A Severe Mercy: A Story of Faith, Tragedy and Triumph

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1977

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Background

Socio-Historical Context: World War II and the Greatest Generation

The narrative is situated on either side of the most informative event of Vanauken’s generation’s existence: World War II. The generation that came of age during the Second World War was dubbed in later years the “Greatest Generation” (due to their experience with a world at war). Van and Davy meet and marry before the United States’ involvement in the war, and they embark on their many adventures after the war ends and Van is honorably discharged from the Navy.

During the war, the couple resides at the naval base in Hawaii, and they experience firsthand the attack on Pearl Harbor, remaining stationed there for the rest of the war, leaving only after the war ends (heading almost immediately for Miami, Florida, to start their maritime journey). As part of the Greatest Generation, Van and Davy are able to take advantage of several opportunities that only existed at that time, thanks to some unique circumstances of the period.

The principal beneficial circumstance was the rapid economic prosperity of the United States in the wake of the war. At no other time in the 20th century was it easier to build wealth, get an education, and buy property, especially for veterans of the armed forces who were given scholarships and grants upon their release from service to purchase homes and attend colleges and universities. Similar programs were made available after the war at Oxford University, making it easier than ever before for international students to matriculate at Oxford.

Literary Context: The Use of Epistolary in Literature

Not only are written letters one of the oldest forms of written language and prose, but the use of letters—epistles—within larger works of literature is also a time-honored practice. There are several instances in which an author might choose to use letters within the larger context of a novel. First, the use of letters can be a way to relate genuine, historical knowledge; thus, the use of actual letters would simply be a means of presenting information in the form they originally took (rather than summarizing the contents of a letter, for instance). This is even more to the point when the letter writer is of outsize significance, or fame, to engage the reader further.

The next use of letters in literature can be for a literary purpose, which tends to take two forms. The first is the use of letters within a prose novel to lend a sense of realism to the story; in this case, a letter could lend a dramatic turn to a story arc or provide foreshadowing information to the reader. The second use of letters within a narrative involves composing an entire novel out of letters or diary entries to create a kind of “found literature” genre, further aiding the illusion of realism to the fictional work (one thinks of a novel like Dracula, for instance, that is composed to look like it is merely a collection of letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings).

In the case of memoirs like A Severe Mercy, the inclusion of letters serves both causes. Not only are the letters genuine, historical letters—some written by one of the most popularly known men in the English-speaking world in the 20th century——but they also move the dramatic tension of the story arcs toward particular conclusions. In a memoir as poetic and dramatic as this one, the letters are both informationally useful and dramatically delightful, as they provide little windows into the tragedy unfolding on the page.