novel title: decline and fall

8/20/2019 Novel title: Decline and Fall

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Novel Title: Decline and Fall

Decline and Fall is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was

Waugh's first published novel. Decline and Fall is based in part on Waugh's schooldays at

ancing !ollege, undergraduate years at "ertford !ollege, #$ford, and his e$perience as ateacher at %rnold "ouse in north Wales.&1 It is a social satire that e(ploys the author's

characteristic blac) hu(our in la(pooning various features of *ritish society in the 192+s.

he novel's title is a contraction of Edward -ibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the

Roman Empire. he title alludes also to the -er(an philosopher #swald pengler 's The Declineof the West /191801922, which first appeared in an English translation in 192 and which

argued, a(ong other things, that the rise of nations and cultures is inevitably followed by their

eclipse. Waugh read both -ibbon and pengler while writing his first novel. &2 Waugh's satire isuna(biguously hostile to (uch that was in vogue in the late 192+s, and 3the(es of cultural

confusion, (oral disorientation and social bedla(...both drive the novel forward and fuel its

hu(our.3&4

his 3undertow of (oral seriousness provides a crucial tension within &Waugh'snovels, but it does not do(inate the(.3 &5 Waugh hi(self stated boldly in his '%uthors 6ote' to

the first edition7 'lease bear in (ind throughout that I I E%6 # *E :;66


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of the Oxbridge undergraduate, the expulsion from Oxford is the true fall in his life.

was a little disappointed by the latter half of the book, the rolleroaster speeds up, and it does feel

rushed and a little too ontri!ed by the final hapters. ut this is Waugh's first no!el, so a minor

issue in the o!erall ontext of the amusing storylines and entertaining haraters.

%lot* was so pleasantly surprised at my enoyment of this book. had not expeted to find it as good

or as easy to read as it ended up being. The plot follows the story of %aul %ennyweather who within

the first + pages is fored to lea!e oxford uni!ersity through no fault of his own. This leads him to

starting a areer in a boys shool and ends up meeting a !ery important lady through this ob. The

plot was funny to say the lease. lo!e a shool no!el and this was an interesting one. t also ga!e a

really lear idea on the life style of the -+/s. There was a !ery similar tone to the great 0atsby but

with less of a party lifestyle. The ending was brilliant was so moti!ated to read those last few pages1

2haraters* %aul was a misfortunate harater, things ust kept happening to him. 3ike most of the

haraters in the book they had misfortune and the ards did not play out to them. Whih felt lie to

me a omment on the soiety at the time. %aul always had a really good humour to him and enoyed

reading about him and his lak of omplaining made me really idoli$e him.

4a!ourite aspets* liked the 5rd setion mostly, it was a brilliant setion to read. The writing of it

was really desripti!e and kept and easy tone to it. 6aking the whole no!el a lot easier to read then

had antiipated.

Themes* The main theme is the idea of soiety in the -+/s, lo!e this era. 7o to read about it and to

see how it effets different lasses and !iews was really interesting.

7truture* The 5 part struture was really nie, it showed learly the signifiane of the 5 e!ents in his

life. The setion where also more fun to read as you ould see the shifts in lass and how eah time

the e!ent ended it was a signifiant point.

This was Waugh's first no!el and was reei!ed with great alaim, e!en by my old fa!ourite 8rnold

ennett. 9owe!er find it like eating whipped ream. t goes down easy, but doesn't fill me up.

2learly lak the re&uired le!el of sensibility to appreiate Waugh. Whih is to say an addition to

the riotous upper lasses. f you think there is nothing better than a sna$$ily dissolute aristorat then

this is the satire for you.

t romps from ullingdon 2lub style antis at Oxford !ia ut prie pri!ate shools, white sla!ery,

prison and bak again. The hero learns nothing, but is simply spun round full irle on 4ortune's wheel.

What is earnest is for Waugh laughable and omes in for punishment or abuse whether that be the

3eague of :ations or %rison reformers. ut the rakish, so long as they are blue#blooded, will sur!i!e

and thri!e.

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eing of a tragially earnest disposition myself Waugh sharpens my appreiation for 6adame

0uillotine as an agent for soial impro!ement. ut it would be a sad world if we all thought alike.

