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Religion in ‘Brideshead Revisited’ Religion is a key theme in English author Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel ‘Brideshead Revisited’. The novel follows the life of a man over the course of approximately twenty years, as he is simultaneously enchanted and bewildered by the members of the wealthy Catholic Flyte family. Waugh reflects throughout the book on the role of religion in society, in the lives of individuals, and the importance it plays in interpersonal relationships. Through the eyes of the Anglican-agnostic protagonist, Charles Ryder, the reader comes to understand the intricacies of the other characters’ Catholicism, and as characters develop, so does the religious outlook had by not only the Flyte family members, but also by Charles himself. Charles is used by Waugh to contrast with the members of the Flyte family. Charles represents all that is seen as conventional at this place and point in time – British, Anglican, middle-class – and it is contrasted with the exotic romance of the Flyte family, who are of distinctly European heritage, Catholic, and extremely wealthy. The otherness of the Flytes is exemplified during the incident where Julia’s fiancé, Rex, prepares to convert to Catholicism and struggles with the cultural differences between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. Religion continues to play a large part in the relationships between characters, tearing apart both Charles and Sebastian, and Charles and Julia. The irrepressible religious beliefs of the two Flyte siblings prevents true closeness with Charles, who only finds religious security after the main events of the story, and resents the strength of their convictions. Another debate emerges between the characters during the course of the novel – whether one has to suffer in order to be close to God. During these discussions, Cordelia states that her brother Sebastian is very holy, and that “no one is ever holy without suffering”, and this bears a strange similarity to Charles’ opinion that Sebastian would be happier without his religion. However, the tone of these remarks is very different. Cordelia certainly means this as praise of her older brother, but Charles is overtly criticizing the faith of the family as detrimental. This incongruity demonstrates the fundamental differences between Charles and the Flytes, and the disagreements of this sort foreshadow the breakdown of relationships later on in the story.
