Love, Friendship and God in Brideshead Revisited ¦ Evelyn Waugh ¦ Review

[@AndriusReadsBooksSometimes]

Lovely analysis. I felt pretty similarly about a lot of it. I appreciate the religious angle, but I still read it more through the lens of grief/regret -- I'm one of those people for whom Charles' relationship with Sebastian is the centerpiece of the novel. Even when Sebastian seems to recede into the background, I feel like their relationship continues to subtly haunt everything else Charles does, and all the years that follow, even Charles' time with Julia, are some form of disappointment and/or sublimation. I found Sebastian's refusal to change irritating in some ways at first, but Waugh makes a beautiful tragedy out of it. I get the sense he feels strongly pulled internally in a particular direction, like there's only one way his future could really go, and that makes him want to remain where he is. Did I imagine it, or does Cordelia at one point say Sebastian has a genuine calling and is running from it? "O god, make me good, but not yet." I liked the way Waugh portrays religious/spiritual feeling in terms of Sehnsucht, and religion is maybe a specific way to frame that yearning in your mind but not really a solution to it. If the answer to your longing is ultimately God, then that's doomed to perpetually remain out of your reach, and it makes sense that all the characters are still restless and unsatisfied in some way in the end. The thing that's bothering them is a longing for something unnameable, "the shadow which turns the corner always a pace or two ahead of us".

[@Oscuros]

Thank you for knowing how to pronounce Waugh and for not breaking into the American dialect every 5 seconds. Brideshead Revisited was huge in the 1980s for me growing up, as in, everyone used to talk about it, even in school, but it seemed really boring at the time. I avoided it for many years and in this time of life, can engage more with literature. I also enjoy the first Third of the book, because like Waugh I was lucky enough to have rich friends in Hampstead growing up. There were always parties to gatecrash every weekend. Those friends were all the children of successful painters, actors, designers. But I too miss those old male friendships that are no more. Talking about books, creative ideas and endeavours, making jokes, meeting up by the White Pillar near Parliament Hill before there were mobile phones and having a massive picnic... those days, it was like they were never going to end, but they did, because they had to for the reasons you said. Regardless, people found Waugh's own conversion to Catholicism just as improbable, so it's interesting you say that about the final Third.

[@mame-musing]

This is such a perceptive and interesting discussion of “Brideshead Revisited”. Brideshead is one of my favorite novels. My first experience with the story was seeing the absolutely beautiful and engaging 1981 series with a stand out cast featuring Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews and of course John Gielgud (Ryder’s father) among others. Of course, the settings of Castle Howard, Oxford and Venice were a pleasure to view. Couldn’t wait to read the book to stay immersed in the story. I’m glad you enjoyed it enough to share the experience.

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

Thanks, I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. Yeah the 1981 adaptation is fantastic! I've enjoyed them as much as the book.

[@martinmaynard141]

I think BHR ranks within my top 5 English language books (along with Wuthering Heights). I am teaching an intensive advanced level English class at the moment and for homework I set my students to watch the 2 extracts from the 80's adapation where Corelia tells Charles about Sebastian and how she thinks he will die. "Not such a bad way of getting through one's life" is one of the most poignante lines in English Literature.

[@WowUsernameAvailable]

Thank you for a video that comes closer to some kind of literary analysis than anything else I've seen on KZbin (I'm too lazy to read actual literary critique, but I guess I'll have to do that to see what critics think of the character of Lady Marchmain, who I perceive to be a monstrous, overbearing hypocrite and who, in the story, is referred to as a saint AND a femme fatale XD Given what Charles says of her attempts to convert him and of how unmoved these left him feeling, one could assume she's a bit of an evil Pope or the Grand Inquisitor - moved by faith, but ultimately inhumane). I have read the book twice, once in my 20s, and have always felt, like many people, that 'the Arcadian days' are the highlight of the story. I feel the author's subconscious is thus manifested, and that even if the author, through his narrator, claims "Sebastian was the forerunner", the experience of so many readers betrays a different story. One theme that, I think, runs through the book is seeking a different world. It is said of Sebastian that he would like to get away from those trying to chain him and limit him - which he eventually succeeds in doing. Julia is marked with a kind of tragic otherwordliness (that I personally found rather repulsive and sentimental) and ends up disappearing into Catholicism. Charles, as you said, has lived a pretty miserable life; despite his successes, his heart is in his youth with Sebastian, and the house violated by soldiers from "the age of Hooper" is a symbol of Paradise lost.

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

I'm a bit more conflicted on Lady Marchmain than you; I can see how her actions literally drive her family away from her, but I see her as representing a real conflict between personal and religious obligation. She obviously favours the latter too much, and things go wrong, but I think she is trying to do what she thinks is best. I agree with you more about the point that Waugh does betray his subconscious, since really the story with Sebastian is the highlight of the novel, and what is supposed to be a poignant coming of age story or maturity story turns into a nostalgic tragedy.

[@johntuffin3262]

The comment is far too hard on Lady Marchmain. I perceive her as doing her best in a difficult situation, abandoned by her husband, with four very different children to bring up and probably all sorts of unmentioned practical problems with the estate and houses etc. There is a lot of unhappiness, for her as well, but ultimately she passes her faith in God to all her children.

