Beauty in Brideshead Revisited: The Holy and the Hedonistic

‘But my dear Sebastian, you can’t seriously believe it all’

‘Can’t I?’

‘I mean about Christmas and the star and the three kings and the ox and the ass.’

‘Oh yes, I believe that. It’s a lovely idea.’

‘But you can’t believe things because they’re a lovely idea.’

‘But I do. That’s how I believe.’

• Brideshead Revisited

 

Risking Enchantment returns for its autumn/winter season. As promised our first episode back is about Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. We discuss the novel in terms of its theme of the idolization of beauty, and look at how beauty both pulls characters away from God and draws them close to Him. We compare Sebastian’s childlike and childish approach to beauty and life, with Charles’ devotion but ultimately superficial love of beauty and art. At the heart of the discussion is Waugh’s self-proclaimed theme of the operation of divine grace, and how beauty provides an opportunity for this grace to be received.

 

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

 

Worked Referenced

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Brideshead Revisited (TV mini series, 1981)

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

“A Twitch upon the Thread: Grace in Brideshead Revisited” by Annesley Anderson

“Brideshead Revisited During Lent” by Patrick Tomassi

“The rejection of beauty in Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited” by Laura White

“From Arcadia to Ascesis: the necessary loss of pleasure in Brideshead Revisited” by Joanna Bratten

The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

 

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Rachel: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Phoebe: The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge