Myth, Ritual, and Romance Summary and Analysis

"A world of such 'secrets,' conversions, metamorphoses, and rebirths is a world of reinvigorated myth. In many ways it will seem to imply a throwback way across the nineteenth and eighteenth centries to Renaissance and medieval modes of thought and feeling. That such a myth-ridden world could take shape in the midst of a war representing a triumph of modern industrialism, materialism, and mechanism is an anomaly worth considering. The result of inexpressible terror long and inexplicably endured is not merely what Northrop Frye would call 'displaced' Christianity. The result is also a plethora of very un-modern superstitions, talismans, wonders, miracles, relics, legends, and rumors" (Chap. 4, p. 115). Personalities change as people are exposed to war.

There is also the story of the Crucified Canadian. In this one a captured Canadian soldier was crucified on...