[@sleepingpetal]

I love Brideshead Revisited! I need to make time for a re-read! I remember watching Waugh's BBC interview, there might have been mention of his own doubts toward religion when he was younger. Maybe that's why he had a sympathetic view toward others who had doubts? Then again, I believe the current version of Brideshead is the revised one. I wonder what the original might have been like... Speaking of revised edition, have you read the uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray?

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

I'm not sure if I have. I have read The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I don't know which. I remember a friend of mine saying that the uncensored version was still pretty tame by modern standards. So it might be that I have read the uncensored version and not even noticed!

[@sleepingpetal]

@@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall I enjoyed reading Dorian Gray, but I always felt there was something off about it. And then, I found out about the uncensored version! Maybe the original would feel a bit more complete, I hope? Are you planning on reading other Waugh's books? I feel like Brideshead is quite different from his other works (or his earlier books, at least), and I'm curious about what you'd think!

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

@@sleepingpetal I don't have any immediate plans to read Waugh's other novels, but I might do eventually. If I do, you can be sure I'll talk about it here. :)

[@ruthmitchell3011]

as a young teenager, I really enjoyed his dark humor in 'The Loved One'@@sleepingpetal

[@johntuffin3262]

@@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall. If you want to pursue the Catholic theme read the Sword of Honour trilogy.

[@MommaKnowsBestest]

Recently rediscovered this.

[@johnmulvey5121]

I think Charles's conversion as perhaps not as sudden we think. Was he moving slowly( and reluctantly) toward faith much earlier on?

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

Certainly possible, a thing to look out for next time I read it :)

[@hamwithcheese586]

Slowly, then all at once.

[@hippocraticoaf8798]

Charles seemed awfully curious about Catholicism for an atheist. Even in the beginning when he sees the baroque chapel in the castle. It also reflects the world that Charles grew up which was slipping away. The mediocre age of Hooper was flooding in. I consider Hooper as a stand in for the ascendancy of the United States. The traditions of the Empire disappeared in Charles lifetime. The Norman aristocracy was wiped out in WWI. The conversion to Catholicism was an unmoving timeless rock for Charles. The tragedy of Charles is also the tragedy of Evelyn Waugh's Great Britain which he writes beautifully with a heavy dose nostalgia.

[@johnmulvey5121]

@@hippocraticoaf8798 Yes, good!

[@johntuffin3262]

@@hippocraticoaf8798 I hadn’t seen it that way before, but I think you’re right.

[@jjmboston5832]

Rewatched the 1981 series about 2 years ago, and then read the book. I loved both. I've seen the 2008 film, and all said and done for such a shortened version I enjoyed it. It hit all the important points, but obviously did not really get into too much depth. The relationship between Sebastian and Charles can be debated. Times have changed and the relationship between the two has been so overly analyzed as to their "closeness" that I think too much is inferred. Many just label it homosexual, or latent homesexuality. Who knows. I see it as love between males that may not be a sexual one, but was deep. War makes strange bedfellows too although, although this begins in the 20s, so WW1 is done by then! I mentioned in a former post that I was often angered by Sebastian--depending on the chapter. ha!. Such a waste by the end. I like Cordelia because she is solid. I know people want a character to develop and change over the course of a book (or film) but I liked her character. Also I had mentioned in that same post that I am not sure that Charles is "converted" by Lord Marchmont's final gestures.. He seems to accept it as something that he can not change-and for what it is worth, and at the peril of his own happiness, he goes his own way. (I forget. Does he divorce his wife? ) Faith is a funny thing. I know many of our wars and disputes between countries are based on religion. I was raised Roman Catholic but lapsed along the way and now I am really a ship without a rudder. I sometimes envy people who have some sort of faith. Over the last 20 years, death has affected me less because of this. It seems I only go into a church if I am attending a funeral. Also, the mother is an interesting character as well. I don't want to simply lump her into the "trouble maker" category. I think she really loves her children and because of her intense faith (don't they go to chapel 2x a day :) she tries to do what's best. I will definitely read the book again sometime, and I'm sure I'll find other angles I may have missed the first time. Thank you for the commentary Joshua.

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

I'll have to watch the film version sometime too. Ooops, the WW1 comment was misspeaking on my part. Problem with not scripting videos too strongly I guess, but then better that than sounding like I'm reading que cards! :P. Yeah I should have said a bit more about Lady Marchmain, because she is an interesting character too. I agree with you that she does love her children, but her faith (and her commitment to conforming to other societal norms) makes her do cruel things to them, even though she thinks it's for their own good. Thanks for your comments as always!

[@WowUsernameAvailable]

To comment on Charles being converted, he says he was praying for a miracle, for God to show his presence, and "Please God don't let him refure your forgiveness" or something like that, and that when the old man made the sign of the cross, Charles realised the miracle had been provided. That's pretty convincing in terms of being converted to me. Also, at the end, when he enters the chapel and sees the light burning in a cheap lamp by the altar, he thinks that this was the point of all the trouble and heartache, that in the end the light has been relit in the chapel.

[@MariaLusitano71]

Lovely summary. I find the image of the big microphone very disruptive and not necessary at all.

[@JoshuaJClarkeKelsall]

Glad you enjoyed the summary. As for the microphone, beggars can't be choosers I'm afraid. :P

[@johnmulvey5121]

Very good. Often. younger people raised in a modern secular world are religiously illiterate and miss the catholic angle completely (which is what the book is mainly about) but well done.