To What Extent is Julia’s Relationship with Rex Mottram Doomed from the Start
By Khadijah-Amani Denton-Bennett
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh is a 1945 novel depicting the relationship between the characters Rex
Mottram and Julia Flyte through various techniques, particularly the uses of setting and characterisation to
explore the themes of the novel. In this essay, I will analyse the ways in which Waugh presents each character
and uses their relationship to contribute to the theme of the novel; I will also explore the extent to which their
relationship is “doomed” from the start.
Julia Flyte is a young, Catholic lady who has just recently ‘come out’ to the world as an adult. She has matured
in age but is also naïve regarding her relationship with Rex Mottram. This is shown when Julia decides to turn
her back against religion for a man who is having an affair with another woman. ‘From that moment she shut
her mind against her religion’. Rex had made love to Julia the afternoon of their engagement, which is
forbidden within Catholic doctrine - Catholics should not have sexual relations before marriage. Upon being
refused excusal by the priest, Julia Flyte refuses to confess her sins consequently rejecting her religion. By
marrying Rex, Julia chooses modern values over her faith. Waugh uses characterisation to suggest that Julia
‘outshining all the other girls her age’ boosts her ego enough to make her dismiss her religion (which is
essentially a part of her) for a man that is not fully committed to her. This shows that Julia’s relationship with
Rex is fuelled, not by her love for him but rather by her ambition to marry a man more mature and successful
than the other girls her age. This is also emphasised by other characters in the story because Waugh uses
setting to explore the conventions of the time which show the different factors and reasons for people marring
each other for reasons besides love. For example, Charles explains to Julia why he married his wife, “Physical
attraction Ambition. Everyone agrees she’s the ideal wife for a painter”.
Julia is also influenced by Rex’s affair as she believes that by marrying Rex he will become loyal to her. Charles
states, ‘the fact of his being Brenda Champion’s property sharpened Julia’s appetite for Rex’, suggesting that
Julia is ready to throw everything at the chance to claim Rex Mottram as her own. Julia’s character is painted
by Waugh as someone who is seeking approval from others, which is not a good foundation for a healthy
relationship and one reason why Julia and Rex’s relationship would have never worked out. Waugh wants us to
see through the conventions of the time period, that social status among aristocrats is prioritised over love for
the person. Charles had previously referred to Julia saying, ‘..Wherever she turned, it seems, her religion stood
as a barrier”. This supports the idea that God’s love supersedes physical love because the later events of Julia’s
life are presented by Waugh as consequences for her bad decisions. When Julia meets Charles again later, she
tells him of her stillbirth and how she believes it was a punishment from God for pursuing her relationship with
Rex over her religion. The writer displays the consequences of Julia’s acts: her happy marriage to Rex lasted
less than a year, so it was doomed from the start; she lost her baby, but Rex didn’t care because the baby was
a girl. However, Julia says, “…when I thought I was going to have a child, I’d decided to have it brought up
Catholic” which demonstrates that she could never run away from God because her religion is instilled into
her, so her wrong decision to turn her back on it is a reason why her relationship with Rex Mottram is doomed.
This is an example of how Waugh foreshadows a doomed relationship as Waugh accentuates the idea of God’s
love being superior to other forms of love and physical love acting as a mere manifestation of the love of God.
Rex Mottram also has traits that deem him unsuitable for Julia, and therefore prove his relationship with her is
doomed from the start. He is disloyal, arrogant, and conniving as shown through his relationship with two
different women. He doesn’t leave Brenda Champion even when he marries Julia. He wants Mrs Champion,
who is also married, and Julia at the same time – for social status and money, respectively. He tells Charles,
referring to Julia before they are married, “I have to see she isn’t jockeyed out of her proper settlement”,
inferring that he is aware that the Marchmain family will soon face financial struggles, and so he wants to
marry Julia for her fortune before it’s too late. His relationship with Julia was materialistic – he saw her as an
object, ‘a suitable prize’ and his motives are driven by material gain. This is also shown through his conversion
to Catholicism which isn’t sincere but merely to have a royal wedding, similar to the one he had witnessed in
Spain. Charles states that ‘Mrs Champion had proved a dead end; it had all been intensely exciting at first, but
By Khadijah-Amani Denton-Bennett
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh is a 1945 novel depicting the relationship between the characters Rex
Mottram and Julia Flyte through various techniques, particularly the uses of setting and characterisation to
explore the themes of the novel. In this essay, I will analyse the ways in which Waugh presents each character
and uses their relationship to contribute to the theme of the novel; I will also explore the extent to which their
relationship is “doomed” from the start.
