![]() “The sentry at the castle gate gave him a right look as he walked in, like the ghost of war” (p. It is only the end of the chapter, depicting Willie’s last day on leave, that features Gretta. It is revealing perhaps that the bulk of the chapter is dedicated to time that Willie spends at home, mostly with his father. ![]() They kiss under the trees, lay down together by the canal side, and make love.Ī chapter dedicated to Willie’s Dublin leave and the two most important people in Willie’s life at this point in the novel, his father and Gretta. Later, before entering the Devoy barracks, Willie meets Gretta again. ![]() Willie glumly tells Gretta he loves her she replies in kind and, despite himself, this cheers him up somewhat. Willie is not allowed near Gretta’s workplace so the pair must part. As much as she says she wants to be his wife, Gretta tells Willie they must wait to marry until after the war. He asks for their relationship to be formalized in an engagement but Gretta is firm. He begs her to write more and she admits her failure to do so. Willie walks Gretta to her work as a seamstress on his last day in Dublin. His father confesses that he constantly thinks about and prays for his son. Willie confirms that it is ‘rough’ in Belgium. The two talk of his father’s impending retirement to Kiltegan after forty years in the force. The two sit before the wood fire Willie notices the marks his father made to measure his height. He loves the older man deeply despite knowing his flaws. He spends the last night of his leave with his father. He sees Gretta and learns her father will leave the army before being mobilised. His father then hugs and holds Willie though nineteen years old, Willie finds this comforting. Once dried, he puts on his father’s long johns and his old working suit. Willie’s clothes are bagged for cleaning and, in front of Dolly, Willie is washed clean in the tub by his father. Willie thanks his father for writing to him his father, calling his son a hero, says it was his honour. The two men regard each other affectionately. Once home, he feels traitorous to even think of these things.ĭolly and Willie’s father return home. He ruefully reflects that, as a Dempsey builder during the lock-out, he was a scab. He thinks of his father and finds himself unsettled by thoughts of the 1913 Bloody Sunday riot and his father’s role in the clashes. Willie takes in the surroundings of his familiar home. The girls warm water to give Willie a bath. She and Annie are delighted to find her brother has returned home, but Willie insists that no-one touches him while he is lousy. When he knocks on the front door his sister Maud does not recognise him. Willie arrives at his father’s Dublin Castle quarters filthy after ten days in the line and the long journey back from Belgium.
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