Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Brideshead Revisited, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Innocence, Experience, and Redemption
Suffering, Persecution, and Martyrdom
Authority, Rebellion, and Love
War and Peace
Globalization, Culture, and Modernity
Summary
Analysis
It is autumn when Charles and Sebastian return to Oxford, and the season makes them feel old and sad. They meet up as soon as they are back, and Charles notices that Sebastian seems miserable. He says that he has been given a talk by some of Lady Marchmain’s friends, Mgr. Bell and Mr. Samgrass, and that, if he does not change his ways, he will be expelled. He also tells Charles that Anthony Blanche has been expelled and has moved to Munich where he is in love with a policeman. Charles feels that he will miss Anthony.
Charles and Sebastian’s relationship follows the pattern of the seasons. It begins in spring, blossoms in summer, and begins to decline in autumn. Sebastian’s decline at school is related to death and decay because it represents the death of love in Charles’s life. Although Anthony makes Charles uncomfortable, Charles will miss him because his fearlessness made their social life exciting, suggesting that Charles, like Anthony, is bored of the stuffy, conservative culture at Oxford and longs for experiences like his exotic summer in Venice.
Themes
Sebastian tries to cheer them both up, but his attempt fails, and their bleak mood continues into the new term. Charles realizes that he misses Jasper, who has now graduated, because Charles’s antics were more fun when there was somebody to be shocked by them. Charles resolves to study more and live more frugally so that he doesn’t have to spend another summer at home with his father. He enjoys history and does well academically without much effort. He begins to draw seriously as well, and attends a life drawing class with a female model.
Charles and Sebastian cannot get their youthful enthusiasm back despite their efforts, reflecting the pattern of human life as it moves from youth to old age, and the pattern of the seasons as they move through warm and life towards coldness and death. However, although the end of the year has the outward appearance of death, it is really a phase in a repetitive cycle of death and rebirth. This reflects the novel’s underlying religious message, which suggests that death is not the end. Charles does not want to live extravagantly just for his own sake—he only enjoyed this lifestyle when it was taboo and there was some authority figure to rebel against.
Themes
Charles is quite happy with this new turn of events and begins to enjoy his new, more mature life. However, Sebastian begins to fall behind, and Charles realizes that Sebastian needs his drinking and escapades as a diversion from reality. Without it, Sebastian grows sad and sullen, and even seems unhappy with Charles.
Charles begins to settle into adult life after his brief, adolescent rebellion. For Sebastian, however, this rebellion represents a deeper psychological need, and he uses alcohol to avoid adult life because he is deeply unhappy.
Themes
Charles and Sebastian spend all their time together and lose contact with their other friends. Many of the circles they moved in have broken up since Anthony left, and Charles feels that Anthony has taken some of the life away from Oxford. Anthony’s peers, who always tormented him, seem bored and boring without his influence and provocative behavior. Charles and Sebastian no longer spend time with these men, and instead drink in local working men’s pubs nearby. Sebastian does not want to socialize with anyone else from the college.
Charles and Sebastian are still very close and do not drift apart when their lifestyles change. This shows that even innocent, youthful love can be very strong and withstand periods of unhappiness. The boys who picked on Anthony are not imaginative enough to entertain themselves now that he's gone, suggesting that they need someone to ostracize because they lack individual personality and can only function in a group which is united by the persecution of others.
Themes
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Around Christmas, Lady Marchmain visits Oxford to see Mr. Samgrass, a professor at Oxford, and comes to visit Charles and Sebastian. In hindsight, Charles views this as the beginning of the end for his friendship with Sebastian. Lady Marchmain has enlisted Mr. Samgrass’s help to put together a memorial book for her brother, Ned, who was killed in World War I. Mr. Samgrass has many projects of this sort and seems to have connections with everyone important and influential. He is extremely interested in royalty and studies the history of English monarchs. He is also a Catholic.
Lady Marchmain interferes with Charles and Sebastian’s dynamic. She represents the outside world, which must inevitably encroach upon their solitary paradise together. Mr. Samgrass is a social climber and is always keen to ingratiate himself with people who can provide him with money, work, or prestige. He represents the shallow, ambitious aspects of British society, which Charles despises.