8ording to the introdution to the %enguin edition, referring to his own work Waugh said

; regard writing not as in!estigation of harater but as an exerise in the use of language, and with

this am obsessed. ha!e no tehnial psyhologial interest. t is drama, speeh and e!ents thatinterest me./


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=!elyn Waugh's first no!el, Beline and 4all, is a delightful satiri omedy. t is based in part on

Waugh's undergraduate years at 9ertford 2ollege, Oxford, and his experiene as a teaher in Wales.

9e is sent down from Oxford and as a result takes a position at the 3lanabba shool in Wales. The

shool itself is dingy, depressing, and seems always on the !erge of oming apart at the seams. The

masters, 2aptain 0rimes, 6r. %rendergast, and %aul, are all un&ualified for their positions, the

students are frightfully undisiplined, and little or no learning e!er takes plae within 3lanabba

2astle's walls. n this episode and others enountered the author's not so subtle satire and

harateristi blak humor in lampooning !arious features of ritish shools and soiety in the

-+s.

The no!el's title is a ontration of =dward 0ibbon's The 9istory of the Beline and 4all of the

Coman =mpire. ut it also alludes to the 0erman philosopher Oswald 7pengler's The Beline of the

West (-D@-++), whih first appeared in an =nglish translation in -+E and whih argued, among

other things, that the rise of nations and ultures is ine!itably followed by their elipse. Waugh read

both 0ibbon and 7pengler while writing his first no!el.

tremendously enoyed the piares&ue ad!entures of its hero, %aul %ennyfeather, as he enountered

barely belie!able diffiulties in "getting along". Waugh's harateri$ation is superb while his satire is

unambiguously hostile to muh that was in !ogue in the late -+s, and themes of ultural hange

and onfusion, moral disintegration and soial deay all dri!e the no!el forward and fuel its humor.

This book was a oy to read e!en if you do not partiipate in all of 6r. Waugh's inside referenes. t is

a worthy introdution to the no!els of one of the finest authors of our entury. (less)

Beline 8nd 4all is Waugh at his most piering, polemial and disturbing. The ast of irredeemable

haraters beha!ing outrageously and !oiing opinions of suh !enom and preudie makes for

unsettling # yet hilarious # reading. Fnlike lesser haters, Waugh doesn't seretly lo!e or admire them,

he hates them all. t's diffiult to unpik the authorial !oie from the ridiulous !iews of some of the

most preposterous protagonists, and this is the harm of the work # you won't read it and feeluplifted, in fat you'll be luky if you don't feel a bit sullied.

t's the outbursts that are the best, suh as the !iar ommenting that an interest in liturgial matters

in the laity is usually a sign of the onset of madness, or Br 4agan's rant about the Welsh # "we an

trae almost all of the disasters of =nglish history or the influene of Wales. Think of =dward of

2aernar!on, the first %rine of Wales, a per!erse life...and an unseemly death, then the Tudors and

the dissolution of the 2hurh, then 3loyd 0eorge, the temperane mo!ement, :ononformity and

lust stalking hand in hand through the ountry, wasting and ra!aging." 2an't argue really....

f you think of Waugh as rideshead, repressed sexuality and ountry house psyhosexual drama,

Beline 8nd 4all will disabuse you. One of the most austi, diffiult and unlo!eable of authors he

fathered the deline in deferene by portraying the upper lasses as demented, sexually

dysfuntional, a!ariious, stupid and morally bankrupt. t's probably best he's not around to see the

elebrity obsessed, 9elloG9eat ulture of the times, or 0eorge Osborne as hanellor.... (less)

ha!e been re#!isiting books whih read in my youth. This is an interesting ati!ity. began reading

Tess of the B'Frber!illes in this !ein, only to find that had ne!er read it in the first plae. 6ore

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about that later. Ceading 'Beline and 4all' whih probably read while was at Oxford, and

generally a fan of Waugh's use of language was preparing myself for a treat. was ready to luxuriate

bak into a bubble#bath of wit. realled the opening senes of the ollinger 2lub (so opportunely

realled in that our new %rime 6inister was a member of the ullingdon 2lub whose praties are

most likely those satirised here). The Bons rouh at the window rubbing their hands in glee at the

fines to be olleted from the youthful !andalism and Waugh emits the immortal desrpition ..'it isthe sound of =nglish ounty families baying for broken glass'. 9owe!er, what must ha!e appeared

rippingly humorous in -+D # when 6rs este#2hetwynde, the guest of honour, turns up with her

blak boyfriend alled '2hokey' # is written in a form of old raism mesmerisingly unfunny to today's

pereptions. Try reading this without your stomah turning*

' think it's an insult bringing a nigger here,' said 6rs 2lutterbuk. 't's an insult to our own women.'

