Alicia kim's blog

Introduction: 

Brideshead Revisited is a romance and historical novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1945. It was made into a film in 2008 along with a TV series. The story is about Charles and Sebastian in England after World War II. Charles focuses on his studies while Sebastian gets involved with alcoholism. The book introduces specifically Charles, and his experiences throughout the story. 

Plot:

At the end of World War II, Captain Charles Ryder feels disillusioned with the army but finds nostalgia at Brideshead Castle, home of his friend Lord Sebastian Flyte from Oxford. Their friendship transforms Charles’s values, introducing him to beauty and pleasure. They enjoy a summer together at Brideshead, but upon returning to Oxford, Sebastian struggles with excessive drinking while Charles focuses on his studies. Lady Marchmain, Sebastian’s mother, asks Charles to watch over him, but when Sebastian’s drinking leads to trouble, she pulls him out of Oxford. Upset, Charles drops out and moves to France. When he returns to Brideshead, Sebastian’s alcoholism has worsened. Years later, after Lady Marchmain’s death, Charles learns Sebastian is in a Catholic hospital in Morocco. As Charles becomes a successful painter, he feels unhappy in his marriage to Celia. On a ship back to England, he reconnects with Julia, Sebastian’s sister, and they begin an affair. Their relationship faces scandal, and Julia struggles with guilt after their father dies, showing signs of faith. Ultimately, Julia decides she cannot marry Charles due to the implications of divorce. Years later, Charles returns to Brideshead with the army and finds hope in the reopened chapel.

Analysis:

The author chose the setting of the end of World War II and England. This shows the historical background of this period in history. The comparison between Charles and Sebastian can be identified through how Charles is going from places to places while Sebastian is stuck at his home, drinking alcohol. From this trait, Charles can be seen as outgoing while Sebastian is addicted to alcohol. During the story, Charles reconnects with Julia, Sebastian’s sister, and they grow closer to each other. However, due to scandals, the death of Julia’s father, and implications of divorce, they decide to not get married. This shows Julia’s faithfulness towards her family, since she wants to have a time of sorrow and despair due to the fatality her family faced. Also, she is shown as someone who cares about her future, as the book also displays her thinking about divorce. Ultimately, Charles ends up returning to Brideshead with an army to reopen the chapel after leaving Brideshead. This shows how closely tied Charles is to Brideshead, portraying his return to Brideshead as his “home”. The book doesn’t show what Julia was doing at the end of the plot, along with Sebastian who was addicted to alcohol. 

Conclusion:

Brideshead Revisited is a romantic historical novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1945. It was made into a film in 2008. It is about Charles and Sebastian and their stories after the end of World War II. Charles focuses on his studies while Sebastian gets addicted to alcohol. Charles also interacts with Julia, Sebastian’s sister, and ends up in a relationship with her. However, that relationship gets broken and Charles leaves Brideshead until years after, he returns with an army to reopen the chapel. The story shows the comparison between Sebastian and Charles, but mainly focusing on Charles. Despite troubling experiences in Brideshead, he returns to Brideshead, illustrating Brideshead as his “home”.