Themes
Although Charles does not notice that he is overly-friendly with Lady Marchmain, Sebastian is annoyed that Charles likes his mother. Lady Marchmain invites Charles to Brideshead for Christmas, and Charles 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 have stopped by on their way back to Brideshead and hoped to have lunch with Sebastian. Charles invites them to dine with him, and Sebastian joins them.
Charles does not realize that Sebastian expects him to take his side against Lady Marchmain. He cannot do this because she is kind to him, and he has no reason to dislike her. He does not understand that there is an emotional war between Sebastian and Lady Marchmain, much like the war that Charles’s father waged against him over the summer. As time goes on, Sebastian’s family encroach more and more on his life and he becomes less able to avoid them—another external force that threatens the stability of Charles and Sebastian’s relationships.
Themes
Rex is a confident man with a large personality who talks all the way through lunch. He is Canadian and has made his fortune through good luck and hard work. He is also involved in politics. During lunch, Rex announces that he never went to university and thinks that studying is a waste of time. He is only 30 but seems much older than Charles and Sebastian. He seems to belong to Julia, although it is unclear if they are a couple or not.
Unlike the Marchmains, Rex is “new money” and is not from a wealthy background. He has earned his wealth in business, rather than inherited it. This was a common life path during the 20th century, as technological progress and industry allowed people from ordinary backgrounds to rise through the ranks of business and make their own way in the world. Rex is insensitive and cannot understand that just because he did not need university to succeed, education is not necessarily a waste of time. He is more worldly and experienced than Charles and Sebastian, who have never had jobs or been independent. Julia is very confident and treats Rex like her property, which suggests they will become a couple if they aren’t already.
Themes
A few weeks 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 Marchmain House (the family’s townhouse) before the party. They pass Julia on the stairs when they arrive, and she says that she will be late to the dinner. The party is a charity ball that she has helped organize, and the dinner is Rex’s idea.
Charles assumes that Julia has many fashionable friends. Her life seems to be filled with glamourous social events, which Charles rejects and views as a shallow aspect of modern society.
Themes
Sebastian, Charles, and Boy go downstairs, where Rex and the guests are waiting. Rex opens some wine and flirts with a woman named Mrs. Champion, and Boy tries to ingratiate himself with some of Julia’s friends who are already at the party. Charles and Sebastian sit apart from the rest and get drunk together.
Charles and Sebastian are outsiders in this setting because they are not interested in the more adult pursuits which the others gravitate towards. Instead, they wish to remain isolated in their own private, innocent world.
Themes
After dinner, Boy suggests that he, Charles, and Sebastian sneak out of the party and visit “Ma Mayfield’s” on the “Old Hundredth.” Boy claims he has a girlfriend there, named Effie, whom he must go and see. Charles and Sebastian, already very drunk, agree to go with him. The three slip out at the first opportunity they get. They take Hardcastle’s car, and Boy drives.
The Old Hundredth is an area of London, and Ma Mayfield’s is a gentlemen’s club. This setting suggests that the boys will soon lose their innocence and move ever closer to the adult world, in which, if they want to belong in conventional society, women and sex must play a role.
Themes
They arrive in a dingy side street and see the entrance of a club. There is a middle-aged man slumped over outside. He warns them not to go inside because they will be “poisoned.” Boy tells the doorman that he is a member, and leads the others inside. Once through the door, they are asked to pay by a woman in a booth. Boy protests and demands to speak to Mrs. Mayfield, but the woman says she is Mrs. Mayfield, and Boy sulkily pays for them to enter.
The grisly description of the club implies that the place is morally as well as physically impure, and will corrupt the boys if they go inside. In entering the club, they move gradually away from their innocence and enter the adult world, which it is suggested is rife with temptation and low morals. The man’s claim that he has been “poisoned” refers back to the idea of the “poisoned” fruit which Adam and Eve eat in the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, which ends their time of innocence in paradise. Boy pretends that he knows the place and makes a fool of himself because he obviously does not. He wants to appear older and more experienced than he is, whereas Charles and Sebastian only want to cling to their youth.
Themes
The bar is very crowded. A woman brings them champagne and Boy asks her where Effie is. The woman does not know who he means and shrugs his questions off. Boy sets off to look for Effie, and a couple of girls sidle up to Charles and Sebastian. They seem about to approach but then decide that the boys are “fairies” and move off again.