':iggers are all right,' said %hilbrik. 'Where draw the line is a 2hink, nasty inhuman things. had a

pal bumped off by a 2hink one. Throat ut horrible, it was, from ear to ear'.

2learly Waugh asribes the words to the harater, who in the latter sentene is a dupliitous

onfidene trikster posing as a butler, but the 2hokey theme arried on long enough to ure me

ompletely of any nostalgia might ha!e had for this book.

really enoyed Beline and 4all. t was ertainly not on the le!el of 7word of 9onor or rideshead

Ce!isited, but it was a delightful read.

'd reently listened to the 2 adaptation that someone (HudyA :igeybA) reommended, so had a

pretty good idea of the story, but the book was so muh better. There were se!eral times when burst

out laughing at Waugh's humor. espeially lo!ed the 8rnold ennett omment in the Cesurretion

hapter.

What didn't lo!e were Waugh's raist remarks. know suh attitudes were widespread and soially

aeptable at the time, but still find it shoking and disappointing that Waugh would partiipate.

8nd gi!en that his homosexual affairs made him part of a forbidden and despised group himself, it

does seem to me that he should ha!e had more sensiti!ity. had to remind myself that he was also

sathing in his udgment of the upper lasses, that he wasn't "ust" singling out one group. do

wonder what he was like in his personal relationships with others.....

8s in 7word of 9onor, Waugh's use of names was often hilarious. 0rimes, 2lutterbuk, Tangent,

Iisount 6etroland, lady 2irumferene##funny and appropriate.

The little poems and Waugh's own illustrations added to my enoyment of the book too.

8nd lo!ed %rofessor 7ilenus's explanation of life as being like the wheel at 3una %ark. t was the

highlight of the book for me.

7o glad to ha!e read this1 (less)

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=!elyn Waugh's first no!el, published in -+D is a dark satire, with some spot on obser!ations on

publi shool life (pri!ate shools in the FJ), religion and modern life. The title takes a leaf out of

0ibbon's 'The 9istory of the Beline and 4all of the Coman =mpire' and Oswald 7penglers 'Beline

of The West' and follows the rise in fortunes and then the deline of the hapless %aul %ennyfeather.

%aul is sent down for indeent beha!iour due to the wild antis of others, but despite his inability to

teah he gets a ob at a shool and all kinds of mayhem unfolds. 9e omes aross a mixture of

haraters all yphers for Waugh's riti&ues and obser!ations of soiety. %ennyfeather falls for the

harms of the !ery wealthy '3ady 6etroland', 6argot este#2hetwynde who makes her inome from

illiit means.

3ady 6etroland was loosely based on 3ady =dwina 6ounbatten who was rumoured to ha!e had

affairs with the musiian 3eslie '9uth' 9uthinson and ator %aul Cobeson. 8t one point, we meet

6argot's blak lo!er 7ebastian 2holmondeley or '2hokey' as he is known. 9e gi!es a speeh that is

reminisent of 7hylok's in 7hakespeare's 'The 6erhant of Ienie'.

The book is !ery funny in parts and sends up a range of people, institutions and life generally.

2ultural and moral onfusion happens faster than the a!erage typing speed. 7adly, it is let down by

the asual raism and stereotyping of the blak harater 7ebastian. suspet that Waugh was poking

fun at the raists, howe!er suh omments made unomfortable reading. 8 part from this, an

amusing no!el.

(less)

liked this title a little less than 8 9and full of Bust. The absurdity of 94B was there, but this was

definitely a lighter treatment of interbellum bedlam. The most disturbing part of this book and other

Waugh books is how aurately he depits bland haraters who are anti#Comanti. y this mean

haraters who go along with whate!er life gi!es them without sorrow or happiness and withoutreally fighting for anything. life passes by their dim pereption and then they die.

