A Comparative Study of Julian Barnes' Evermore and Mary Borden's Blind

This essay provides a comparative analysis of Julian Barnes' short story "Evermore" and Mary Borden's novel "Blind", both of which explore the devastating impact of World Wars. The essay highlights the similarities in their thematic focus on the horrors of war, loss, and societal upheaval, while also contrasting their narrative structures and character portrayals. "Evermore" is examined through the lens of the protagonist's existential crisis and grief, as she grapples with the memories of war, whereas "Blind" focuses on a nurse's experiences and development amid the war's chaos. The essay delves into the characters' attributes, the storylines, and the depiction of the war's aftermath and its effects on individuals and society. The analysis reveals how both works, though distinct in genre and approach, converge in their exploration of the profound human cost of war, offering insights into memory, loss, and the enduring impact of conflict on both personal and collective levels. The essay concludes by summarizing the common ground between the two literary pieces, emphasizing their shared reflection on the times and happenings of society within the context of World Wars.

Evermore is a short story written by Julian Barnes which revisits and reminisces the horrors
of the World Wars which was witnessed by the world. On the other hand, “Blind” is a novel
written by Mary Borden that also focuses on the heinous incidents of the World Wars where
the protagonist, a nurse, was employed to take care of the wounded soldiers, officers and
other military personnel as the novel recollects the days of World War and the sufferings
inflicted thereupon (Borden and Hutchison). The similarity between the two literary pieces is
that both the works echo the times and remembrances of World Wars. Both of the literary
pieces are war literature and focuses on the life and times of the people and society in the
times of World Wars and international political tension. Both of the literary work had the
memoirs of the ghastly World Wars in their theme as well as context which reminds the
readers about the horrific experiences their ancestors might have faced during the time of
political turmoil which not only destroyed the peace and tranquility of the whole world but
also left the society of the humanity shattered, battered and bruised. The protagonist of the
short story “evermore”, Miss Moss, who was a middle-aged woman in her fifties, had
become numb with grief as her husband and her near ones lost their lives in the War (Barnes).
The lines “She would spend the night at Aix-Noulette, at Souchez, where she remembered
Plouvier, Maxime, Sergent, killed on 17th December 1916, the last of his village to die before
her Sam..” depicts the desolation and existential crisis she faced while recollecting the
poignant incidents of deaths in her life due to the World Wars. On the other hand, the
protagonist of the novel “Blind”, Mary Borden, had witnessed so many deaths and loss of life
in front of her eyes, that even she had become numb of any kind of happiness and had
dedicated her whole life to the service of the battered and wounded soldiers who fought for
their lands (Borden and Hutchison). Therefore, a subtle similarity between the protagonists of
both the literary pieces in terms of their characteristics and attributes can also be found.

The difference between the two literary pieces lies in the storyline of both the works. The
short story “Evermore” by Julian Barnes is about the life of a grieving sister who obsessively
visits the grave of her brother as well as her husband in France, grieving the loss of the lives
of her near and dear ones. The respective short story is about the existential crisis the sister,
Miss Moss, who was a middle-aged woman in her early fifties, faces and the trouble she faces
when she had been haunted by the visions and recollections of her brother and her husband’s
memory. Through her existential thoughts and introspections, she questions the world
abstractly by asking herself about the memories of the World Wars and how they would be
disappearing as the upcoming generation would be clueless regarding the recollections of the
past. She was disappointed with the fact that she doubted that younger generations with no
memory of the war would mourn the losses (Barnes). On the other hand, the novel “Blind”
has been echoing the horrors and harrowing experiences of the world wars and the struggle of
the nurses and doctors to rescue the patients as well as the wounded (Borden and Hutchison).
The story of “Blind” by Mary Borden revolves around a highly esteemed nurse, the ups and
downs she faces in her life and her enhancement or development as a character in the context
of the heinous world war. The lines from the piece, “A lost voice. The voice of a lost man,
wandering in the mountains in the night. It is the blind man calling. I had forgotten him”
shows the intrinsic details of the nurse who was always anxious about her duty and the
condition of the soldiers and military personnel who employed their life at risk for the sake of
the World Wars. The story also gives hints of the subtle supernatural qualities the nurse
develops throughout the years of your career. The storyline of “Evermore” of Julian Barnes
has no such undertones or overtones of supernaturalism or otherworldly phenomenon to a
larger extent.

The key similarity between the two literary pieces, “Evermore” by Julian Barnes and “Blind”
by Mary Borden is that both the literary works highlight the times and happenings of the
society in the context of World Wars which was witnessed by the whole world.
The respective paper is a study of comparison and contrast between the two novels “Blind”
by Mary Borden and “Evermore” by Julian Barnes. The story “Blind” has been taken from
the novel “The forbidden zone” by Mary Borden was published in 1929. The short story
“Evermore” was written and printed in the year 1996.
The storyline of “Evermore” by Julian Barnes is about the existential crisis of a middle-aged
sister of a dead soldier who suffers existential crisis and questions the meaning and the
meaninglessness of the world and the memory of the World Wars to the society and herself.
She was also seen to be disappointed with the fact that she doubted that younger generations
with no memory of the war would mourn the losses.
The story of “Blind” by Mary Borden revolves around a highly esteemed nurse, the ups and
downs she faces in her life and her enhancement or development as a character in the context
of the heinous world war. The story also gives hints of the subtle supernatural qualities the
nurse develops throughout the years of your career.
The main point of similarity between the two literary pieces, “Evermore” by Julian Barnes
and “Blind” by Mary Borden is that both the literary works highlight the times and
happenings of the society in the context of World Wars. Both the literary pieces recollect the
horrors and horrific memories of the World Wars and the sufferings inflicted on the society
thereupon. However, there possess a sharp difference in the depiction of World Wars. In the
novel, “Blind”, the current scenario of World Wars were depicted to bring out the pragmatic
misery of the humanity and on the other hand, the short story “Evermore” shows the

aftermath and the aftereffect of the World Wars on the battered people and the victims as
memoirs and recollections.
Therefore, it can be concluded that both the novels Blind by Mary Borden and Evermore by
Julian Barnes even though being different from each other in terms of theme, storyline, and
genre, meet into a similar point on the grounds of context and attributes of the characters.

References
Barnes, Julian. Evermore. Penguin books, 1996.
Borden, Mary, and Hazel Hutchison. The Forbidden Zone: A Nurse's Impressions of the First
World War. Hesperus Press, 2008.