It is clear that no one in the club recognizes Boy or thinks he is Effie’s boyfriend. The girls think that Charles and Sebastian are gay, and use a derogatory term to imply this. This suggests that Charles and Sebastian stand out and do not easily blend in with the adult clientele of the club, who are mostly there to meet women. Instead, Charles and Sebastian are set apart and give the impression that they cannot be tempted by the women, further insinuating that there is a romantic element to their close relationship, if not a sexual one.
Themes
Boy returns with Effie and seats her at their table. The waiter immediately brings her a plate of food, which she eats hungrily, and the waiter charges Boy for it. Effie wonders if she has seen Charles before, and he assures her she has not. She says that she recognizes Boy but cannot place him, and Boy says that she must be teasing. Effie seems confused and is relieved when Boy does not want to dance because her shoes rub her feet.
Effie works at the club, either as a dancer or an escort. Her profession is not glamorized, and the mundane aspects of her job are emphasized instead: she gets hungry at work and her shoes hurt her feet. This suggests that things which appear glamorous or romantic, like sex (and, later, war) are not always what they seem in reality. Effie entertains a lot of men and has forgotten Boy, with whom it is implied she once spent the night. This makes Boy look naïve and foolish—he wants to appear more worldly than he is, but emotionally he still lives up to his namesake of being only a “boy.”
Themes
The two women who approached earlier return, and Sebastian invites them to join the table. They, too, are brought food which the boys pay for. Charles thinks they are very unattractive, and that one looks like a skull and the other looks like an ill child. They invite the boys to a party at their house, and Sebastian agrees to drive them. The doorman tries to persuade them to leave the car, but Sebastian insists.
The women are associated with death and decay, as relationships with women are additional realities of adulthood which will inevitably come between Charles and Sebastian and spell the death of their relationship. The doorman does not want Sebastian to drive because he is drunk, and Sebastian’s insistence is further evidence of his alcohol problem and self-destructive nature, which Cara warned Charles about in Venice.
Themes
They have not driven far when Sebastian almost collides with a taxi. The women beg him to stop the car and Sebastian pulls up abruptly, right in front of two policemen. The girls and Boy try to persuade the policemen to let them off, but the policemen arrest them and put them in cells. Charles takes it quite calmly, but he can hear that Sebastian is in a panic, pounding on the walls of his cell next door.
The women are afraid that Sebastian will crash the car, and they do not want to be caught be the police because they may be arrested for being prostitutes. The policemen are willing to cooperate with the women, who have clearly been in this situation before, but Boy, who is naïve and arrogant, offends the policeman with his offer of bribery. Sebastian is afraid of being trapped or confined once he's in his jail cell, which, in a sense, reflects the way in which he feels trapped by his looming adult responsibilities. His desire to get out further emphasizes his general dislike of authority and responsibility.
Themes
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 in court the next day, however. Rex takes them back to his house for the night. The next morning, Rex seems to have the whole business planned out. He says that Sebastian may get jail time, but that Boy and Charles will only have to pay a small fine. Rex is worried that the papers will be involved. He advises Sebastian to tell the court that he is not used to alcohol, and that that is why he was so drunk.
Rex is good at getting his own way and is confident and persuasive because of this. He is used to dealing with legal situations (it is implied that Rex has links to organized crime) and knows how to handle the court and the press. The ease with which Rex navigates the world implies that he represents modernity itself, which Charles views as seedy, vulgar, and corrupt. Despite Rex’s efforts, the fact that Sebastian is from a prestigious family may mean that his arrest will cause a scandal.
Themes
At court, Charles and Boy get off with fines, while Sebastian’s trial is set for the following week. After the hearing, Charles and Sebastian sit forlornly on the courthouse steps. Sebastian says that he wants to go abroad to avoid all the hassle: he knows his mother will make him feel guilty about the incident. Charles suggests that they call Julia, and she tells them to meet her. Julia seems vaguely impressed with them because they were out with women, and has told her mother, whom she says took the news very well.
Sebastian does not want to face the consequences of his actions, and wants to run away instead. He is afraid of responsibility and of disappointing his family, who make him feel guilty and increase his self-hatred. Julia sees her brother as an adult for the first time because she thinks that he has solicited an escort, suggesting that sexual experience with women is linked to people’s perceptions of manhood.