8t some point in this book the drunk 5#year#old =arl of someplae or other remarks that there are

two kinds of people in this world* dynami and non#dynami. %aul, the main harater reali$es that

he is not the dynami type, but feels no regret for not being of the harater and thinks nothing more

about it.

There is a brilliant setion about Jing's Thursday, a renaissane estate torn down and replaed with

a minimalist ube of a house. One again, absolutely no regret for destrution of a house that

re&uired + ser!ants to run, for a self#suffiient ube. t is an arhitetural treatise that begins to feel

like analogy and then de!ol!es into nothing in partiular. Whih lea!es me to wonder what the book

was about and also why need to feel that it was about anything at all.

In a little foreword to this novel the author entreats us to bear in (ind throughout that his boo) is

(eant to be funny, and we have, though at ti(es so(ewhat strenuously, to ta)e hi( at his word.

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%nd r. Waugh is funny, with that (ingling of worldly wisdo( and bun)u( which is the ne

plus ultra of your (asterly undergraduate.

"e affects to tell the story of a varsity (an who was sent down, but the story is, as it is intended

to be, so very silly that he has had (erely to interest hi(self in its superficial presentation, and

he (anages this so e$tre(ely well that one is occasionally re(inded of . -. Wodehouse, though

it (ust be added that r. Wodehouse has a far greater )nowledge of hu(an nature than appears

to reside at present in r. Waugh's consciousness. *ut anyway 3?ecline and :all3 is a great lar)D

its author has an agreeable sense of co(edy and characterisation, and the gift of writing s(art

and telling conversation, while his drawings are =uite in tune with the spirit of the tale.

• Explanation of the title

I fnd it quite dicult to say what the connection is between the title and the story.

`Decline and Fall' implies that the main character during the story gets into trouble and

ends in the gutter, while Paul Pennyeather, the main character o this boo!, gets indeed

in all !inds o trouble, but fnally gets bac! to the right road again.

• "o to e#plain the title I guess I ha$e to loo! a little bit urther. %ow I fnd &rs. &argot

este()hetwynde. *hen we frst get to now her, she is a popular, rich woman rom the

+pperclass, who enoys a lot o respect in society. -his changes during the story, her

popularity is declining, until she has to ft in, in the rest o society to sa$e her good name

and her place in the +pperclass.

-he tone in which *augh describes the whole high society o reat ritain at the

beginning o the /0th century, is why I thin! this decline o status is maybe where *augh

is pointing at with her title. -he whole story ma!es the 1nglish +pperclass, or rather the

whole `class(thing' !ind o laughable.

Overview

-he story starts at "cone )ollege, 2#ord, on ollinger e$ening. 2n this e$ening the 3adult4+pperclass members o the so called ollinger )lub ha$e dinner together, drin! a lot and

fnally beha$e more and more outrageous. Paul Pennyeather, a &iddleclass student in

his third year -heology becomes a $ictim o this lot, with his suspension rom the school

as result. 5is guardian is not willing to help Paul with the trouble he came into completely

innocent, and that is why he needs to go to fnd himsel a ob. 5e goes to a scholastic

agent and a mister 6e$y o this agent gets him a ob at a school in *ales.


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•

7lthough he has no e#perience whatsoe$er, Paul is accepted as the new unior assistant

on 6lanabba )astle. 5is colleges captain rimes and mister Prendergest ma!e that he

eels at home quite soon and so he starts his lie as a teacher.

2ne day the school organi8es a sports day. -here will be some o the most eminent

parents to watch the students during the games. &argot este()hytwynde, a widow, is

one o them. Paul alls in lo$e with her. *hen she as!s him to oin her and her son Peter

during the holidays to tutor Peter, Paul immediately agrees.

7nd so Paul gets to !now &argot better and better. 5e !nows she wants to get married

again and one day he has the courage to as! her. "he is content and agrees, although she

wants to as! Peter or his opinion. *hen the boy reacts enthusiastically, she tells Paul she

will ma!e her decision in the morning. 2 course she decides to marry him ( she li!ed him

rom the start ( and so Paul gets engaged with one o the richest women o 5igh "ociety.

