Revisiting

Aconselho todos a visitar/revisitar o 'Brideshead Revisited'. É o que tenho andado a fazer nos últimos dias (aproveitando o ano do 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Breakfast in Pluto', 'Transamerica' e 'Capote', em que o tema tem sido pouco debatido...). E mais do que quando vi pela primeira vez ( era ainda uma 'petiza', não é?), agora ando às voltas com a natureza da relação Charles/Sebastian, não esquecendo como a Julia, mais tarde, vem baralhar o esquema, criando o típico triângulo ou encarnando a tábua de salvação heterosexual, como preferirem. Para quem tem ou teve as mesmas dúvidas, aqui fica uma tentativa de explicação que encontrei na wikipedia.

'The Nature of the Relationship between Charles and Sebastian
One continuing controversy which has struck both readers of the novel and viewers of the mini-series was the question on the nature of Charles’s and Sebastian’s relationship; whether it is homosexual, and whether it is physical or emotional. The vast majority of analyses of the book, scholarly or not, make no mention of this question or only address it in passing. This is understandable since Charles’ and Sebastian’s relationship is not the major theme of the book; by Waugh's own admission, the book is a trumpeting of the redemptive nature of God's grace. Nevertheless, the topic is of interest, due to its being a continuing source of discussion to readers of the novel and viewers of the mini-series and because the first half of the novel is generally recognized as being more accessible and attention-grabbing than the latter, more intellectual half.

One side of the discussion interprets the relationship from the Freudian point of view, in which intentions are understood ultimately on terms of sex. From this point of view, Charles’s and Sebastian’s relationship is homosexual, whether or not it is physical. This would not be inconsistent with the general theme of the book, which is redemption. Waugh himself said that “Charles's romantic affection for Sebastian is part due to the glitter of the new world Sebastian represents, part to the protective feeling of a strong towards a weak character, and part a foreshadowing of the love for Julia which is to be the consuming passion of his mature years.” The Catholic Church, to which Waugh was a convert, considers homosexual acts as contrary to the natural law. The transition from Charles’s homosexual relationship with Sebastian to his heterosexual relationship with Julia would be seen in the Catholic perspective as a step closer and in-line with this eventual conversion.

The other interpretation is that Charles and Sebastian had a passionate yet platonic relationship, an immature albeit strongly felt attachment which prefigures future heterosexual relationships. A passage in Brideshead Revisited has Lord Marchmain's mistress, Cara, talking to Charles of his relationship with Sebastian precisely in terms of this same-sex attachment; that it forms part in a process of emotional development typical to the English and the Germans. This interpretation would seem to be challenged by the line "our naughtiness was high on the list of grave sins" by which Charles seems to be referring to sodomy. However, the "Naughtiness" could also very well be the gluttony the boys commit, not to mention the sloth and greed that characterize their carefree days.'