Themes
Lady Marchmain asks them to lunch and does not seem angry at all. Her only complaint is that her extended family will be disappointed: half of them will blame her for raising Sebastian Catholic, and the other half will feel that she has not raised her children Catholic enough. Charles is in a good mood after lunch, but Sebastian seems morose. Charles asks him what is wrong, but Sebastian cannot explain.
Lady Marchmain makes Sebastian feel guilty, but pretends that this is not her doing. Instead, she blames her family, who she says will be disappointed. However, to Sebastian it is all the same: he has caused trouble for his mother and she has let him know this, which makes him feel guilty and ashamed. This could be why Sebastian has gravitated away from religion in young adulthood: he likely associates the guilt and judgment he feels from his devoutly-Catholic mother as a representation of Catholicism itself.
Themes
The following week, Sebastian is let off with only a fine. The newspapers do get ahold of the story and run the headline: “Marquis’s son unused to wine.” Mr. Samgrass testifies at Sebastian’s trial and implies that Sebastian is an excellent student. Mr. Samgrass also talks to the Dean of the college and makes it so that Charles and Sebastian are not expelled, but, instead, have a 9:00 curfew. Although this is helpful, Mr. Samgrass makes a nuisance of himself and visits their rooms after 9:00, when he knows they cannot escape.
It is ironic that the newspapers use this headline, as Sebastian’s regular drinking habit is what got him in this situation, not his unfamiliarity with alcohol. Mr. Samgrass lies for Lady Marchmain so that Sebastian can stay at Oxford, suggesting that Lady Marchmain’s morals are not as strict as they appear, as she is willing to let someone else be dishonest on her behalf in order to save face. This makes Sebastian feel obliged to, or reliant on, Mr. Samgrass: something which he hates because he wishes to escape from all authority and obligation. Mr. Samgrass’s surveillance of Charles and Sebastian for Lady Marchmain shows that she has an oppressive authority over her son. Sebastian’s erratic behavior and desire for freedom, then, makes even more sense in this context.
Themes
When Charles arrives at Brideshead for Christmas, he finds Mr. Samgrass is there as well. Mr. Samgrass tells Charles that the other guests, and Julia, will leave Brideshead the next day, but that he will stay to work on Lady Marchmain’s book. Sebastian is out fox hunting with the others, and Charles waits with Mr. Samgrass for their return. Sebastian comes back early and says he lost the rest of the party. When the others return, Mr. Samgrass eats a second lunch with them.
That night, before dinner, Lady Marchmain invites the party to attend chapel. Sebastian declines and goes to have a bath instead. Charles goes with him, and Sebastian complains that Mr. Samgrass annoys him. As time goes on, Charles realizes that Mr. Samgrass irritates everyone in the house.
Sebastian does not attend chapel because he is not a practicing Catholic, much to the disdain of his religiously-devout family. Yet, despite the rift between Lady Marchmain and Sebastian over his loose adherence to Catholicism, Lady Marchmain is not morally superior to Sebastian in practice. She is essentially taking advantage of Mr. Samgrass, only keeping him around to spy on Sebastian, which suggests that she is not above using others or being dishonest—certainly not Christlike qualities.
Themes
Throughout his stay, Charles notices that Lady Marchmain organizes many “little talks” with him. He thinks she is trying to convert him to Catholicism, and Sebastian is annoyed by this. Charles is often invited to visit her study and he is startled by the difference between this room, which is neat and pleasant, and the stately grandeur of the rest of the house. During one of their religious talks, Lady Marchmain tells Charles that she used to feel guilty for being rich, but then she remembered that the poor are lucky because they are closer to God. Charles says that it is hard for rich people to get to Heaven and Lady Marchmain replies that religion is about unexpected things.
Lady Marchmain tries to bring Charles around to her point of view. Her modest room is different because it is her own, and under her influence, whereas the rest of the house belonged to Lord Marchmain and represents his lavish, sensual personality. Lady Marchmain is neat and austere rather than extravagant, and the room’s parallel to her demonstrates the way in which architecture can outwardly reflect people’s personalities and emotional states. Lady Marchmain wants to feel like a victim or a martyr, and views her wealth as a form of suffering because it keeps her at a distance from God—her comparatively minimal room, then, is an outward representation of her desire to reject her own good fortune.
