Show how Waugh traces the development of
the relationship between Charles and
Sebastian in Book One and consider its
significance to the themes of the novel
By Khadijah-Amani Denton-Bennett
Brideshead Revisited is a 1945 British novel by Evelyn
Waugh depicting the life of Charles Ryder, an officer
during World War II. Book One ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’
displays Charles’ reminiscence on his time at Oxford
university 20 years before and his relationship with
Sebastian Flyte, a member of the Marchmain family. In
this essay, I will explore how Waugh develops the two
characters individually and traces the development into
their relationship. I will also discuss why this
development is significant to the central themes of the
novel.
In the early days of their relationship, Charles comes
across as impressionable. He describes Sebastian on
Page 34 as “the most conspicuous man of his year by
reason of his beauty, which was arresting and his
eccentricities of behaviour, which seemed to know no
bounds”. The word ‘arresting’ suggests that Charles is
so blinded by both Sebastian’s looks and mannerisms
that he idolises him; Charles is tied to Sebastian and
Waugh has painted Charles as a romanticist, someone
longing to be loved enduringly by him.
In Chapter 1, Charles narrates, “But I was in search of
love in those days, and I went full of curiosity and the
faint, unrecognised apprehension that here, at last, I
should find that low door in the wall, which others, I
knew, had found before me, which opened on an
, enclosed and enchanted garden, which was
somewhere… in the heart of that gray city”.
This quote reinforces the image that the reader has of
Charles – a dull, monotonous, and rather boring
character. In reference to Alice In Wonderland, Waugh
has used imagery to metaphorically demonstrate that
finding someone such as Sebastian who is, compared to
Charles, not only fun and exciting but beautiful and
accepting of him is like stepping into a new world of
adventure. The new world mentioned is an example of
Waugh’s extensive use of metaphor. The author begins
to initiate the development of the relationship here by
introducing the themes of love and beauty. Love is a
prominent theme in the novel and Waugh broadly and
controversially explores the love between the two
characters. The relationship between Charles and
Sebastian is often deemed enigmatic and people have
differing opinions regarding whether the two are lovers
or just friends as Waugh never explicitly states this.
For Charles, Sebastian has, by introducing him to the
Marchmains, given him both a sense of family and a
childhood. Charles says on Page 18, “That summer
term with Sebastian, it seemed as though I was being
given a brief spell of what I had never known, a happy
childhood”. Sebastian’s unconventionality is attractive
to Charles because it exposes him to something he
never had. Waugh continues the development of
Charles’ character by moulding Charles into someone
missing the pieces of a puzzle he can find within
Sebastian. He uses a first-person narrative to create a
relationship between the protagonist and the reader.
This allows the reader to gain a sense of Charles’
character and personality. As Waugh depicts Charles as
someone who lives a rather dull life, he can introduce
the relationship between Charles and
Sebastian in Book One and consider its
significance to the themes of the novel
By Khadijah-Amani Denton-Bennett
Brideshead Revisited is a 1945 British novel by Evelyn
Waugh depicting the life of Charles Ryder, an officer
during World War II. Book One ‘Et in Arcadia Ego’
displays Charles’ reminiscence on his time at Oxford
university 20 years before and his relationship with
Sebastian Flyte, a member of the Marchmain family. In
this essay, I will explore how Waugh develops the two
characters individually and traces the development into
their relationship. I will also discuss why this
development is significant to the central themes of the
novel.
In the early days of their relationship, Charles comes
across as impressionable. He describes Sebastian on
Page 34 as “the most conspicuous man of his year by
reason of his beauty, which was arresting and his
eccentricities of behaviour, which seemed to know no
bounds”. The word ‘arresting’ suggests that Charles is
so blinded by both Sebastian’s looks and mannerisms
that he idolises him; Charles is tied to Sebastian and
Waugh has painted Charles as a romanticist, someone
longing to be loved enduringly by him.
In Chapter 1, Charles narrates, “But I was in search of
love in those days, and I went full of curiosity and the
faint, unrecognised apprehension that here, at last, I
should find that low door in the wall, which others, I
knew, had found before me, which opened on an
, enclosed and enchanted garden, which was
somewhere… in the heart of that gray city”.
This quote reinforces the image that the reader has of
Charles – a dull, monotonous, and rather boring
character. In reference to Alice In Wonderland, Waugh
has used imagery to metaphorically demonstrate that
finding someone such as Sebastian who is, compared to
Charles, not only fun and exciting but beautiful and
accepting of him is like stepping into a new world of
adventure. The new world mentioned is an example of
Waugh’s extensive use of metaphor. The author begins
to initiate the development of the relationship here by
introducing the themes of love and beauty. Love is a
prominent theme in the novel and Waugh broadly and
controversially explores the love between the two
characters. The relationship between Charles and
Sebastian is often deemed enigmatic and people have
differing opinions regarding whether the two are lovers
or just friends as Waugh never explicitly states this.
For Charles, Sebastian has, by introducing him to the
Marchmains, given him both a sense of family and a
childhood. Charles says on Page 18, “That summer
term with Sebastian, it seemed as though I was being
given a brief spell of what I had never known, a happy
childhood”. Sebastian’s unconventionality is attractive
to Charles because it exposes him to something he
never had. Waugh continues the development of
Charles’ character by moulding Charles into someone
missing the pieces of a puzzle he can find within
Sebastian. He uses a first-person narrative to create a
relationship between the protagonist and the reader.
This allows the reader to gain a sense of Charles’
character and personality. As Waugh depicts Charles as
someone who lives a rather dull life, he can introduce
