A Blow Upon a Bruise story
Charles returns from his art studies in Paris and journeys to Brideshead for the 1925 New Year's celebration. Sebastian has returned from an excursion to the Levant with Mr Samgrass, but monochrome slides of the holiday and comments made by the two clearly indicate Sebastian frequently went off on his own to satisfy his hedonistic needs. Sebastian agrees to participate in a fox hunt although he plans to make an early escape to a pub, so he asks Charles for money and his friend acquiesces. When Sebastian returns home heavily inebriated at the end of the day, a distressed Lady Marchmain questions Charles. Learning he financed Sebastian's drinking binge, she rebukes him for enabling him, and Charles leaves Brideshead, fully expecting never to return.
23 total · 1 choice · 6 major · 16 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| friendship | choice | The story centers around the intimate friendship between Charles and Sebastian. Charles visited Brideshead over the Christmas holidays to be there for Sebastian as he struggled with alcoholism and family issues. |
| alcohol abuse | major | Sebastian was battling alcoholism. To curb his rampant drinking, Lady Marchmain cut off his money supply and basically put all the alcohol at Brideshead under lock and key. |
| controlling family member | major | Lady Marchmain was described as a manipulative and devious woman who went through extraordinary lengths to control her children's lives, not understanding that it was that very habit of hers that had driven Sebastian (as well as her estranged husband) to the bottle. Lady Marchmain outright refused to allow Sebastian to take up accommodation with Charles in Paris or London. |
| depression | major | Sebastian, now a nominally rehabilitating alcoholic, was sullen and brooding. Not even his dear friend Charles could help turn things around. |
| hatred | major | Sebastian was being consumed by hatred for his mother, Lady Marchmain, who was practically keeping him captive at Brideshead. Charles spelled out that Sebastian and her estranged husband alike hated Lady Marchmain intensely. |
| life in late modern Britain | major | The story portrays life for both the low and the high at Brideshead Castle, an aristocratic country estate, in Britain during the interwar period as well as during the Second World War. |
| mother and son | major | Lady Marchmain's heavy-handed approach to Sebastian's rehabilitation only compounded his miseries, fueling his resentment toward her. |
| boredom | minor | Mr. Samgrass left certain attendees of his slideshow presentation bored to tears. Cordelia, for instance, joking asked Charles to pinch her (to keep her awake). Julia may have tried to conceal a yawn. |
| brother and brother | minor | Bridey suggested to Sebastian that he ride Tinker Bell on the upcoming fox hunt, a suggestion that Sebastian brushed off. |
| brother and sister | minor | Sebastian had passing interactions with his sisters, Julia and Cordelia. |