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Lord Marchmain
Rex Mottram is a businessman, an entrepreneur, and the husband of Julia Flyte. Rex is “new money” and is not from a wealthy family. He stands out in British society because he is Canadian, has travelled widely, and is believed to have some links to organized crime. Rex fought in World War I and is at least 10 years older than Julia. Rex is a ruthlessly ambitious man and only cares about money and power. Charles describes him as “the burlesque” of power, which suggests that Rex is a stereotype of newly-wealthy men in the early-20th century. Rex is associated with vulgarity, modernity, and materialism throughout the novel. He views the world, and people around him, as things that he can dominate, and his lust for power is revealed when he becomes interested in politics and decides to run for Parliament. He plans to use the outbreak of World War II to his advantage and tries to use populist tactics (giving a “rabid” anti-German speech in Parliament) to win public approval. Rex is based on Brendan Bracken, a real political figure in this period. Rex is a social climber and has no strong personal morals or principles: he is willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. He views his marriage to Julia in these terms and even agrees to become a Catholic so that her family will accept him. Throughout the course of the novel, many of the other characters remark that Rex does not seem like a “whole person.” His interests are extremely limited, and he is not at all concerned about spirituality, morality, or anything philosophical, artistic, or intellectual. Charles looks down on Rex because of this and views him as a representation of modernity, which Charles thinks is extremely limited and shallow in its outlook.
Rex Mottram Quotes in Brideshead Revisited
The Brideshead Revisited quotes below are all either spoken by Rex Mottram or refer to Rex Mottram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2, Chapter 2 Quotes
He had stepped straight from the underworld into the world of Brenda Champion who was herself the innermost of a number of concentric ivory spheres. Perhaps Julia recognized in Brenda Champion an intimation of what she and her friends might be in twelve years’ time; there was an antagonism between the girl and the woman that was hard to explain otherwise. Certainly the fact of his being Brenda Champion’s property sharpened Julia’s appetite for Rex.
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And Lady Marchmain saw this and added it to her new grief for Sebastian and her old grief for her husband and to the deadly sickness in her body, and took all these sorrows with her daily to church; it seemed her heart was transfixed with the swords of her dolors, a living heart to match the plaster and paint; what comfort she took home with her, God knows.
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Rex Mottram Character Timeline in Brideshead Revisited
The timeline below shows where the character Rex Mottram appears in Brideshead Revisited. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 5
...agrees to come. A few days later, Charles bumps into Julia and a man named Rex Mottram in Sebastian’s room while he waits for Sebastian to come home. Julia and Rex...
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Rex is a confident man with a large personality who talks all the way through lunch....
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...later, to Charles’s surprise, he, Sebastian, and Boy Mulcaster are invited to a party with Rex and Julia in London. They set out for London in Hardcastle’s car and arrive at...
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Sebastian, Charles, and Boy go downstairs, where Rex and the guests are waiting. Rex opens some wine and flirts with a woman named...
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Sebastian shouts through the wall that they ought to call Rex Mottram, who arrives promptly and persuades the police to let them go. They must appear...
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Part 2, Chapter 1
...Brideshead and Cordelia say they will, but Julia says she must stay in to meet Rex when he arrives. Sebastian says suddenly that he would like to go. Everyone is surprised...
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...is on-edge and says that they cannot have a repeat of the evening before, because Rex will be with them. She asks Charles if he is going to paint a panel...
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Rex arrives that afternoon and brings Julia a present: a live tortoise with diamonds encrusted on...
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...she has also got into trouble for secretly giving Sebastian whisky. She tells Charles that Rex will take Sebastian to Zurich, and that Rex and Julia are very fond of each...
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Rex asks Charles if he is hiding Sebastian, and Charles is amused to discover that Sebastian...
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Charles assures Rex that he does not know where Sebastian is, and Rex suggests they dine together that...
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Charles steers the conversation toward the Marchmains again, and Rex tells him that, in the end, Julia gave Mr. Samgrass away. Rex says that Lady...
