Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the English writer
Evelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was an English writer, best known for such darkly humorous and satirical novels as Decline and Fall, Vile Bodies, Scoop, A Handful of Dust, and The Loved One, as well as for serious works, such as Brideshead Revisited and the Sword of Honour trilogy that clearly...
, first published in 1945. Waugh wrote that the novel "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by which God continually calls souls to Himself". This is achieved by an examination of the Catholic
aristocraticAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
Marchmain family, as seen by the narrator, Charles Ryder.
Time Magazine included
Brideshead Revisited in its list of "All-time 100 Novels". In various letters, Waugh himself refers to the novel a number of times as his
magnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer.The term Great Work is also used in several...
; however, in 1950 he wrote to
Graham GreeneHenry Graham Greene OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
saying "I re-read
Brideshead Revisited and was appalled." In Waugh's preface to the 1959 revised edition of
Brideshead the author explains the circumstances in which the novel was written, in the six months between December 1943 and June 1944 following a minor
parachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are made out of cloth, most commonly nylon....
accident. He is mildly disparaging of the novel, saying; "It was a bleak period of present privation and threatening disaster — the period of soya beans and
Basic EnglishBasic English, also known as Simple English, is an English-based controlled language created by Charles Kay Ogden as an international auxiliary language, and as an aid for teaching English as a Second Language. It was presented in Ogden's book Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and...
— and in consequence the book is infused with a kind of gluttony, for food and wine, for the splendours of the recent past, and for rhetorical and ornamental language which now, with a full stomach, I find distasteful."
Brideshead Revisited was brought to the screen in 1981 in the
ITV drama serialisationBrideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial. The teleplay by John Mortimer is based on the novel of the same name by Evelyn Waugh...
, produced by
Granada TelevisionGranada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England and the Isle of Man.It is the only one of the original four ITA franchisees from 1954 that survived as a franchise holder into the twenty-first century. Broadcasting began on 3 May 1956, with the company originally...
.
A film adaptationBrideshead Revisited is a 2008 British drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. The screenplay by Jeremy Brock and Andrew Davies is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Evelyn Waugh, which previously was filmed in 1981 as an eleven-episode television serial that was broadcast by ITV in the UK...
of the book was released in July 2008.
Plot
1923: After an unpleasant chance first encounter,
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
and
narratorA narrator is, within any story , the entity that conveys the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for story-telling of any kind...
Charles Ryder, a student at Hertford College, Oxford University, and Lord
Sebastian FlyteLord Sebastian Flyte is a charming but self-destructive and ultimately tragic fictional character from the Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited.-Character:...
, the younger son of an
aristocraticAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
family and himself an undergraduate at
Christ ChurchThis article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church or Christchurch .Christ Church , is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, become friends. Sebastian takes Charles to his family's palatial home, Brideshead, where Charles eventually meets the rest of Sebastian's family, including his sister Julia.
During the holiday Charles returns home, where he lives with his widower father. Scenes between Charles and his father Ned (Edward) provide some of the best-known comic scenes in the novel. He is called back to Brideshead after Sebastian incurs a minor injury. Sebastian and Charles spend the remainder of the summer together. They form something between a friendship and a romance. Waugh writes that Charles had been "in search of love in those days" when he first met Sebastian, finding "that low door in the wall... which opened on an enclosed and enchanted garden", a metaphor that informs the work on a number of levels.
Sebastian's family is
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
, which influences the Marchmains' lives as well as the content of their conversations, all of which surprises Charles, who had always assumed
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
to be "without substance or merit." Lord Marchmain had converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in order to marry his wife but soon escaped both his marriage and religion to Italy. Left alone, Lady Marchmain focused even more on her faith, which is also very much espoused by her eldest son, Bridey, and her youngest daughter, Cordelia. Sebastian, a troubled young man, seems to find greater solace in alcohol than in religion, and descends into alcoholism, drifting away from the family over a two-year period. He flees to
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
, where the disease ruins his health. He eventually finds some solace as an under-porter/charity case at a
TunisTunis is the capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis Governorate, with a population of 1,200,000 in 2008 and over 3,980,500 in the greater Tunis area...
ian monastery.
Sebastian's drifting leads to Charles's own estrangement from the Marchmains, yet he is fated to re-encounter the family as the years pass. He marries and fathers two children, but his wife is unfaithful and he eventually forms a relationship with Sebastian's younger sister Julia, who by that time has married but separated from the wealthy but coarse Canadian entrepreneur, Rex Mottram.
Charles and Julia plan to divorce their respective spouses so that they can marry. On the eve of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the aging Lord Marchmain returns to Brideshead to die in his ancestral home. As he names Julia (and not his eldest son Bridey) heiress to the estate, this would give Charles marital ownership of the house. Lord Marchmain's deathbed return to the faith changes the situation: Julia decides that she cannot enter a sinful marriage with Charles, who too has been moved by Lord Marchmain's reception of the
sacramentA sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is what Roman Catholics believe to be "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an...
s.
