How is the idea of patriarchs (and patriarchy) presented in Regeneration?

The idea of patriarchs is presented by the characters in regeneration, and especially through the characters of Rivers and Sassoon. Sassoon an officer and so is of high rank and demands respect. With this we can see how strong men receive such high posts and can thus voice out opinions which Sassoon does right at the start of the novel through his declaration. Rivers is another character who is used to present the ideas of patriarchs. Rivers is the head of Craig Lockheart and so people look up to him and seek guidance from him which shows how those of elevated status are respected.

Prior's dad is another character who is used in regeneration to how patriarchy, he is the head of the family and is very demanding and dominant over Prior although he is of working class and so in the rest of society he is relatively low in the positions of power. This explores how the position in society almost decides ones position in the patriarchal system. Trough the characters in Regeneration it explores how the patriarchal system is differrent for everyone and in one instance they may hold power but in the next be powerless, in Prior's dad's instance and it also portrays how there are different extremes of patriarchy and people use it differently, Rivers uses it to help others while Sassoon uses it to voice his opinions.