&argot leads a business in "outh(7merica. 7t frst it is !ind o $ague what !ind o business

it is, but it turns out that it has to do something with sla$e trade. -hree days or the

wedding there are some problems in &arseilles with a couple o girls &argot send to

"outh(7merica as entertainment girls. ecause &argot is $ery busy with the wedding she

sends Paul to sol$e 3whate$er that is4 the problem. 7ll goes well and on the morning o his

wedding Paul returns in 6ondon. ut when he, his best man and Peter ha$e a drin! ust

beore they go to the church, an inspector o "cotland 9ard comes in and arrests Paul or

mingling in &argot's dar! business. 7nd so Paul ends up in ail: he is ;committed to seven

years' penal servitude for trac in prostitution


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7n e#ample o his good character is his dilemma about answering the question about his

lea$ing uni$ersity=

'I understand, too, that you left your University rather suddenly. Now - why was that? '

-his was the question that Paul had been dreading, and, true to his training, he resol$edupon honesty. Ì was send down, sir, or indecent beha$iour'.

7nother e#ample is his doubt ater the guy who is responsible or Paul's suspension,

o>ers him money or sort o damages=

Ìf I Tae that money', he said to himself, Ì shall never now whether I have acted ri!htly or

not. It would always "e on my mind. If I refuse, I shall "e sure of havin! done ri!ht. I shall loo

upon my self-denial with e#$uisite self-approval. %y refusin! I can convince myself that, in spite

of the un"elieva"le thin!s that have "een happenin! to me durin! the last ten days, I am still

the same &aul &ennyfeather I have respected so lon!. It is a test-case of the dura"ility of my

ideals.

2ther characters who are more or less important to the story are Doctor Fagin, )aptain

rimes, &ister Prendergest, &ister Philbric! and &argot este()hytwynde. -here are

more characters, but I don't fnd them important enough to the main theme o the story

to e#plicate here.

Doctor Fagin is the principal o 6lanabba )astle and a little bit weird. -here is not really

much to tell about him. 5e is $ery +pperclass(minded and or this reason he disli!es

)aptain rimes in a way and he lo$es the boys who come rom the `better amilies'. "till,

he seems to me a riendly man, who, li!e Paul, wants to do the right thing. 5e doesn't

care about diploma's et cetera, he ust want the teachers in his school to ha$e `$ision'=

Ì understand you have no previous e#perience?'

`%o, sir, I am araid not.'

èll, of course, that is in many ways an advanta!e. (ne too easily ac$uires the professional

tone and loses vision. %ut of course we must "e practical. I am o)erin! a salary of one

hundred and twenty pounds, "ut only to a man with e#perience. I have a letter here from a

youn! man who holds a diploma in forestry. *e want an e#tra ten pounds a year on the

stren!th of it, "ut it is vision I need, mister &ennyfeather, not diplomas.' •

)aptain rimes is also a weird !ind o man. 5e always `gets in the soup', but always he

fnds a way or a helping hand to get out o it again. 5e can be quite cynical, but is always

in or a laugh and a drin! with his riends. 5e and Paul become soon ater Paul's arri$al

good riends. rimes is engaged with one o the two daughters o Doctor Fagin and ater

his marriage he becomes depressi$e by the way Fagin is treating him ?%ote the act that


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Fagin preers the +pperclass, o which rimes is no part@. 5e simulates a suicides, but

some wee!s later he turns out to be still ali$e, as!ing &argot or a ob in "outh(7merica.

5e ends up in ail a while later, but fnds a way to escape. 7ter that he disappears.

&ister Prendergest is clergyman who got doubts and is really depressed about that. 5e

let the church and now teaches at 6lanabba )astle, but isn't able to handle the boys.-hey ma!e un o him because o his wig and his way o acting. %ot long ater Paul let

with &argot he fnds out that there e#ists something called `the modern churchman', this

o>ers him the change to wor! or the church without eeling guilty about his ormer

doubts. -hat is how he became chaplain in the same prison Paul was loc!ed up ater his

trial. ut as a chaplain he neither can manage, he seems quite unhappy to me. -hen one

day he is murdered by one o the prisoners.