The plot concludes in the early spring of 1943 (or possibly 1944 – the date is disputed). Charles is "homeless, childless, middle-aged and loveless". He has become an army officer after establishing a career as an architectural artist, and finds himself unexpectedly billeted at Brideshead. Charles finds the house damaged by the military occupation but the private chapel, closed after Lady Marchmain's death in 1926, has been reopened for the soldiers' worship. It occurs to him that the chapel (and, by extension, the Church's) builders' efforts were not in vain, even when their purposes may appear, for a time, to be frustrated
Catholicism
Taking into account the background of the author, the most significant theme of the book is
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
. Evelyn Waugh was a convert to Catholicism and the book is considered to be an attempt to express the Catholic faith in secular literary form. Waugh wrote to his literary agent
A. D. PetersAugustus Dudley Peters was a British literary and talent agent, and a film producer.His agency merged with another to produce Peters, Fraser and Dunlop, which in 1999 became PFD, with offices in London and New York...
, "I hope the last conversation with Cordelia gives the theological clue. The whole thing is steeped in
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
, but I begin to agree that the theologians won't recognise it." Considering his readership, who were generally urbane and cosmopolitan, a sentimental or a didactic approach would not have worked.
SentimentalismSentimentalism is used in different ways:* Sentimentalism - a theory in moral epistemology concerning how one knows moral truths * Sentimentalism - a form of literary discourse...
would have cheapened the story while
didacticismDidacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. Didactic art intends not primarily to "entertain" or to pursue subjective goals...
would have repelled a secular audience through excessive sermonising.
Instead, the book brings the reader, through the narration of the agnostic Charles Ryder, in contact with the severely flawed but deeply Catholic Marchmain family. While many novels of the same era portray Catholics as the flatfooted people put on the spot by brilliant non-believers,
Brideshead Revisited turns the table on the agnostic Charles Ryder (and presumably the reader as well) and scrutinises his secular values, which are tacitly portrayed as falling short of the deeper
humanityHuman nature is the concept that there are a set of characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that all 'normal' humans have in common. The branches of science associated with the study of human nature include sociology, sociobiology and psychology, particularly...
and
spiritualitySpirituality is relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. Synonyms include immaterialism, dualism, incorporeality and eternity....
of the Catholic faith.
The Catholic themes of
divine graceIn Christianity, grace is "unmerited favor" from God. Divine grace is a description of the character of God, which is displayed by God's gifts to humanity. Grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation...
and
reconciliationReconciliation means settlement, resolution, compromise, reunion, bringing together.Reconciliation may refer to:*Reconciliation , a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos...
are pervasive in the book. Most of the major characters undergo a conversion in some way or another. Lord Marchmain, a convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism, who lived as an
adultererAdultery is referred to as extramarital sex, philandery, or infidelity, but does not include fornication. The term "adultery" for many people carries a moral or religious association, while the term "extramarital sex" is morally or judgmentally neutral....
, is reconciled with the Church on his deathbed. Julia, who is involved in an extramarital affair with Charles, comes to feel this relationship is immoral and decides to separate from Charles in spite of her great attachment to him. Sebastian, the charming and flamboyant homosexual alcoholic, ends up in service to a
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
while struggling against his
alcoholismAlcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences...
. Even Cordelia has some sort of conversion: from being the "worst" behaved schoolgirl her headmistress has ever seen, to serving in the hospital bunks of the
Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
.
Most significant is Charles's apparent conversion, which is expressed very subtly at the end of the book, set more than 20 years after his first meeting Sebastian, Charles kneels down in front of the tabernacle of the Brideshead chapel and says a prayer, "an ancient, newly learned form of words" — implying recent instruction in the
catechismA catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
. Waugh speaks of his belief in grace in a letter to Lady Mary Lygon: "I believe that everyone in his (or her) life has the moment when he is open to
Divine GraceIn Christianity, grace is "unmerited favor" from God. Divine grace is a description of the character of God, which is displayed by God's gifts to humanity. Grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation...
. It's there, of course, for the asking all the time, but human lives are so planned that usually there's a particular time — sometimes, like Hubert, on his deathbed — when all resistance is down and Grace can come flooding in."
Waugh uses a quote from a short story by
G. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton was one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction....
to illustrate the nature of Grace. Cordelia, in conversation with Charles Ryder, quotes a passage from the
Father BrownFather Brown is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. Chesterton based the character on Father John O'Connor , a parish priest in Bradford who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922...
detective story "The Queer Feet:" "I caught him, with an unseen hook and an invisible line which is long enough to let him wander to the ends of the world, and still to bring him back with a twitch upon the thread." This illustrates how the hand of God works invisibly in each person's life, allowing him his free will until he is ready to respond to Grace, at which point God will intervene in his life. Aside from Grace and Reconciliation, other Catholic themes in the book are the
Communion of SaintsThe Communion of Saints is the spiritual union of all Christians living and the dead, those on earth, in heaven and, in Catholic belief, in purgatory...
