Brideshead Revisited Youth Quotes

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

Quote #10

"But yesterday I got a regular eye-opener. The trouble with modern education is you never know how ignorant people are. With anyone over fifty you can be fairly confident what's been taught and what's been left out. But these young people have such an intelligent, knowledgeable surface, and then the crust suddenly breaks and you look down into depths of confusion you didn't know existed." (1.7.112)

This is true; for all Charles and Sebastian’s education at Oxford, they know very little about themselves or what they want.

Quote #11

It was really Johnjohn who made him see reason about that girl; seriously, you know, he's frightfully sharp. He must have heard Mother and me talking, because next time Boy came he said: 'Uncle Boy shan't marry horrid girl and leave Johnjohn,' and that was the very day – he settled for two thousand pounds out of court." (2.2.72)

Youth is very much tied to wisdom in Brideshead Revisited. Cordelia, too, was a fountain of insight as a child.

Quote #12

"I've never known a divorce do anyone any good."

"That's your affair and Julia's."

"Oh, Julia's set on it. What I hoped was, you might be able to talk her round. I've tried to keep out of the way as much as I could; if I've been around too much, just tell me, I shan't mind. But there's too much going on altogether at the moment, what with Bridey wanting me to clear out of the house; it's disturbing, and I've got a lot on my mind."

[…]

"If Julia insists on a divorce, I suppose she must have it," he said. "But she couldn't have chosen a worse time. Tell her to hang on a bit, Charles, there's a good fellow." (2.4.16-9)

Charles’s entire group of peers all act like children, even once they are grown. They all marry and divorce as though they are changing outfits.