Home and Abroad story
At Brideshead, Charles is introduced to Sebastian's younger sister Cordelia and his older brother Brideshead ('Bridey'). Sebastian decides to accept an invitation to Venice extended by Sebastian's father, Lord Marchmain, and by dint of traveling third class is able to take Charles with him. When in Venice they meet Lord Marchmain's mistress Cara and spend two weeks on an extensive program of sightseeing.
23 total · 1 choice · 9 major · 13 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| friendship | choice | A point of the story is to portray the inception and early development of an intimate friendship between Charles and Sebastian. |
| Catholicism | major | Sebastian was a steadfast Catholic and Charles was an outspoken atheist. There were several conversations that revolved around this faith. The Marchmain's were a minority in having it. They thought Charles was odd for being an agnostic. They lamented that the bishop of London was going to close their family chapel as it had too small a clientele. |
| extramarital affair | major | It was an open secret that Lord Marchmain was living with his mistress in Venice. Charles expressed discomfort about living under the same roof as the adulterous pair, but later came to like them both. |
| father and son | major | Sebastian mentioned his father with something like respect, by stark contrast with how he spoke of his mother. A major portion of the story concerned Charles and Sebastian meeting Sebastian's father, Lord Marchmain, in Venice. Upon his return, Charles went back to stay with his father to save money between semesters. A portion of the story concerned the psychological game Charles and his father were engaging in while Charles was at home. |
| human characters in contrast | major | A point of the story is arguably to compare and contrast the wealthy and ennobled Marchmain family with various well-to-do middle class people in Britain during the interwar period. Charles was invited to the Brideshead Castle, a palatial mansion, and took in life there with his wealthy host Sebastian. |
| husband and wife | major | Central to the episode was how Lord Marchmain hated his wife and lived openly with his mistress, Cara, in Venice. Cara explained how and why Lady Marchmain was hated. |
| life in late modern Britain | major | The story portrays life for a variety of people across the social strata, in Britain during the interwar period as well as during the Second World War. |
| male homosexuality | major | The question of whether the relationship between Charles and Sebastian is homosexual or platonic is the subject of scholarly debate. In one viewing of the series, the intimacy of their interactions is suggestive of a romantic male friendship in an era defined by internalized homophobia. |
| man and mistress | major | Lord Marchmain was in Venice, living openly with his Italian mistress, Cara. |
| what it is like to travel | major | This installment of the series follows Charles and Sebastian as they vacation together in Venice. They partook in stereotypical Venice sightseeing activities, such as sharing a gondola and visiting a beach. |