Brideshead Revisited Drugs and Alcohol Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"No. I like and think good the end to which wine is sometimes the means – the promotion of sympathy between man and man. But in my own case it does not achieve that end, so I neither like it nor think it good for me." (1.4.133)

Brideshead once again exposes his inability to communicate effectively with others.

Quote #2

"Sebastian drinks too much."

"I suppose we both do."

"With you it does not matter. I have watched you together. With Sebastian it is different. He will be a drunkard if someone does not come to stop him. I have known so many. Alex was nearly a drunkard when he met me; it is in the blood. I see it in the way Sebastian drinks. It is not your way." (1.4.239-41)

Cara isn’t just saying that Sebastian drinks differently than Charles – she’s also telling Charles that he is nothing like his friend. Sebastian’s qualities – his eccentricities, his aesthetic awareness – these are unattainable attributes for Charles.

Quote #3

There were two girls there, contemporaries of Julia's; they all seemed involved in the management of the ball. Mulcaster knew them of old and they, without much relish I thought, knew him. Mrs. Champion talked to Rex. Sebastian and I found ourselves drinking alone together as we always did. (1.5.58)

Sebastian and Charles base their friendship on two things: drinking, and isolation from the rest of the world.