Disenchantment · Chapter
X: Autumn Tints in Chivalry explained
The chapter explores the contrasting temperaments of war: the chivalrous, sportsmanlike spirit found near the front lines versus the vindictive, hateful rhetoric of the home front, embodied by 'Little Flanigan.' It reflects on how the war e
What happens
The chapter explores the contrasting temperaments of war: the chivalrous, sportsmanlike spirit found near the front lines versus the vindictive, hateful rhetoric of the home front, embodied by 'Little Flanigan.' It reflects on how the war eroded chivalry, with airmen and front-line soldiers often maintaining honor while civilians and the press succumbed to bitterness and propaganda.
Themes in this chapter
Disillusionment and Disenchantment
The chapter documents the erosion of chivalrous ideals during the war, replaced by a 'fine robust shabbiness' and a bear market in noble sentiments.
Propaganda and Deception
Little Flanigan and the home-front press amplify hateful rhetoric and atrocity stories, contrasting with the personal, honorable relations at the front.
Psychology of War
Explores how physical combat creates personal bonds that undermine abstract hatred, and how distance from fighting fosters vindictiveness.
Characters to notice
- Little Flanigan
Emblem of the vindictive, hateful home-front spirit; enthroned in London, using megaphones to spread propaganda and contempt for the enemy.
- Unknown Narrator
Reflects on the shift in wartime temper, observing the contrast between front-line chivalry and home-front bitterness.
- The British Regular Officer
A one-legged subaltern maimed at Ypres who expresses disgust at Flaniganism and the trivialization of the enemy.
- Gough
Mentioned as one of the Arthurian figures still alive after the Armistice, representing the chivalrous temper.
- Hamilton
Mentioned alongside Gough and Haig as a remnant of chivalry after the war.
- Sir Douglas Haig
Cited as still alive after the Armistice, symbolizing the persistence of chivalrous ideals.
Key passages
“To honour, while you strike him down, The foe who comes with eager eyes.”
To respect and honor your enemy even as you defeat him in battle.
Quoted from Newbolt to illustrate the chivalrous temper in war.
“What makes the bread rising? The parley-voos that devour us. What makes the mutton fivepence a pound? The parley-voos that eat it up. What makes the beer threepence-halfpenny a pot?”
Little Flanigan blames the French for rising prices and shortages, using xenophobic rhetoric.
Example of the vindictive, blameful home-front attitude.
“But the age of chivalry is gone … the unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise is gone!”
The era of noble, selfless ideals and heroic conduct has passed away.
Burke's famous lament, used to frame the chapter's reflection on the decline of chivalry.