Episode 41: Brideshead Revisited

I just got back from a screening of Brideshead Revisited. Yeah, I know, I'm probably one of the last people to see the show. In fact, tonight was the final screening at the Arts Centre, so I went down with Chloe and Claire Lim. Not having read the book, I must pay the film the compliment of saying that it made me want to read Evelyn Waugh's novel. Part of the plot is set in Venice, and what glimpses of it were shown have only confirmed my resolve to visit that city at some point during my three years here. At the same time, I must also confess that the character of Charles Ryder reminded me of myself, perhaps more than I would have liked. That hunger to belong in the society of the moneyed and privileged can be very powerful, and undoubtedly, some of the decisions that I've made in my life have been deliberately calculated to bring me closer to that circle. By no means am I ungrateful for the upbringing that I've had, even if I don't display that gratitude as often as would be gratifying to my parents. It is simply that I have seen what there is to be had in this world, and I take it for granted that I deserve a share of it. At what price would I wrest this for myself, you might very well ask, and I would find it difficult to determine my answer. For I don't doubt that I have limits that I would not deign to cross; I have simply not had occasion to clearly define them yet.