Themes
Charles notices that Sebastian starts to withdraw from him. As Charles gets to know Sebastian’s family, Sebastian begins to see Charles as part of the world that he tries to escape. Although he still loves Charles, he does not feel secure with him. Charles perceives this but cannot understand why at the time. He thinks that Mr. Samgrass is the problem, and agrees when Sebastian asks if they can go to stay with Charles’s father, who seems to like Sebastian a lot.
Sebastian wants to be independent from his family, and feels that he must stand alone against them. He used to feel that Charles was his companion, but now feels that Charles will side against him. Charles is not emotionally mature enough to understand this, and only realizes later, after the events. Sebastian is extremely lovable, and even the curmudgeonly, passive-aggressive Mr. Ryder warms to him. This supports the idea that Sebastian is blessed, or angelic, and that his suffering does not detract from this.
Themes
After Christmas they return to Oxford, and Sebastian grows more depressed and even starts to avoid Charles. He continues to drink heavily. Charles realizes that when he drinks it is a celebration, but when Sebastian drinks it is a refuge for him. Sebastian becomes obsessed with tormenting Mr. Samgrass, who still follows him around, and Charles begins to worry that Sebastian is in real danger.
Again, Cara’s warning to Charles proves correct: Sebastian uses alcohol as an escape. It likely allows him to hide from the outside world and helps him forget the things that make him unhappy. Sebastian is in danger of doing something foolish and self-destructive, which may threaten his future and encourage his family to remove him from Oxford.
Themes
Charles and Sebastian go to Brideshead for Easter and, for the first time, Sebastian gets extremely drunk in front of his family. Charles knows that Sebastian has been drinking all week, but there are a group of guests at the house, so no one notices Sebastian’s behavior. When all the guests leave, it becomes obvious to Charles that Sebastian is drunk. He finds Sebastian before dinner, when he is looking for the cocktail tray downstairs.
This incident blurs the line between Sebastian’s university life, in which he drinks and acts as he likes, and his family life, in which he feels that he must control himself and suppress who he really is. This suggests that Sebastian is losing control of his life and can no longer keep these two sides separate or use one (his university life) as an escape from the other (his home life).
Themes
Charles asks Sebastian where he has been, and Sebastian says that he has been with Nanny and that he has a cold. Sebastian pours himself a drink and leaves the room. Charles follows him upstairs to his room, but Sebastian slams the door in his face and locks him out. Julia passes him in the hall, and Charles tells her that Sebastian is drunk. Julia seems perturbed by this and says that her brother is a “bore.”
Sebastian no longer takes Charles into his confidence and locks him out, both literally and emotionally. This suggests that Sebastian feels alone and that Charles is now his enemy, as though they are on different sides in a war. Julia does not want to show that she is concerned about Sebastian, using her cool bravado to brush the idea off.
Themes
Charles goes to have a bath and, when he comes back, finds Sebastian’s room unlocked. Sebastian sits at his dressing table, drinking whisky. Charles tries to take the bottle from him, but Sebastian snaps at him to put it back. He accuses Charles of spying on him for Lady Marchmain and says that he will not go down for dinner. He admits he has been drinking all day, and Charles says that he will tell the family that Sebastian’s cold is worse.
Sebastian develops traits associated with alcoholism: he becomes secretive and gets aggressive when Charles tries to take his drink away. Sebastian assumes that if Charles likes his family then he is Sebastian’s enemy and must work against him. Charles, however, is still prepared to lie for Sebastian. Although their love is strong, it is human, they therefore cannot avoid problems entirely because conflict and warlike behavior are pervasive human traits.
Themes
Charles goes downstairs and finds the rest of the family assembled. Charles tells them that Sebastian is ill, and Cordelia rushes upstairs before anyone can stop her. When she returns, she announces that Sebastian is drunk. Lady Marchmain is shocked, but the subject is not discussed anymore over dinner. After they have eaten, Lady Marchmain reads to the family, and is about to go to chapel when Sebastian bursts into the room.
Lady Marchmain exercises a great deal of control and authority over the family: they will not discuss something that will upset her or that she will find improper. This suggests that Lady Marchmain keeps up a façade, even when things are not alright. Everyone is, of course, preoccupied with Sebastian, but must not mention it. Their avoidance of the problem likely contributes to Sebastian’s feelings of shame, which lead him to drink in the first place.
