soldiers that have returned from war suffering from these conditions needed time to heal and the publics scrutiny may have slowed this process down and in some cases made it worse for example. Siegfried Sassoon wishes to voice his opinion on his war ‘Declaration’ but cannot, as the public stigmatised him as a mental patient and is therefore insane. This pushes Sassoon to the point where to prove his point, he returns to the fighting on the basis of getting killed just to prove that he was no coward and not running away from the fight (Sassoon, pg. ). The readers really get a feel for some of the ordeals that the men must go through on a daily basis at home and in the battle front, it raises the question, how people could live through all this violence and still be normal people