# The Futility of War in Midwinter

> Theme guide for Midwinter by John Buchan.

The Jacobite rising is portrayed as a doomed venture, with the army melting away, betrayal from within, and the final retreat underscoring the tragic waste of lives and hopes.

## Where it surfaces

- [XIII: Journeyman John](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xiii-journeyman-john): Alastair, a soldier who has faced death often, now faces a gruesome end not in battle but at the hands of a madman, underscoring the senselessness of violence.
- [In Which Three Gentlemen Confess Their Nakedness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/chapters/xviii-in-which-three-gentlemen-confess-their-nakedness): Alastair envisions his clan reduced to famished vagrants and the Cause doomed to defeat, highlighting the senselessness of the conflict.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/themes/the_futility_of_war
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/midwinter_se/themes