Themes
Sebastian is pale and haggard, and says that he has come to apologize to Charles. Charles takes Sebastian up to bed but, on the stairs, Sebastian collapses in tears. Again, he asks Charles why he spies on him for his mother. Charles is deeply hurt, but eventually persuades Sebastian to go to bed.
Sebastian drinks because he is unhappy, yet his drinking only exacerbates his unhappiness. This vicious cycle suggests that Sebastian will only descend deeper into his dependency, since he now requires alcohol to regulate his emotions. He still loves Charles , but he thinks that Charles has formed an alliance with his family against him. He dislikes himself, and therefore rejects and tries to escape from those who love him and want to help.
Themes
Early the next morning, Sebastian wakes Charles up and says that he is going to London. He asks Charles if he can stay with Mr. Ryder, and Charles says yes but that he wants to say goodbye to Lady Marchmain before they leave. Sebastian seems peeved and tells Charles that he will leave before him. He says goodbye abruptly and goes downstairs where a car is waiting.
Sebastian sees Charles’s desire to say goodbye to Lady Marchmain as evidence that Charles takes his family’s side and not his. Charles does not understand Sebastian’s point of view and does not realize that it may be better to humor Sebastian so that he does not feel alone. Charles does not realize that Sebastian sees his family as his enemies and that, if Charles sides with them, he will see Charles in this way too.
Themes
Charles goes to find Lady Marchmain a few hours later. She is upset because Sebastian seemed so unhappy the night before. Lady Marchmain says that Mr. Samgrass told her that Sebastian often drinks like that, but Charles explains that he has never seen him that way before. Lady Marchmain says that Sebastian has nothing to be ashamed of, but Charles says Sebastian is ashamed because he is depressed. Lady Marchmain laments that she has been through this before with someone else, and that he, too, ran away.
Charles tries to explain to Lady Marchmain that, when they are in Oxford, Sebastian drinks because he is happy rather than as an escape. Lady Marchmain does not believe this. Lady Marchmain keeps up appearances and maintains a façade of being pious and grateful. As a Catholic woman, she views it as her duty to be grateful, even for her suffering, as she believes that God sends obstacles to test her and make her better. This makes Sebastian feel worse because, like his father, he is unable to be happy and please his mother.
Themes
Lady Marchmain says she does not understand this—the men she knew as a young woman did not run away from things. She begs Charles to help Sebastian, as she says that Sebastian prefers Charles to anyone else. Before Charles leaves, she gives him a copy of Mr. Samgrass’s book, about her brother Ned, and says that Charles will understand when he reads it. Charles realizes that Lady Marchmain has prepared this meeting in advance and that she has planned to give him the book. He realizes that she does want him to spy on Sebastian. As Charles leaves, Cordelia asks him to give Sebastian “her special love.”
Lady Marchmain implies that her brothers were better men than her husband. However, her brothers died in World War I ,and Lady Marchmain does not know how they would have changed in the aftermath of the war. Lady Marchmain can see that Charles and Sebastian have a strong bond, but she does not understand or respect it. She asks Charles to use it against Sebastian so that he can spy on Sebastian for her. Although she does not say this explicitly, she implies that, if Charles reads about Ned, he will see the type of man that Sebastian should aspire to be, and will help Lady Marchmain achieve that. In contrast to her mother, Cordelia genuinely loves Sebastian for who he is.
Themes
On the train, Charles reads Lady Marchmain’s book, which tells the story of her three older brothers, who were killed in World War I. They came from a large family of Catholics, who were separate from most of English society, and viewed their deaths as sacrifices to a cause. When Charles arrives at his father’s house, Sebastian already there, and is in a good mood. He asks Charles if he is now on Lady Marchmain’s side, and Charles answers, “No, I’m with you, ‘Sebastian contra mundum.’”
Lady Marchmain views her brothers as martyrs because she believes they died heroically, for a good cause. Martyrdom is an important concept in Catholicism because Jesus died for humanity’s sins, and Catholics are supposed to emulate this. Charles now realizes that Lady Marchmain wants to change Sebastian and that she holds him to an unfair standard. He sees that they are on different sides and commits to being Sebastian’s accomplice.
Themes
They return to Oxford for the spring, but Sebastian is still depressed. He and Charles arrange to rent a flat together. One day in the bookshop, Charles meets Mr. Samgrass, who asks him about this. When Charles tells Sebastian, Sebastian says that his mother plans to make him live with Mgr. Bell. He says that Charles failed his mother’s test when she gave him the book about Uncle Ned, and that she knows he is not on her side.
