google    brideshead revisited homoerotic

Skifast said:

So does this remove a lynch pin in he Bishop and Father are gαy hypothesis?

Not even close.

Salesian said:

A footnote to my opening post: researching this topic, I've discovered that Waugh actually had the manuscript checked by a distinguished priest-friend before submitting it for publication. Here are the details from a biography of the Jesuit in question

:

I just did some research too.  It was exhausting.  I hopped on a plane knowing that only a certain library at Cambridge had the information I was looking for... No, actually I just typed "Evelyn Waugh" and "ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ" into a search engine and found many pages with information like this.

"Even Waugh's reticent and protective biographer, Christopher Sykes, concedes that "at this period Evelyn entered an extreme ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ phase", a phase he describes as "unrestrained, emotionally and physically." Sykes does not like ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity and says so, so this admission about his hero cannot be an exaggeration. Sir Harold Acton, in Memoirs of an Aesthete, describes Waugh as "a prancing faun, thinly disguised by conventional apparel. His wide-apart eyes, always ready to be surprised under raised eyebrows, the curved sensual lips, the hyacinthine locks of hair, I had seen in marble and bronze at Naples. . ."

I also read a plot sypnosis of the book and there is a character named Anthony Blanche who is openly ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ and in true liberal fashion is considered the wisest character.  This is not even to mention "Lord Sebastian Flyte."

"Sebastian was himself a student at Christ Church, Oxford. The next day, he sends flowers to apologise and invites Charles to lunch with him."

Yeah, nothing ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ here.   :rolleyes:  I just can't see why anyone would think a "flamboyant, teddy-bear-owning aristocrat" named Lord Sebastian Flyte might be gαy... Must be their own sick minds, right, salesian?

Perhaps this book has parallels to what is going on in the Church today.  Charles Ryder represents the traditional Church, but he is bored and unsure of himself -- sort of reminds me of how many Catholics thought that Thomistic theology and strict Catholicism was a dead end.  Then he meets "Lord Sebastian Flyte" -- the gαyest name ever -- who is full of life and a breath of fresh air, one might even say... A new springtime?  So this relationship is symbolically about the true Church, in a moment of ennui, descending into apostasy and ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity.

It can't be a coincidence that the "Church" is plagued with gαys and that this book claims to be Catholic yet is beloved by ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs.  I'll bet you that it is used as a sort of reference among ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs in the "priesthood" by which they know each other, a sort of code that lets them know they are among friends.  

If someone tries to enter seminary and the "rector" asks him, "Hey, have you read Brideshead Revisited" and his eyes don't twinkle like little fairy-lights, then the "rector" will know he isn't one for the team...

Just some thoughts after reading the synopsis.  If I were you, Salesian, I'd back off this hot potato pronto.
Just so you know, I now think you're probably ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ because of the way you defended this trash and even tried to turn its gαyness around on those who decry it, a typical tactic of gαys, who try to impute their diseased minds to those who would expose them, as if we are the ones who created this freakish situation.  Good work.  

*****

The idea of an SSPX seminary director, if that's what Dr. White is, handing out Brideshead Revisited to seminarians is extremely disgusting and disturbing, but I can't say I'm surprised.  I wouldn't be surprised if the entire traditional clergy turned out to be ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ.  I hope to be proved wrong -- surely ONE straight man must have slipped through, somewhere out there?  Otherwise this has got to be the end.

So your own argument amounts to alleging the"gαyness" of Sebastian Flyte's name, and pointing to the fact that he - a 1920s aesthete - sends another undergraduate flowers to apologise for being sick in his room. Brilliant. You have a career in literary criticism ahead of you.

As for the rest of your emission: Anthony Blanche is not "openly ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ", nor is he presented as "the wisest character". The latter would more accurately describe the pious and loving character of Cordelia Flyte. Now if you want to rely on Wikipedia articles which appear to represent the opinion of those determined to claim the treasures of Western literature for "the gαy Cause" (see also this section of the Wikipedia entry on The Merchant of Venice's Bassanio) that's your loss. Anyone who has read the book, as no doubt some reading this thread have, will realise how utterly ridiculous your characterisation of it is. That's to be expected when someone, rather than going to the text, relies on internet summaries. I suppose in your view it's a cause of pity for Mother Church that her censors and critics lacked Wikipedia when reviewing the book, else they'd doubtless have realised its pernicious agenda rather than praising it.

As for "now think[ing I'm] probably ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ" - very brave to say that online. You'll have to forgive me if I treat is as just more evidence of the worthlessness of your judgement. I'm sure Dr White, were he aware of this thread, would be surprised to learn that he's a ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ propagandist.

Raoul, was Christopher Sykes a contemporary of E. Waugh?

 I think you have nailed it Raoul-being younger and exposed to more impurity than people of my generation did while growing up.  You will naturally notice effeminate behavior more readily than the more sheltered types.

I have not read the book.  I strongly believe that young students should be reading strong character building material.  Le Morte D'Arthur or To Kill a Mockingbird

At ICA they all read Harry Potter-nothing can be worse than that spiritual pornography.

Wow, the saying "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up," sure comes to mind.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about your presence here. :-)

I'm giving Dr. White the hugest benefit of the doubt possible; I believe he is   just a good teacher, and has been for many years.

It was not placed on the Index, so it is allowable and probably fine, when taught by a competent professor, for more mature students.

But you've raised a good point - is it that high on the reading list that it must be read?