The story in Barker's novel, Regeneration, focuses on many soldiers with various problems in the hospital. One of these soldiers, named Prior, enters the hospital suffering from mutism. He meets Dr. Rivers, a psychiatrist, who encourages him to express his war memories so he can heal; however, Prior proves to be a difficult patient for Dr. Rivers. When Prior regains his voice, he goes to a pub in Edinburgh where he meets Sarah Lumb, a young munitions worker, and they agree to meet again. When Prior returns to the hospital, Rivers tries hypnosis on Prior to see if it can help him remember the events that led to his mental breakdown. From hypnosis, Prior can remember perfectly how he had to shovel out the remains of a fellow soldier after they were killed by a bomb. Because of the simplicity of this memory, Prior becomes very angry and upset. Once Prior is brought before the Council, they tell him that he will not return to the war. Prior tells Sarah about the news to which they agree that they are willing to start a relationship. Although the novel focuses on issues of war, class and gender are also discussed. Issues of class and gender are discussed through a discussion between Prior and Dr. Rivers and discussions between Sarah and the other munitions girls. Issues of class in Regeneration are discussed through a discussion that Dr. Rivers and Prior have together. During a therapy session with Prior, Rivers asks Prior how he fits in with his fellow soldiers on the war front. He responds that "When you arrive it's perfectly clear that some people are more welcome than others. It helps if you went to the right school. It helps if you go hunting, it helps if your shirts are the right color." (Barke...... middle of paper ......k in factories far from home. Like Sarah and her munitions colleagues, working outside the home gave women freedom. Being able to have their own money to spend, Sarah and the other munitions workers can do whatever they want. Since the war brought freedom to women, they saw the war as a positive event for them. Interestingly, Sarah is the only woman in the film to have a lot of focus; the other women are only seen with very few lines Even with some screen time, Sarah is seen as a secondary character to a main character as the novel how she affected the soldiers who were on the front of war Since the women of Regeneration were not on the war front, the filmmakers may have felt that their experiences were not as influential as those of the soldiers..