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Rex is impressed with the food but finds the restaurant small and quiet. Over dinner, he...
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Rex says that Lady Marchmain does not like him or think him a suitable husband for...
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The waiters bring them brandy, but Rex complains that it is not old enough and asks them to bring a large, archaic...
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Part 2, Chapter 2
...does meet a man like this, but she rejects him because she has also met Rex Mottram. Julia is seduced by the dangerous glamor she sees in Rex. She knows he...
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During that summer, Julia goes to stay with an aunt abroad and finds that Rex and Brenda Champion have taken the villa next door. Unknown to Julia, Rex has grown...
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Rex is very charming and forceful, and uses the qualities which have helped him make his...
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Julia realizes she is in love with Rex when, one night, she sees him leave Brenda Champion’s house and is overcome with hurt...
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Lady Marchmain is disappointed and does not think Rex is an appropriate husband for Julia. Julia says that she must marry him to save...
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During their engagement, Julia gets angry with Rex because she hears he has been with Brenda Champion again. Rex tells her that this...
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After a year of engagement, Lady Marchmain tells Julia that she cannot marry Rex and threatens to take her abroad. This is around the time that Rex tries to...
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Rex wants a large religious wedding, but Julia explains that they cannot have that because it...
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The priest who instructs Rex reports back to Lady Marchmain that Rex has no natural flair for religion, and that...
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However, three weeks before the ceremony, Brideshead tells Julia, Rex, and Lady Marchmain that the wedding cannot go ahead. Brideshead has discovered that Rex has...
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...be divorced and can only separate from a spouse in the case of an annulment. Rex says he will pay for an annulment, but Julia says this is not how it...
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Rex loses his temper and says that he will marry Julia in a Protestant church. Lady...
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...that she was young and naïve. Although the family still plotted to stop the wedding, Rex telegrammed her father and received his consent for them to marry in a Protestant church....
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...a martyr” throughout. Julia says that it was a bad start to the marriage because Rex had banked on the social connections which he thought Julia would make him. But Julia...
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Part 2, Chapter 3
...get out of debt and that it will be replaced by a block of flats. Rex suggested that he and Julia buy the “penthouse” at the top and could not understand...
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Part 3, Chapter 1
...on the list. Charles has not seen Julia for several years. She is married to Rex, but he has heard it is not a happy marriage. Sebastian, Charles knows, still lives...
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Rex is involved in politics but has not had the success that he hoped for. He...
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...her fond memories of religion as a child. She is unhappy in her marriage with Rex. They struggled to have a child and, when she did become pregnant, the baby died...
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Julia cannot stand Rex’s friends. She says they are obsessed with money and gamble on everything. Rex is disappointed...
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Part 3, Chapter 2
...tells her about the exhibition, and his meeting with Anthony, while the two have dinner. Rex is at Brideshead with a party of friends when they arrive, and they talk about...
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Part 3, Chapter 3
...sunset on Brideshead, Julia tells Charles that she wants to marry him and to divorce Rex. Charles doesn’t want to make plans on such a beautiful evening, but Julia tells him...
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...and he does not want her to meet Julia because of Julia’s “peculiar” situation with Rex and Charles. Julia begins to cry and storms from the room. Charles is insulted, but...
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...her secret pain. She confesses that she has tried to be a good wife to Rex and that she tried to be good when she was a child, when words like...
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...living arrangements for after his marriage: he and Beryl will take Brideshead, and Julia and Rex will move out. Charles feels that Rex will be disappointed and cannot understand how Julia...
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The next night, Rex arrives with his friends and they talk about the possibility of war. They have many...
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Part 3, Chapter 4
Rex does not want to divorce Julia and hopes that Charles can talk her out of...
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...through swiftly and, publicly, everyone takes Celia’s side. Julia’s divorce is a lengthy process, and Rex moves out of Brideshead. He gives a ferocious speech in parliament about the possibility of...
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Epilogue
Nanny asks Charles if he heard Rex’s speech on the radio: he was very unpleasant about Hitler, and Nanny is pleased by...
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