Parade's End

In Part 3, the relationship between Christopher and his godfather, General Campion, is severed. Political and military criticism is threaded throughout the second novel, No More Parades, but they come to the fore in the third part as Christopher undergoes an inspection by General Campion following the evening’s events in the hotel. On Page 465, Christopher ruminates on a topic of interest concerning General Campion’s military involvement thus far during the war, coupled with the notion of Empire and overall British strategy—namely, that a focus on the Western Front was not necessarily conducive to Imperial strategy. Christopher is a character much more concentrated on England; he is worried more about the welfare of England than anything else, whereas General Campion is more interested in Imperial interests.

Moreover, General Campion’s career is much more important to him than his godson. During the interview/interrogation, Campion attempts to quote from Shakespeare’s Henry V. The General is in a befuddled state. He is about to sacrifice his godson, because of the rumors and scandal caused by Sylvia, to the slaughterhouse of the trenches in order to keep his record free from tarnish. Using Shakespeare, and in particular this play, is an attempt by the General to connect with Christopher on literary terms and to hint at what is coming and why. Henry V tells Christopher he is going to battle. The General then quotes from Andrew Marvel’s poem To His Coy Mistress, which explains that Sylvia is the cause for his transfer. Christopher doesn’t catch on, though, and the General is forced to tell him straight-forwardly, which is something he wanted to avoid doing. A transfer to Perry’s army in the trenches meant only one thing: “That’s certain death!” (476). Fortunately, it doesn’t come to that for Christopher.

Aside from the transfer, the interview with Campion also reveals important insights into Christopher’s character and the General’s. On Page 483, Christopher wonders if an Anglican saint would use others to avoid a dangerous situation. He does not want to go to the trenches. Mark and Valentine definitely do not want him there. Thus, Christopher thinks of wiring his brother to get him sent to transport. But his moral code and his desire to be saintly keeps him from seeking aid to get himself out of a bad situation. His contradictory moral code will not allow him to accept anything from Mark.