Julia Flyte is a young, Catholic lady who has just recently ‘come out’ to the world as an adult. She has matured
in age but is also naïve regarding her relationship with Rex Mottram. This is shown when Julia decides to turn
her back against religion for a man who is having an affair with another woman. ‘From that moment she shut
her mind against her religion’. Rex had made love to Julia the afternoon of their engagement, which is
forbidden within Catholic doctrine - Catholics should not have sexual relations before marriage. Upon being
refused excusal by the priest, Julia Flyte refuses to confess her sins consequently rejecting her religion. By
marrying Rex, Julia chooses modern values over her faith. Waugh uses characterisation to suggest that Julia
‘outshining all the other girls her age’ boosts her ego enough to make her dismiss her religion (which is
essentially a part of her) for a man that is not fully committed to her. This shows that Julia’s relationship with
Rex is fuelled, not by her love for him but rather by her ambition to marry a man more mature and successful
than the other girls her age. This is also emphasised by other characters in the story because Waugh uses
setting to explore the conventions of the time which show the different factors and reasons for people marring
each other for reasons besides love. For example, Charles explains to Julia why he married his wife, “Physical
attraction Ambition. Everyone agrees she’s the ideal wife for a painter”.
Julia is also influenced by Rex’s affair as she believes that by marrying Rex he will become loyal to her. Charles
states, ‘the fact of his being Brenda Champion’s property sharpened Julia’s appetite for Rex’, suggesting that
Julia is ready to throw everything at the chance to claim Rex Mottram as her own. Julia’s character is painted
by Waugh as someone who is seeking approval from others, which is not a good foundation for a healthy
relationship and one reason why Julia and Rex’s relationship would have never worked out. Waugh wants us to
see through the conventions of the time period, that social status among aristocrats is prioritised over love for
the person. Charles had previously referred to Julia saying, ‘..Wherever she turned, it seems, her religion stood
as a barrier”. This supports the idea that God’s love supersedes physical love because the later events of Julia’s
life are presented by Waugh as consequences for her bad decisions. When Julia meets Charles again later, she
tells him of her stillbirth and how she believes it was a punishment from God for pursuing her relationship with
Rex over her religion. The writer displays the consequences of Julia’s acts: her happy marriage to Rex lasted
less than a year, so it was doomed from the start; she lost her baby, but Rex didn’t care because the baby was
a girl. However, Julia says, “…when I thought I was going to have a child, I’d decided to have it brought up
Catholic” which demonstrates that she could never run away from God because her religion is instilled into
her, so her wrong decision to turn her back on it is a reason why her relationship with Rex Mottram is doomed.
This is an example of how Waugh foreshadows a doomed relationship as Waugh accentuates the idea of God’s
love being superior to other forms of love and physical love acting as a mere manifestation of the love of God.
Rex Mottram also has traits that deem him unsuitable for Julia, and therefore prove his relationship with her is
doomed from the start. He is disloyal, arrogant, and conniving as shown through his relationship with two
different women. He doesn’t leave Brenda Champion even when he marries Julia. He wants Mrs Champion,
who is also married, and Julia at the same time – for social status and money, respectively. He tells Charles,
referring to Julia before they are married, “I have to see she isn’t jockeyed out of her proper settlement”,
inferring that he is aware that the Marchmain family will soon face financial struggles, and so he wants to
marry Julia for her fortune before it’s too late. His relationship with Julia was materialistic – he saw her as an
object, ‘a suitable prize’ and his motives are driven by material gain. This is also shown through his conversion
to Catholicism which isn’t sincere but merely to have a royal wedding, similar to the one he had witnessed in
Spain. Charles states that ‘Mrs Champion had proved a dead end; it had all been intensely exciting at first, but
