It has not only been a trend, but almost a necessity, for novelists who depict wars to depict humanity. Wars are largely, if not totally, alienating; it alienates humans from who they are—or at least whom they think they are—to fighting machines programmed exclusively for mass destruction and ruthless killing. Romantic love and strong sentiment seem to be incompatible with the nature of wars and are rarely found in wars as well. However, in Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier shows us the reshaping of humanity and personality of the male protagonist Inman during the war; he conveys an idea of rebirth in the war—a process of gradually discovering and finally adopting a new, more introspective self-identity; and this journey to rebirth is led by love, courage, and the desire for freedom.
Inman is a wounded soldier recovering in a Confederate military hospital. He may not be much different from millions of soldiers in millions of wars, until he starts to doubt the meaning of the war and decides to get out of it. This is actually the start of his journey to rebirth: by retrieving individual thinking, he differs himself from the mass killing machines in the battle and puts the plan of getting back home into practice; he differs himself from other soldiers who may also be skeptical with the war but never have the courage to start the journey towards home.
Another very important reason for Inman to desert the army is to reunite with Ada, the one he loves, but has to be apart from due to the war. On his way back home, the desire to see his lover again is always supporting him: “Inman was roused from sleep by the song of morning birds. The vision of Ada would not loose its grip on his mind, nor did he wish it to…. Inman was sorry not to ...
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...e bloody world and leads him back to humanity.
In conclusion, Cold Mountain’s depiction of rebirth in the war is a romanticization of the brutal nature of wars. By showing us how the male protagonist Inman frees himself from the imposed warlike ideology and finally retrieve his real human nature, Frazier reveals that wars, although undesired and unjustifiable, are a potential field for people to reshape their perspective to life and take a journey to reflect into their true self. This journey is consisted of the courage to pursue freedom and the support of love in one’s heart—the essence of rebirth in the war.
Works Cited
Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Grove, 1997. Print.
Gilreath, Heather Rhea. “Coming Home, Staying Put, and Learning to Fiddle: Heroism and Place in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.” 2004. PDF file.
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