The British version of the Dream of the Red Chamber "After the Storm in the Old Garden" and the master of literary satire: Evelyn Waugh

In 2003, the British BBC conducted a survey: looking for The British's favorite novels. More than 750,000 votes were collected, and the famous writer Evelyn Wo's "Brideshead Revisited" ranked 45th among the 100 famous articles. In 2007, the British newspaper "The Guardian" held a selection event: 100 indispensable books in life, "After the Storm in the Old Garden" once again won the 26th place.

"After the Storm in the Old Garden" is a memoir-style novel. At the beginning of the story, it is World War II, and the protagonist, Captain Charles, once accompanied the troops and came to The Breezhead Manor. In an instant, the floodgates of memory are opened, and all the past is gushing out, some of which have religious sacred magnificence, and others that are blasphemous, marginalized, and lamentable.

"I used to be a passer-by here, every grass and tree here, things are not people, I can't help but be in my chest." Mumbling to himself, Charles tells readers the unforgettable story of him and Bretz head.

The novel is divided into three parts: the first part: The Garden of Eden of Youth. It mainly describes the protagonist's university life in Oxford and his friendship with his classmate Sebastian, the second part: After the Storm in the Old Garden. It tells the story of the rapid fall of his friend Sebastian and the decay of his family, part THREE: The Invisible Thread of Destiny. The reader sees the various entanglements between the protagonist and Bretzhead after entering adulthood.

In the first part, the young Charles was studying at Oxford University. After a ridiculous drunken incident, he became acquainted with Sebastian. The alumnus' father was the Marquis of Marchmaine. One summer, Sebastian asked Charles to come to The Breezhead Manor, a place he called "where my family lived." The splendid architecture and psychedelic countryside made Charles interested in the family. Sebastian's friend Blanche confided to Charles that Sebastian was born into a very evil family, and that his father, the Marquis of Marchmaine, was an alcoholic, and lived with his mistress in Venice; Mrs. Marchmaine was a catholic who refused to divorce her husband. Sebastian also has an older brother and two younger sisters. The eldest sister, Julia, was born with a lot of charm.

During the holidays, Sebastian broke his ankle and invited Charles to The Bretzhead Manor again, where two good friends spent a dreamy time in the Garden of Eden. After recovering from his injuries, Sebastian Yored traveled with him to Venice to visit his father.

After returning to school in the fall, Sebastian, who had been an alcoholic in the past, began a rapid self-destructive path. He was frequently drunk to escape reality, and finally became an inextricable drunkard. Sebastian's mother attempts to bribe Charles to spy on Sebastian for her, but Charles is reluctant to betray his friend. Eventually, Sebastian was fired for misconduct, and his mother tried her best to keep him in check and arrange for him to travel to various European countries in hopes of curing him of alcoholism. However, Sebastian eventually escaped from his homeland and began his wandering life in a foreign land.

The first depiction of life at Oxford University has always been praised for its elegance and timelessness. The fragrant horse chestnut trees on campus, the crisp echoing church bells, the strange gathering of friends and friends, the beautiful and fresh manor holiday... All of this unfolds a wonderful picture of the Garden of Eden for the reader. However, behind these illusions, the satirical master Evelyn uses a seemingly careless brushstroke to pull the reader out of the picture from time to time and give you a real life test.

While Charles and Sebastian were immersed in a leisurely summer outing, the author borrowed Sebastian's words and said: "This is a good place to bury a jar of gold, I want to bury a precious thing in every place where I have lived happily, and when I am old and ugly, and unfortunately, I can dig it out and quietly recall it." Here, the author seems to be a description of a better life, but in fact, he is telling the reader that the momentary passage of this life is inevitable, even the characters in the novel themselves are already aware of it.

In the second part, Charles himself dropped out of Oxford and entered the School of Fine Arts in Paris to study architectural painting. Sebastian's sister Julia married a Canadian upstart named Rex. He had no moral values, and although he had been divorced, he was secretive. Julia's married life was very unfortunate, and the child died prematurely.

Mrs. Marchmaine was seriously ill and wanted to see Sebastian on her deathbed. Charles was entrusted to find Sebastian, who was ill and hospitalized, in Morocco. He was suffering from a cold and pneumonia complication and was unable to travel. A few days later Mrs. Marchmaine died.

In the face of the storm in the old garden, Charles could not help but reflect: "What have I left behind?" youth? Helpless years? affair? All of this is like a compendium and condensation of the essence of a young magician: in a neat cupboard, a wand and a deceptive billiard ball are crammed together, next to a foldable penny, and a velvet flower that can be shrunk into a hollow candle. The author cleverly uses these magician's props to allude to the various deceptions and nothingness behind the exaggerated life, giving the reader an intuitive feeling and a profound shock.

In the third part, after Charles got married, he discovered that his wife was having an affair with others, and angrily left home to go to the Americas for a long-term tour to paint. On the ferry back home, Charles and Julia meet in the storm, and memories and misfortunes connect the two orphans in the storm. The two lingered for a long time and decided to get married. The old Marquis of Marchmaine returned home from illness, and the priest performed a dying religious ceremony for him: confession. However, Julia changed her mind about remarriage and decided to quit married life. Charles, who has already completed the divorce procedures, ended up alone.

"Now we're going back to being alone, and there's no way I can make you understand it all." Julia confessed.

"I want you to know that the breakup thing, for you and me, is not the slightest bit easy. I think your heart will be broken, and I feel the same way. Charles replied.

When Julia returns to religion and seems to have calmed her mind, the author here, through the seemingly understated words between the two of them, makes a powerful criticism and lashing out at the deep pain and ineffableness caused by religion.

At the end of the novel, the author writes: "The avalanche poured down, clearing the hillside behind it. The great echo disappeared, and the snow piles that had been re-formed, shining, lay quietly in the silent valley at this moment. ”

With this somewhat mysterious ending, the author metaphorically entraps old ideological fetters that will still linger and make a comeback for a long time.

The master of critical satire, Evelyn Waugh, in the self-prologue of the novel, is pointedly expressed: "How the holy religion affects the world's diverse masses, as the theme of this book, may be too self-ego and general. But, for this reason, I have no remorse in my heart. ”

Through the flat and straightforward storyline, beautiful details and thought-provoking warning sentences everywhere, the novel portrays a group of unenterprising characters who face the drastic changes of the times, turn to religion for help to escape from reality, and portray them vividly, into the wood, thus revealing the historical inevitability of the inevitable decline and collapse of the british old empire in essence.

From this point of view, many people commented that this "After the Storm in the Old Garden" can be called the British version of the Dream of the Red Chamber, but it is not unreasonable.

Stomp on Rouko

April 7, 2021

References: After the Storm in the Old Garden, by Evelyn Waugh