Edward Tennant
O WARDS the end of November Bim came
home on leave. His Mother was sitting
awaiting him. She heard the front door
open and close, and a stir and movement.
Then his voice in the hall and his steps
leaping up the stairs taking three at a stride to join
her. She heard him call her name twice as he ap-
proached the drawing-room, and then the door was wide
open, and the room was suddenly full of his presence.
It is Miss Thackeray who in one of her books makes
the excellent remark that people about to leave seem
already to have departed, and those who have but just
arrived are, in a sense, not yet there.
However well observed this may be in general, Bim
made a glowing exception to the rule ; he was so much
there the room throbbed with him, and he brought such
a sense of joy and vitality with him that you felt
he might have made leaden chrysalides in cast-iron
cocoons turn into butterflies.
Then the telephone started, and notes flew. It
snowed hair-dressers. Tailors sat for hours in the hall,
and white gardenias in silver- foil and cotton wool
arrived, and lay on the hall table, in tissue paper.
He had a cavernously-sounding cough, and a tempera-
ture that registered 100, but appeared and asseverated
that he felt perfectly well. The only result of the
suggestion of a doctor’s visit being that the Coon Band
was engaged on the spot. Then followed small dinner
parties, expeditions in the e two-seater,’ and Plays, Plays,
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This piece conveys a moment of rare respite and reunion during the turmoil of war, centering on the vivid presence of a soldier, Bim, as he returns home on leave. The narrative captures the emotional intensity of this encounter and contrasts it against the backdrop of absence and loss that war so often imposes.
Bim’s arrival is filled with energy and life, as depicted through his bounding steps and the way he fills the room with his presence. His entrance is described as almost overwhelming, a burst of vitality that changes the atmosphere instantly. This moment of joy is heightened by its contrast with the silence and stillness that precedes it, making his presence feel almost larger than life.
The reference to Miss Thackeray’s observation about arrivals and departures adds an interesting layer. It suggests that people exist in a liminal state during transitions, neither fully gone nor fully present. Bim, however, breaks this mold, his personality so vibrant that he defies the sense of in-betweenness. This defiance feels particularly poignant given the wartime context, where absence is often more permanent and presence more fleeting.
Underlying this joyous reunion is an unspoken awareness of the precariousness of the moment. The scene is filled with life, but the specter of war lingers in the background. The intensity of Bim’s presence feels almost like an act of resistance against the uncertainty of his future. This duality—joy mingled with the shadow of loss—is what gives the piece its emotional depth.
The writing captures the sensory experience of reunion, making the reader feel the weight of footsteps on stairs, hear the voice calling out, and sense the vibrancy of a loved one’s return. These small, human details ground the scene in reality while simultaneously elevating its emotional resonance.
Overall, this work doesn’t focus on grand statements or abstract reflections on war. Instead, it narrows in on a single, intimate moment, allowing the reader to feel both its joy and its fragility. It’s a reminder of what war takes away and, briefly, what it gives back.