As a continuation of the panel presentation today, I would like to argue that Septimus Smith is a tragic Christ figure. His death, defiant as it was in the eyes of others, achieved nothing; the great message bursting from his heart failed to reach an audience. He and so many others in his generation sailed off to war, to glory perhaps, for the sake of England, and returned dead, mad or both. World War I, history books have argued, was fought over nothing. Whether it be German aggression or the assassination of an Austrian Archduke, what ultimately was the purpose of this war? Who were the true winners? And who were the real victims?
If we examine the biblical parallel a bit closer, we may observe that Jesus was God's sacrificial lamb to seal his covenant with his people. Likewise, Septimus and many others were sacrificed in the war to yield a victory. But where Jesus's death washed the people of their sins, what did Septimus's help to achieve? Where Jesus willingly laid down his life (for he was born to do this), Septimus didn't even want to die for the people, for his homeland. In fact, he died to escape from Dr. Holmes, who may or may not symbolize British society. Peter Walsh, who notices an ambulance that may have carried Septimus's broken body, pauses to observe the convenience of modern society. Clarissa, the most empathetic character we have in the book, gains a renewal of joie de vivre, but what about the rest of her party? If it can be argued that Septimus died for the lives of these "important" men of Parliament, then was his death worth it? Was anything that we note in England in the 1920s - the skywriting, the flower shop, the Prime Minister - worth the lives of millions?
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