Presentation Type
Oral/Paper Presentation
Abstract
In Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited, Captain Charles Ryder slowly and unassumingly converts from atheism to Catholicism. Waugh subverts the stereotypical conversion narrative, which defines systematic theology strictly defines as a person’s “turn” or “move towards” God. Negative theology, also known as apophatic theology, is an approach that relies on negation to describe divine nature. Looking at Brideshead Revisited through the lens of negative theology notices a subversion of the conversion narrative to see how God works invisibly, overtime, and in ways not translatable to the human vocabulary. Through memory, Charles Ryder’s experience transforms. He glimpses divine presence at work within his suffering and human relationships, always leading him towards redemption.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Jan Harris
Recommended Citation
Floyd, Camille, "A Small Red Flame: Negative Theology and Divine Presence in Brideshead Revisited" (2025). Student Scholar Symposium. 12.
https://digitalcollections.lipscomb.edu/student_scholars_symposium/2025/Full_schedule/12
A Small Red Flame: Negative Theology and Divine Presence in Brideshead Revisited
In Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited, Captain Charles Ryder slowly and unassumingly converts from atheism to Catholicism. Waugh subverts the stereotypical conversion narrative, which defines systematic theology strictly defines as a person’s “turn” or “move towards” God. Negative theology, also known as apophatic theology, is an approach that relies on negation to describe divine nature. Looking at Brideshead Revisited through the lens of negative theology notices a subversion of the conversion narrative to see how God works invisibly, overtime, and in ways not translatable to the human vocabulary. Through memory, Charles Ryder’s experience transforms. He glimpses divine presence at work within his suffering and human relationships, always leading him towards redemption.