River as the compassionate father-figure

Rivers – A father-figure

On page 40 in the novel Regeneration by Pat Barker, Rivers was depicted as a father-figure to his patients. One example of this is when Rivers “looked up and smiled” when he felt Burns watching him. This is significant because it shows that Rivers cares for his patients even though he was tired at the time but he made an effort to smile to comfort Burns and he saw it as his duty to not only to cure his patients but to make them happy and feel comfortable.

Furthermore, on the same extract, Pat Barker also shows Rivers’ concerns about his patients, in this case when Rivers tells Burns “You’re back, that’s all that matters.” – This suggests that he was worried about Burns but at the same time Rivers does not show his anger upon Burns.

On page 56 in Chapter 6, Pat Barker reveals the bond between Rivers and Prior. A quote from this page is when “Rivers found himself wanting to leap to Billy Prior’s defense” – it shows that Rivers cares about Prior and wants to defend him from his father. The use of the first name suggests to the reader that Rivers had started bonding with Prior; therefore the use of first name has become acceptable.

Also Pat Barker has animated Rivers in such ways to show that Rivers understand the importance of family. An example of this is when he said “We often find they don’t settle till they’ve seen their families.” – This shows that Rivers understands the positive effects a family/father-figure can have on the soldiers. With that understanding, Rivers would be more open and family-orientated towards his patients.

On page 145, Pat Barker shows the readers how patients have become dependent over Rivers throughout the novel. An example of this is when Sassoon went to look for Rivers about his nightmares and finds out that Rivers was gone, “unable to account for his sense of loss.” – In this Sassoon realizes the importance of Rivers’ presence and his dependency in his life. The readers are also forced to realize that Rivers has become a parental figure on his patients like when a child goes to his father when he is having nightmares.

The fact that Rivers is a psychological doctor, he has researches about his ways of treatment.. Psychoanalysis is one of his specialties; therefore he knows what his patients are thinking. He is one of the higher class himself and he is proud of it. He sees his duty to cure patients and send them back to the battle field.