Homage to Catalonia: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Upon returning to Barcelona, Orwell immediately notices that the atmosphere in the town has changed drastically since his last visit. In the train, as soldiers and peasants mingled in joyous commotion, the cheerful atmosphere of the front was maintained throughout the trip. However, as soon as they reach Barcelona, the men are met with deep hostility. The revolutionary atmosphere, Orwell notices, has entirely vanished and working-class control is no longer apparent. To whatever extent the city might still show signs of being in the midst of a war, it has returned to the normal rhythm of a bourgeois, capitalist city.

Instead of wearing working-class clothing, the crowds in Barcelona have gone back to wearing the fashionable outfits of the period. Orwell notices a surprisingly high number of members of the newly formed Popular Army, an army not affiliated with any political party, intended to replace the militias. In the meantime, while the revolutionary militias are fighting at the front, the Popular Army is training in the rear. The Popular Army is organized on a slightly more hierarchical basis than the militias and Orwell notices that they wear much homogeneous, official-looking uniforms, in stark contrast with the ragged militias.

Even though most of these men have not yet fought in the war, they all carry an automatic pistol, a weapon that is desperately needed at the front. When he compares himself to these men, Orwell is extremely aware of how ragged and unkempt he and his fellow militiamen look to the civil population. When he notices how people stare at them, he feels uneasy, aware that the prestige he enjoyed before leaving the front has faded away.

Over the next few days, Orwell becomes convinced that the city has undergone a profound shift. He identifies two main changes. First, the civilian population has lost all interest in the war. Second, society’s normal class divisions are becoming apparent once again.

Orwell is shocked by the population’s indifference to the war. To a man returning from the dangers of the front, such disinterest is horrifying. Part of the reason for this civilian lack of interest, Orwell explains, is undoubtedly Barcelona’s distance from the front. In other cities, such as Madrid and Valencia, which are much closer to actual fighting, people are much more capable of displaying solidarity and camaraderie. Another reason, he argues, is people’s disappointment in the revolution. As working-class control slowly began to give way to ordinary class divisions, people became disillusioned with the idea of revolution and with the war more generally. Instead of keeping up the fight for working-class control, which they saw as a lost cause, people decided that they simply wanted the war to end.

As people’s attention shifted away from the front, the more politically conscious members of society began to focus more on political infighting within the Republican coalition than on the greater goal of defeating Fascism. In turn, most of the population primarily cared about material needs and the problem of the food shortage. Men returning from the front were no longer celebrated and the ordeals of the front were largely ignored in everyday life. In addition, a propaganda campaign was underway, denigrating the militias and eulogizing the Popular Army. In theory, the militias were integrated into the Popular Army, but in practice, as Popular Army troops were busy training in the rear and the militias were fighting in the front, the militias retained their unique characteristics, separate from the Popular Army.

While Orwell was fighting at the front, vehement propaganda attacked the militias as disorganized, inefficient units, while the fact that the militias were the only forces actually defending the front was ignored as much as possible. In addition, since the militias were technically part of the Popular Army, their successes at the front were often attributed to the Popular Army in the press. The result, Orwell notes ironically, is that the news sometimes simultaneously condemned and celebrated the very same militia groups.

In the city, Orwell begins to realize that what he had interpreted during his first visit as universal support for working-class control was often nothing but a ruse. While the working class was moved by revolutionary hope, the upper class fell prey to fear and adopted techniques to conceal their wealth so as to avoid retaliation. Four months later, the situation was slowly reverting to normal. Food shortages predominantly hurt the poor, who could not afford the rising prices of food, and beggars began to appear in large numbers in the street. People abandoned the informal mode of speech (“tú”) and returned to distinguishing between formal and informal relationships in conversation (“usted”).

A couple of days after arriving in the city, Orwell is shocked to pass by an elegant confectioner’s shop selling sweets at outrageous prices. He wonders how, in a time of war, people can spend their money on such useless goods. At the same time, Orwell admits that he partakes in exactly the same behavior. After months at the front, desperate for the luxuries of everyday life, he treats himself to any extravagance he can afford.

During this period, Orwell indulges in refined food, begins to feel sick from such excesses, and acquires a revolver. At the same time, he also makes plans to leave the POUM and go fight with the Communists in Madrid, in order to take part in real battles. While he would have wanted to join the Anarchists, logistical reasons made it more convenient for him to join the International Column, a group of international volunteers attached to the Communist Party.

Looking back, Orwell reflects on the street fighting between Communists and Anarchists that was soon to take place in Barcelona. Had he joined the Communists and been sent away from Barcelona, he argues, he would probably have accepted the common narrative about the street fighting that was presented in the press. However, for trivial reasons (such as the fact that Orwell was still waiting on a new pair of boots he had ordered), he postponed his arrangements to leave for the Madrid front. As a result, he was still under POUM allegiance during the Barcelona fighting.

In the city, the atmosphere is so tense that an outbreak of violence seems inevitable. Political tensions are brewing under the surface and everyone can sense that trouble will soon emerge. The main reason for such tension is the division between leftwing parties that want for the revolution to continue (the Anarchists and the POUM) and parties that want to suppress it (the Communists). While the Communists hold most of the political power in Catalonia, the Anarchists are supported by a large section of the population and by members in key industries. The Communists want to assert their control in the political game and confiscate the weapons that the working class still possesses. As the Civil Guards (an armed police force traditionally protective of the upper class) are being reinstated, it becomes apparent that the Communists will unite with the police to seize the Anarchists’ weapons by force.

A few incidents prove that these tensions can indeed evolve into violence. In various cities in Spain, police forces attempt to seize buildings controlled by the Anarchists and, in one instance, kill a prominent Anarchist. In Barcelona, murders are committed by both sides, and the public funerals that follow often serve to heighten divisions between the Communists and the Anarchists. The foreign capitalist press does not take an objective stance on the topic, but adopts a one-sided view. It publicizes the murders of Communists while largely ignoring the fact that Anarchists are also being killed.