In the novel Pat Barker's Regeneration the author captures how the denaturing effect that swept through British society during the First World War transformed established gender roles. The demands placed on both men and women during the war were severe and almost foreign. During this first “total war” there was a seemingly drastic change in gender roles that created friction in the relationships between women entering the world of work and men returning from the battlefield. As we explore how the roles of men and women changed as society reacted to the demands of war, we begin to understand why Barker's novel effectively captures the changing roles and the friction it created, particularly through the characters William Prior and Sarah Lumb. Before the Great Wars, battles were romanticized and conflicts were fought in foreign lands. Therefore, there was little to no involvement in the war effort from members outside the military, especially people at home. This allowed for a divide between how soldiers fought and how civilians perceived their exploits, which turned into fantastic support for the war. For example, soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars shared their stories of victory and glory in battle creating romantic misconceptions about what war should be like. When the Western world entered the Great War, these extraordinarily naive preconceptions about war led to unanimous support for the war effort. However, the horrors of trench warfare and severe famine on the home front did little to spread the enthusiastic belief that the war was a just cause. Every aspect of society was dedicated to promoting a sense of national identity in any form that could support the war. However, the excruciating demands on human life... middle of paper..., prolonged exposure to independent living in her husband's absence made it impossible for her to cope with the idea of ​​falling back to the way things were before the war (110). This meant that women resented the idea of ​​returning to the oppressive role of housewives and the loss of their independence. The destabilizing effects that World War I had on gender roles caused a rift that transformed the way men and women related to each other. The displacement of both women on the home front and men returning to the battlefields led to changes in British society even after the war. As British society was forced to adapt to these new roles, it transitioned into an era that temporarily destabilized society and required a redefinition of the roles men and women should play. Works Cited Baker, Pat. Regeneration. First printing of the plume, 1993. Print.