,
FaithFaith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. The word "faith" can refer to a religion itself or to religion in general....
and
VocationA vocation, Latin for "calling", is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified...
.
The same themes were criticised by Waugh's contemporaries.
Henry GreenHenry Green was the nom de plume of Henry Vincent Yorke , an English author best remembered for the novel Loving, which was featured by Time in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.-Biography:Green was born near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, into an educated family with...
, a fellow novelist, wrote to Waugh, "The end was not for me. As you can imagine my heart was in my mouth all through the deathbed scene, hoping against hope that the old man would not give way, that is, take the course he eventually did." And
Edmund WilsonEdmund Wilson was an American writer and literary critic. Wilson was considered one of the preeminent American literary critics.-Early life:...
, who had praised Waugh as the hope of the
English novel-Romantic novel:The Romantic period saw the first flowering of the English novel. The Romantic and the Gothic novel are closely related; both imagined almost-supernatural forces operating in nature or directing human fate...
, wrote "The last scenes are extravagantly absurd, with an absurdity that would be worthy of Waugh at his best if it were not — painful to say — meant quite seriously."
Nostalgia for the age of English nobility
The Marchmain family, to some, is a symbol of a dying breed — the English nobility. One reads in the book that Brideshead has "the atmosphere of a better age," and, referring to the deaths of Lady Marchmain's brothers in the
Great WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, "these men must die to make a world for Hooper ... so that things might be safe for the travelling salesman, with his polygonal
pince-nezPince-nez are a style of spectacles, popular in the nineteenth century, which are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose...
, his fat, wet handshake, his grinning
denturesDentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
." This is viewed by some as
elitismElitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite—a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose views on a matter are to...
. According to
Martin AmisMartin Louis Amis is an English novelist, literary critic, professor, and short story writer. He is the son of Sir Kingsley Amis. His works include such novels as Money , London Fields and The Information...
, the book "squarely identifies
egalitarianismEgalitarianism has two distinct definitions in modern English. It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic...
as its foe and proceeds to rubbish it accordingly."
Criticism of the Churchillians
The novel, while hardly pro-appeasement, is deeply cynical about the 'Churchillian' party inside the Conservatives. Rex Mottram, a deeply unsympathetic character, is portrayed as flirting with the ideas of
Oswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet was a British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
before joining the anti-appeasement lobby (
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
admired
Benito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
before leading the anti-appeasement party). The impression is left that anti-appeasement is merely a tactical choice of charlatans and opportunists looking for a means of political advancement.
Charles and Sebastian's relationship
The precise nature of Charles and Sebastian's relationship remains a topic of considerable debate; are they simply close friends, or does Waugh hint at a physical relationship between the two characters? Given that much of the first half of the novel focuses on the initial encounter, blossoming friendship and eventual estrangement of these central characters, this issue continues to pique the curiosity of readers.
A frequent interpretation is that Charles and Sebastian had a passionate yet
platonicPlato's influence on Western culture was so profound that several different concepts are linked by being called "platonic" or Platonist, for accepting some assumptions of Platonism, but which do not imply acceptance of that philosophy as a whole....
relationship, an immature albeit strongly felt attachment that prefigures future heterosexual relationships. Indeed Cara, Lord Marchmain's mistress, says as much to Charles directly —that his relationship with Sebastian forms part of a process of emotional development "typical to the English and the Germans". Waugh himself said that "Charles's romantic affection for Sebastian is part due to the glitter of the new world Sebastian represents, part to the protective feeling of a strong towards a weak character, and part a foreshadowing of the love for Julia which is to be the consuming passion of his mature years."
Others draw an alternative conclusion from the line "naughtiness high on the catalogue of grave sins." Reference is made at one point to Charles impatiently anticipating Sebastian's letters in the manner of one who is love-smitten. Also, it is hinted in the book that one of the reasons why Charles is in love with Julia is because of the similarity between her and Sebastian. Indeed, when asked by Julia if he loved Sebastian, Charles replies; 'Oh yes! He was the forerunner.'
Principal characters
- Charles Ryder - The protagonist and narrator of the story was raised primarily by his father after his mother died. Charles's family background is financially comfortable but emotionally hollow. He is unsure about his desires or goals in life, and is dazzled by the charming, flamboyant and seemingly carefree young Lord Sebastian Flyte. Charles, though dissatisfied with what life seems to offer, has modest success both as a student and later as an painter; less so as an Army officer. His path repeatedly crosses those of various members of the Marchmain family, and each time they awaken something deep within him.
