Why does Christopher do that on the train?
You know what I'm talking about.
It seems wildly out of character. Does the book explain any better?
He is still a man, with an appreciation for a beautiful woman, and Sylvia seduced him!
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MovieChat Forums > Parade's End (2013) Discussion > Why does Christopher do that on the trai...
Ha ha! I just asked the same question. I think it was terribly out of character. The audience was then expected to believe he was The Most Honorable Man Left In England. It was quite rubbed in our faces, actually. So that contradiction in his actions is silly. There were other plot devices that could have been used to make him marry Sylvia.
shareChristopher is old-fashioned. Honour is presumed to be an old-fashioned quality, but I agree, that doesn't make them the same thing.
Old-fashioned morality didn't condemn men for making love before marriage, although it did condemn women, as long as pregnancy was not involved. Then they married the woman if they were of the same class (or paid them off handsomely if they were not). This is what happens with Christopher, so he is 'honourable' in that sense.
Tbh, it struck me as a sign that Christopher's principles were actually subject to manipulation ie that he does have quite strong desires and feelings. He represses them to do the 'right' thing, but they are still there.