Babylon Revisited

In “Babylon Revisited,” Charlie’s attitudes toward himself and his past are revealed early in the story through subtle but defining expressions. From beginning to end, Charlie expresses remorse and regret about his actions and his past. It starts in the beginning when Charlie says “I’m going slow these days” which suggests that he was once living life in the “fast” lane as compared to now. Compared to his past, Charlie now understands what happened to him before. He says that he “lost everything he wanted in the boom,” referring to his wife Helen and his daughter.

Many parts of the story reveal Charlie’s difficulty of escaping his past. In his first conversation with Marion, Charlie kept making references to his past even though he tried his hardest not to. At first, he talks of his past money, then he moves into talking about his encounter at the bar, bringing up past problems. He tries his best not to bring up or refer to his past, but it always comes back up. In his attempt to regain guardianship of his daughter, Marion points out that if Charlie was not in a sanitarium, then she would not have to take legal guardianship of Honoria. Again, Charlie’s past comes back to haunt him even though he wants to put it behind him. Later, Charlie runs into old friends Lorraine and Duncan, who also bring up the past which he has tried so hard to avoid. Charlie runs into Lorraine again at the end of the story, which results in Marion getting upset and refusing to allow Charlie to take legal guardianship of Honoria. As much as Charlie tries to escape his past, it is inevitable.