- Edward "Ned" Ryder - Charles's father is a somewhat distant and eccentric figure, but possessed of a keen wit. He seems determined to teach Charles to stand on his own feet. When Charles is forced to spend his holidays with him because he has already spent his allowance for the term, Ned, in some of the funniest passages in the book, strives to make Charles as uncomfortable as possible, indirectly teaching him to mind his finances more carefully.
- Alexander Flyte, The Marquess of Marchmain - As a young man, Lord Marchmain fell in love with a Roman Catholic woman and converted in order to marry her. The marriage was unhappy and, after the First World War, he refused to return to England, settling in Venice with his French mistress, Cara.
- Teresa Flyte, The Marchioness of Marchmain - Abandoned by her husband, Lady Marchmain rules over her household, enforcing her Catholic morality on her children.
- Lord "Bridey" Brideshead - The elder son of Lord and Lady Marchmain who (as the Marquess's heir) holds the courtesy title "Earl of Brideshead". He follows his mother's strict Catholic beliefs, and once aspired to the priesthood. However, he is unable to connect in an emotional way with most people, who find him cold and distant.
- Lord Sebastian Flyte - The younger son of Lord and Lady Marchmain is haunted by a profound unhappiness brought on by the oppressiveness of his mother's religion. An otherwise charming and attractive companion, he numbs himself with alcohol. He forms a deep friendship with Charles. Over time however, the numbness brought on by alcohol becomes his main desire.
- Lady Julia Flyte - The eldest daughter of Lord and Lady Marchmain, who comes out as a debutante in the beginning of the story, eventually marrying Rex Mottram. Charles loves her for much of their lives, due in part to her resemblance to her brother Sebastian. Julia refuses at first to be controlled by the conventions of Catholicism, but turns to it later in life.
- Lady Cordelia Flyte - The youngest of the siblings is the most devout and least conflicted in her beliefs. She aspires solely to serve God.
- Anthony Blanche
Anthony Blanche is a fictional character in the novel Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh. The character was partially based on Brian Howard, a close friend of Waugh's at Oxford.-Profile:...
- A friend of Charles and Sebastian's from Oxford, and an overt homosexual. His background is unclear but there are hints that he may be of Italian or Hispanic extraction. Of all the characters, Anthony has the keenest insight into the self-deception of the people around him. Although he is witty, amiable and always an interesting companion, he manages to make Charles uncomfortable with his stark honesty, flamboyance and flirtatiousness.
- Viscount "Boy" Mulcaster - An acquaintance of Charles from Oxford. Brash, bumbling and thoughtless, he personifies the privileged hauteur of the British aristocracy.
- Lady Celia Ryder - Charles's wife, "Boy" Mulcaster's sister, and a former schoolmate of Julia. A vivacious and socially active beauty, Charles marries her largely for convenience, which is revealed by Celia's infidelities. Charles feels freed by Celia's betrayal and decides to pursue his personal love interest outside of their marriage.
- Rex Mottram - A Canadian of great ambition, Mottram wins a seat in the House of Commons. Through his marriage to Julia, he connects to the Marchmains as another step on the ladder to the top. He is disappointed with the results, and he and Julia agree to lead separate lives.
- "Sammy" Samgrass - A Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and Lady Marchmain's "pet don". Lady Marchmain funds Samgrass's projects and flatters his academic ego, while asking him to keep Sebastian in line and save him from expulsion. Samgrass uses his connections with the aristocracy to further his personal ambitions.
- Cara - A French woman who lives with Lord Marchmain in Venice, as his mistress. She is very protective of Lord Marchmain and is forthright and insightful in her relationship with Charles.
- "Nanny" Hawkins - Beloved nanny to the four Marchmain children. She lives in retirement at Brideshead.
Minor characters
- Kurt Sebastian's German friend. A deeply inadequate ex soldier with a permanently septic foot whom Sebastian meets in Tunisia, a man so inept that he needs Lord Sebastian to look after him.
- Mrs (Beryl) Muspratt The widow of an admiral, she meets and marries a smitten Bridey but never becomes mistress of the great house
Minor characters who are mentioned but never appear
- Melchior Cousin of Charles's father In his youth he too squandered his money and talent. By referring to him Ned is able to remind Charles constantly of his own financial imprudence
- Aunt Phillipa Charles's aunt and Ned's sister who, when Charles's mother died, came to live with them. Inclined to interfere, Ned eventually triumphs and she leaves England:
"I got her out in the end, he said with derision and triumph of that kindly lady, and he knew that I heard in those words a challenge to myself."
Related works
A fragment about the young Charles Ryder entitled
Charles Ryder's Schooldays was found after Waugh's death, and is available in collections of Waugh's short works.
External links