Bridey is the anthisis of Sebastian ; he has to be both to give tonality to the family assembly; he is monochrome where sebastian is all luminous and like a brilliant bubble from a pipe - exudes for an instant the exquisitenesses of a rainbow and then opuff and its gone- Anthony Blanche.Blanche later described Bridey as a sort of a great LLama heading of to the endless and pointless destiny of his predictable life. He is happy after all to take over the meaningless continuiyty of the feudal systaem and has no vision or concience to see the inequality his forbears have foisted of the farming community. the Wealth is assumed ; it is not earned nor is there any thought given to any altruism of the spirit. He prays dutifully - but disdains Catholicism and Christianity; he is not a reformer - that is repugnant to his nature; neither will he end up as a monk dying alone in an abbey never to be reconciled to god or to his family , because he has no spiritual attachment to either - He is ritualistic and predictable ; for him noblesse oblige and preserving the family escutcheon is all ; But nothing matters because he is so soul
On reflection I think Bridey was the character who best personified Waugh himself. Waugh had an indifferent relationship, was fastidious and petty minded inmany things . He aspired to discovering an aristocratic lineage , and having failed to do so in the UK he retired to Ireland and bought a castle where he tried to life out his pretentious imaginings. But he disdained the indigent Irish who had little interest in blue blooded ancestry , much to Waugh's exasperation . He eventually abandoned the project. If we are to believe what is written about him he was a pretentious ,intolerant and insufferable snob.He also , let it be said , wrote at least one masterpiece in Brideshead, which remains one of my favorite books and will remain in the canon of English literature , and Waugh's own name is firmly placed in the pantheon of major 20th century writing.
Bridey is the anthisis of Sebastian ; he has to be both to give tonality to the family assembly; he is monochrome where sebastian is all luminous and like a brilliant bubble from a pipe - exudes for an instant the exquisitenesses of a rainbow and then opuff and its gone- Anthony Blanche.Blanche later described Bridey as a sort of a great LLama heading of to the endless and pointless destiny of his predictable life.
He is happy after all to take over the meaningless continuiyty of the feudal systaem and has no vision or concience to see the inequality his forbears have foisted of the farming community. the Wealth is assumed ; it is not earned nor is there any thought given to any altruism of the spirit. He prays dutifully - but disdains Catholicism and Christianity; he is not a reformer - that is repugnant to his nature; neither will he end up as a monk dying alone in an abbey never to be reconciled to god or to his family , because he has no spiritual attachment to either - He is ritualistic and predictable ; for him noblesse oblige and preserving the family escutcheon is all ; But nothing matters because he is so soul
On reflection I think Bridey was the character who best personified Waugh himself. Waugh had an indifferent relationship, was fastidious and petty minded inmany things . He aspired to discovering an aristocratic lineage , and having failed to do so in the UK he retired to Ireland and bought a castle where he tried to life out his pretentious imaginings.
But he disdained the indigent Irish who had little interest in blue blooded ancestry , much to Waugh's exasperation . He eventually abandoned the project. If we are to believe what is written about him he was a pretentious ,intolerant and insufferable snob.He also , let it be said , wrote at least one masterpiece in Brideshead, which remains one of my favorite books and will remain in the canon of English literature , and Waugh's own name is firmly placed in the pantheon of major 20th century writing.