Love Letters from the Front: 'A Foreign Field' by Gillian Chan

Like the letters, Stephen's psychological state is depicted by the graphic nightmares that plague him. Written like interludes, one cannot read the dream sequences without a jolt--always they end with Stephen falling in flames to the ground, and the last few lines of each interlude is identical except for the last nightmare. In fact, his last nightmare foreshadows his own death nearly to the final detail.

"Looking back, Stephen saw flames. A dark figure stood in their midst, holding out his arms as if begging Stephen for something...Through the windscreen of the cockpit, he could no longer see sky, just the grey asphalt of a road that was racing toward him--where no road should be. Instinctively, Stephen threw his hands in front of his face, knowing, even as he did it, that it was useless. Nothing could save him now."

What's interesting in A Foreign Field is how ideological opposites--natural versus unnatural--insinuate into the narrative. For her father, it is natural that Ellen prepare for a life of marriage and domestic duty, and unnatural that she pursue a formal education. Her brother Stewart may be lost, but that is acceptable because he is male (later they find out he was captured and made a POW). On the other hand, for his father, it is natural that Stephen should study at university and not natural that he volunteer for duty. "'You'll end up on the gallows!'" his father had said, "'They're all scum, are soldiers, even if you dress them in fancy uniforms and call them airmen!'" He had fought in the great war and knew that the lives of boys were destroyed, experienced the horror first-hand. His hopes were dashed when Stephen opted for service over a prestigious academic career.

Likewise, when Stephen is homesick and conscious (as he often is) of the Canadian-ness of his surroundings, he's aware of his alienation, reinforcing the opposition of home/away. If he was still at home, enrolled in school, there would be literature, music, girls, and growing up. Its opposite--training, accidents, hatred, and premature death--are unnatural experiences for a mere boy of sixteen. War is not--should not be--natural. Thematic oppositions are usually represented by father figures; where Stephen's father eventually grows to be proud of his contribution to the war, for Ellen's father there is no other option. She is simply not going to school. He rages, "'Why would we waste money on sending you to university

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