Lady Marchmain uses Mr. Samgrass to spy on Charles and Sebastian, wanting to increase her influence over Sebastian. Lady Marchmain expected Charles to write to her and confirm that he would spy on Sebastian for her after reading the book about Ned. However, Charles was adamant in his allegiance with Sebastian. Lady Marchmain wants to separate Charles and Sebastian because she views Charles as an outsider who will lead Sebastian further away from Catholicism and from her control—in reality, it is likely her own overbearing behavior that is pushing Sebastian away.
Themes
A few weeks later, Charles receives a letter from Lady Marchmain which says that she will come to Oxford soon and wants to speak to him alone. She asks Charles if Sebastian has been drinking and Charles truthfully says no. That night, however, Sebastian is found drunk on the campus lawn and is taken before the Dean. Charles is furious with him the next morning, and although Sebastian clearly needs sympathy, Charles storms off and leaves him alone.
Sebastian is better when he is with Charles and does not feel the need to drink heavily all the time. When he is around his family, however, he feels trapped and this encourages him to drink as a means of escape. Charles knows that Sebastian has sabotaged their chance to live together. He later realizes that he has done the wrong thing because Sebastian’s depression is worse when he feels alone.
Themes
Lady Marchmain comes to see Charles again and gently berates him for lying to her. Charles insists that he did not lie, but Lady Marchmain says that she cannot allow Sebastian and Charles to live together and that he must live with Mgr. Bell instead. Charles insists that this will make Sebastian worse, and that Sebastian must feel free to be happy, but Lady Marchmain says that Charles is biased against Catholics and that she knows how to handle drunks.
Charles has been truthful with Lady Marchmain, but she assumes the worst and does not listen to him. She assumes that Sebastian drinks all the time when he is with Charles, even though this is not true. Charles understands Sebastian better than Lady Marchmain does, but Lady Marchmain believes that Charles’s concern comes from a place of prejudice. This suggests that she feels persecuted, like a martyr, even when she is not.
Themes
Sebastian is resigned when he hears the news, and he and Charles get extremely drunk together that night. The next day, Lady Marchmain takes Sebastian home, and Charles and Brideshead clear out his room. Charles is distraught and close to tears, but Brideshead cannot understand why Sebastian does not want to live with Mgr. Bell. Charles says that Sebastian would be better off with no religion, but Brideshead seems bemused by this.
The worst has already happened for Charles and Sebastian (they will not be allowed to live together), so they naïvely seem to think getting drunk will do no harm despite Sebastian’s former mishaps. Brideshead has no empathy and cannot understand Charles or Sebastian’s position. Much like Lady Marchmain, Brideshead is extremely set in his ways Catholic and sees no value in anything which does not relate to his religion.
Themes
After Sebastian has gone, Charles goes to visit Collins and hears that there is a room available in his house. Charles cannot bring himself to ask Collins about the room, however, and goes away forlornly. Not long after this, Charles goes to see his father and tells him that he wants to leave Oxford and become a painter instead. Charles’s father agrees to this and suggests that Charles should go abroad.
Charles has nowhere to live now that his arrangement with Sebastian has fallen through. He is too proud to ask Collins for help because he abandoned Collins for Sebastian. Without Sebastian, Oxford loses all allure for Charles. It no longer seems like a lively place where love is possible because Charles and Sebastian have lost their innocence and freedom. They have been metaphorically cast out of the place which they once considered a paradise on Earth, reflecting the difficult truth that even the most innocent, genuine, and joyful experiences must eventually come to an end.
Themes
Before his departure, Charles receives a letter from Lady Marchmain. She writes that Sebastian has gone to stay with his father and that, after this, he will travel abroad with Mr. Samgrass. He may return to Oxford after Christmas if he agrees to live with Mgr. Bell. He was not happy during his time at Brideshead, and Lady Marchmain says she is very sorry about the way that things worked out.
Charles knows that Sebastian will never agree to live with Mgr. Bell and will never return to Oxford. Being forced to stay with his family will make Sebastian unhappy because he will feel trapped at Brideshead and want to escape. Lady Marchmain is genuinely sorry and wishes to help Sebastian, but her close-mindedness and unwillingness to let him makes his own choices make her efforts backfire.
Themes
