The aim of the hereby paper is to present the character of Evelyn Waugh. His career as a journalist was truncated as a direct result of his literary success with his first novel, Decline and Fall. Although his racy novels of the ‘Bright Young People’ in 1920s England made his reputation, he was a profoundly conservative writer who also had great success with more sombre works like Brideshead Revisited. Waugh’s attitudes towards the marriage, faith, Catholicism and the aristocracy were very complex, and they changed over the years. I have tried to demonstrate the shape of these changes by tracing references to these themes in Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Brideshead Revisited, as he stated, is the account of the intervention of God’s Grace in a family.
When Brideshead was first published in 1945 it dismayed some critics and readers. It might be shocking that in fact so little they realised what the novel is really about. They thought it an excuse for aristocratic snobbery, suspected it to be sycophantic praise of a small Catholic clique, and condemned it for pandering to an unhealthy taste for miracles. Fifteen years after writing the novel, Waugh declared that he sees many faults in the book and he thought it necessary to excuse himself by the fact that he wrote it seduced by a consequent post-war nostalgia , nevertheless, at the time he wrote the novel, however, he had no doubt he was writing something of utmost importance. Better than anyone Waugh knew that it deals with far more than an age which witnessed a regrettable decline in splendid living. Its major theme – the need to place one’s relationship with God at the very centre of one’s life – is something very different. Moreover, the following paper intends to analyse the two approaches to the world of faith, namely – Catholicism and Atheism in order to find the reasons behind the common between 1890s and 1950s conversions to Catholicism, especially amongst the poets, artists and writers.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Evelyn Waugh – the Life of the Writer
1.1. Waugh and his literary features
1.2. Waugh’s Literary Achievement
1.3. Citical Reception of Waugh’s Works
1.4. Summary – Waugh in a Flashback
Chapter Two
The Two Worlds – Catholicism vs. Atheism
2.1 Atheism
2.2 Catholicism
2.3 Brief History of Catholicism
2.4 The Roman Catholic Church and Other Catholic groups
2.5 The demographics of contemporary Catholicism
2.6 Catholicism Sacraments
Chapter Three
Waugh and His Conversion – Brideshead Revisited
3.1. The Critical Reaction to Waugh’s Conversion
3.2. The Analysis of the Brideshead Revisited in view of Catholicism
Conclusion
Objectives and Research Focus
The paper examines the life and work of Evelyn Waugh, specifically focusing on his complex relationship with faith, Catholicism, and the aristocracy, as illustrated through his novel Brideshead Revisited. The primary research goal is to analyze how Waugh's personal conversion influenced the themes of his writing and to explore the broader religious and intellectual context of the era.
- The biographical background of Evelyn Waugh and his career development.
- A detailed analysis of the two philosophical approaches to faith: Catholicism and Atheism.
- The impact of Waugh’s conversion on his literary works, particularly Brideshead Revisited.
- The reception of Waugh’s conversion by the contemporary literary and artistic circles.
- The role of the Church and religious identity in the mid-twentieth century.
Excerpt from the Book
Waugh and his literary features
‘Evelyn Waugh…,’ the ‘Sunday Express’ once remarked, ‘was quite simply exceedingly unpleasant’ (Graham Lord, 28 September 1975, 6). This view of his character is not uncommon, especially since the first appearance of sections from the ‘Diaries’ in the ‘Observer Magazine’ (1973). Christopher Sykes’s ‘official’ biography (1975) did little to rectify the impression. Despite his loyal attempt to stitch up a suit of virtue for his subject the bile still, apparently, spilled through the seams. Waugh’s enemies saw in the book what they had always suspected: he had been pompous, snobbish, sadistic; there was something of the Fascist and the philistine about him.
One of the salient and most distinguishing features of Waugh’s work is his abiding preoccupation with style. Generally critics agree that Waugh’s vocabulary proved exceptionally rich, and he was gifted with a special ability to choose the precise, absolutely correct word, and his economy in the use of language has been unchallenged. Fowler’s Modern English Usage and the Oxford English Dictionary were constant companions. He once wrote a letter answering the query as how youthful authors could improve their style. His response is worth quoting because he followed this advice most diligently in his own career while he states that the most valuable advice he could give young writers of that days is to ‘Learn their Language’. That did not mean for example the scholarly knowledge of Latin or of Greek. They also should not worry about their own emotions or opinions. What was the most important, was to study the great writers and stylists particularly, of the past. One of the writers worth reading was Pushkin, whom Waugh advised to look into every day. Enlarge and enrich your vocabulary.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the scope of the paper, detailing the author's intent to analyze Evelyn Waugh's life, his conversion to Catholicism, and the thematic significance of Brideshead Revisited.
Chapter One: Provides a comprehensive biographical overview of Evelyn Waugh, exploring his upbringing, his time at Oxford, his literary career, and his gradual shift toward Catholicism.
Chapter Two: Discusses the broader conflict between Catholicism and Atheism, defining these terms and examining the history of intellectual conversions within the 19th and 20th centuries.
Chapter Three: Analyzes the specific impact of Waugh’s conversion on his masterpiece Brideshead Revisited, addressing critical reception and the theological dimensions within the narrative.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings, reiterating how Waugh’s personal journey of faith reflects the broader cultural and spiritual tensions of post-war England.
Keywords
Evelyn Waugh, Catholicism, Atheism, Brideshead Revisited, conversion, literature, satire, British aristocracy, religious faith, literary technique, modernism, apologetics, Christianity, 20th-century literature, spirituality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary objective of this paper?
The paper aims to explore the character and literary career of Evelyn Waugh, specifically focusing on how his conversion to Catholicism influenced his works and his perception of the modern world.
What are the central thematic areas discussed?
The study centers on the life of Evelyn Waugh, the dichotomy between Catholicism and Atheism, the process of religious conversion in the 20th century, and the thematic analysis of Brideshead Revisited.
What research methodology is employed?
The author uses a qualitative approach, gathering materials from various books, magazine articles, and digital sources to conduct a literary and historical analysis of Waugh’s work and persona.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines biographical details, the historical conflict between religious and secular worldviews, the critical response to Waugh's religious choice, and a detailed thematic investigation of his most famous novel.
How does the author characterize Evelyn Waugh?
Waugh is depicted as a complex, conservative writer who used a "melodramatic disguise" to protect his privacy while sincerely lamenting what he perceived as the decay of European culture.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
The work is defined by concepts such as Catholicism, Atheism, Brideshead Revisited, literary conversion, satire, and the cultural history of the 20th century.
How did Waugh’s conversion affect his public reception?
His conversion was met with significant sensation and bewilderment by the contemporary media and literary circles, as many critics found his religious dedication at odds with his previous reputation as a satirist.
What is the significance of the "twitch upon the thread" metaphor?
Derived from G.K. Chesterton, this metaphor is used to describe the unique power of the Catholic Church to maintain influence over a human soul, allowing it freedom yet drawing it back eventually.
Why did Waugh revise Brideshead Revisited later in life?
He felt embarrassed by the lush, sentimental style of the original 1945 edition and sought to adopt a more austere and controlled literary voice in later versions.
- Citar trabajo
- Marta Zapała-Kraj (Autor), 2019, The Character of Evelyn Waugh. Catholicism Clashed with Atheism, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/591334
