The Role of Women in The Wars Anonymous 11th Grade

The Role of Women in The Wars Just as the First World War almost exclusively directly involved men, The Wars is primarily male focused novel. However, there are a select number of women who play significant roles in the plot. Women are used to highlight other traits in the characters and their nature act as metaphors for various aspects of warfare. First, Barbra D’Orsey is a metaphor for what warfare does to men. Second, Mrs. Ross represents the loss and pain that often accompanies war. Third, Juliet highlights qualities of other characters that the audience would otherwise be unaware of. Timothy Findley utilized these women to deepen the audience’s connection to the characters and to better understand the nature of war in the context of this novel.

Barbara represents the negative effects of war upon men. Barbara D’Orsey acts as a representation of the nature of war and how it treats men. She treats men much like the war machine treats men, uses them, and moves on quickly and without remorse after she is done with them. After Taffler loses his arms and attempts to kill himself, she is disinterested and begins her affair with Robert. During Juliet’s transcript in Part Four she says “After that, the affair between my sister and...