In Memoriam

While the novel is set during a historical war and even references specific battles, such as the Battle of the Somme, the characters are fictional. How does the author blend fact and fiction in her portrayal of World War I? What insights does a work of fiction offer that a nonfiction account of this war could or would not?

Compare and contrast the civilian scenes with the war scenes. How do various characters’ perceptions of the war differ, depending on whether they are civilians or soldiers? What does the novel suggest about the tensions and gaps between these perceptions?

Analyze the way the novel explores the development of Gaunt and Ellwood’s feelings for one another. How do their understandings of their feelings and relationship change over time? How do their feelings conflict with societal expectations in early 20th-century England?

The title of the novel partly comes from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam (1850). What common themes and ideas does the novel share with the poem? What is the poem’s wider significance in the text?

The overall tone of the novel is bleak and discouraging, largely because of the setting of World War I. Choose three moments in the novel when the tone changes. What literary techniques does the author use to convey this shift in tone? What is the significance of this tonal shift?

How does the novel explore the nature of sexuality and desire? How does the text reflect, and challenge, conventional understandings from that time period?

In what ways does In Memoriam challenge traditional war narratives about heroism and courage? How does it compare to some of the critical literature that emerged directly from World War I, such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) by Erich Maria Remarque or The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Ernest Hemingway?

Choose one of the minor or secondary characters in the text and closely analyze them. How are they characterized? What is their role in the narrative?