British military
This is a story about permanence that begins with imagery describing a landscape that has remained unchanged for a long time. “It was nearly ninety years ago. The British uniform of the period, with its immense epaulettes, queer cocked−hat, breeches, gaiters, ponderous cartridge−box, buckled shoes, and what not, would look strange and barbarous now.” This imagery introduces the concept of impermanence. The litany of how the uniforms of the British military have evolved over the preceding century is juxtaposed against the earlier description of terrain which has looked almost exactly the same over that same period. Given enough time, the terrain will undergo just as radical a transformation as the uniforms. The story placed against that background is one revealing the permanence of illusions.
Seclusion
The tragic heroine of the tale, Phyllis, lives a life of near-total seclusion against her will enforced upon her by a domineering father. He is a recluse by choice and together they share a house of solitude. “When a noise like the brushing skirt of a visitor was heard on the doorstep, it proved to be a scudding leaf; when a carriage seemed to be nearing the door, it was her father grinding his sickle on the stone in the garden for his favorite relaxation of trimming the box−tree borders to the plots. A sound like luggage thrown down from the coach was a gun far away at sea.” This imagery seems at first to be mere descriptive composed by the narrator to set a mood. The insertion of the words “it was her father” reveals that all these examples of illusions of visitors to the house of solitude are experiences of Phyllis. This imagery thus becomes a revelation of the extent to which the daughter desperately desired social interaction.
Foreshadowing
Imagery is engaged as the literary tool of foreshadowing events to come later in the story. “So far from being as gay as its uniform, the regiment was pervaded by a dreadful melancholy, a chronic home-sickness, which depressed many of the men to such an extent that they could hardly attend to their drill…Their bodies were here, but their hearts and minds were always far away in their dear fatherland, of which they would speak with tears in their eyes.” Phyllis is betrothed to another man, one who has spent most of their engagement elsewhere. Absence makes the heart turn toward a German soldier who is part of a regiment assigned to guard King George III. The imagery highlighting the emotional state of these Germans out of place and out of sync with their surroundings sets the stage to foreshadow the eventual outcome of this circumstance. The desire one particular soldier feels to return home will become so overwhelming that it will impact the lives of Phyllis, her fiancé, and her father.
Will
The word “will” is used sixteen times over the course of this story. No less than five of those recurrences are found in this one single passage. “I came here against my will; why should I not escape? Now is the time, as we shall soon be striking camp, and I might see you no more. This is my scheme. I will ask you to meet me on the highway two miles off, on some calm night next week that may be appointed. There will be nothing unbecoming in it, or to cause you shame; you will not fly alone with me, for I will bring with me my devoted young friend Christoph.” This is the German soldier explaining to Phyllis his plans for desertion from his post and a return to Germany with Phyllis by his side. The repetition of the word “will” becomes imagery that insists the soldier has agency over his fate and, by virtue of breaking free of her engagement, Phyllis has agency over hers. The story, however, is about the permanence of illusions. And the biggest illusion of all is that free will actually exists.