&ister Philbric! is the butler o 6lanabba )astle and it is quite dicult to tell the right

story about this man, because he tells e$erybody an other story about his li$e. 5e is not

$ery trustworthy. "till though, I fnd him !ind o sympathetic. 5e, too, ends up in ail where

he gets himsel the best ob there is, reception cleaner, and he manages quite well.•

&orgot este()hytwynde is at frst the most distinguished woman o +pperclass

1ngland. "he is $ery modern in her ideas and she is a well seen woman in 5igh "ociety.

7nd she acts li!e it, rules are not made or her, she li$es conorm her own ways. ut

ater Paul is imprisoned and she turns out to be a sla$e trader, her good name is in

danger and she has to choose a sa$er road by marrying &altra$ers, the 5ome "ecretary.

"he really lo$ed Paul, though and ater her marriage she uses it to help Paul out o

prison, this, to me, shows her a>ection to the younger man she should ha$e marriedwhen things had turned out li!e they had to.

Time

-he story plays in the twenties o the /0th century. etween Paul's suspension and his

return to "cone )ollege about a year passes.

Structure

-he story is told chronological. -here is a great continuity, without Aashbac!s or great

gaps in the time passing. -he end is closed, o course there is a lot that still can be told,

li!e what happened to )aptain rimes, but the story o Paul Pennyeather has an

ob$ious end in his return to "cone )ollege.

Location/Situation


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-he frst part o the story is situated in a +pperclass(minded en$ironment 36lanabba

)astle4, where the di>erence between the social classes in the 1nglish society becomes

clear. 7ter Paul's departure to &argot's manor it is chieAy the 5igh "ociety that is in

sight, ater Paul's imprisonment we get to see lie in prison.

7lthough we get to see chieAy the +pperclass, the di>erence between the social classes

is a main theme in this boo!.

eographically the story is situated partly in *ales and partly in and around 6ondon.

Theme and Genre

-he theme o this boo! is, I guess, the ephemerality o the +pperclass, e$en a woman

li!e &argot isn't able to preser$e her good reputation. *ith this no$el *augh gi$es a

comical account o an innocent plunged into the sham, brittle world o high society.

-he genre is in my opinion a comical no$el, in my opinion it has no deeper message,

although the author maybe li!es to point out the laughable character o a class society.

Language

-he 6anguage 1$elyn *augh uses isn't $ery dicult. -his boo! is easy to read, although

sometimes it is hard to really `get into the story'. "till, `Decline and all' is really nothard to read, it's a un, easy written boo!.

Perspective

-he story is told by an omniscient narrator.

Place in the history of literature

I guess *augh fts in with the modernism that is growing as a literary trend in the

twenties o the /0th century, although he mi#es it in my opinion with some surrealism,

he ma!es the reality `bigger' to create a unnier picture o the 1nglish society o his

time.

"ome aspects o the story ma!e it realistic or the time it is placed in 3For e#ample the

`6eague o %ations +nion', which is spo!en about se$eral times4 and also the critical


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tone o the story at the address o class society ma!es it in my opinion suitable or the

twenties.

The intention of the writer

I guess, li!e I said beore, that this no$el has no deeper message, although the author

maybe li!es to point out the laughable character o a class society. In my opinion it

seems to be written to amuse the public and maybe a little to pro$o!e the patrons o

social classes, and especially the +pperclass.

Decline and Fall – Evelyn Waugh

• Part 1

This is the one in whih %aul %ennyfeather gets de#bagged by the toffs in hisOxford ollege and is sent down @ so far down, in fat, that he ends up in a

two#bit shool in the middle of nowhere teahing stuff he knows nothing

aboutK. t/s fare, not tragedy, so instead of rage against the obsene

inustie it beomes part of Waugh/s running oke about the rassness of the

aristoray and the toadying that goes on all around them. =!erybody who

is gi!en any power or authority is too la$y and self#ser!ing to do anything

with it. f there/s a moral ore in the no!el @ /ll ome bak to that @ it/s

foused on Waugh/s mokery of the way nobody seems to gi!e a shit.

• %lotA :ot a lot, more a series of preposterous episodes. Ob!iously the

shool, somewhere near 3landudno so Waugh an make okes about the

appalling Welsh, is a waste of spae. t must ha!e plenty of teahers but we

only e!er meet two others* 0rimes, lurhing from ob to ob as he onstantly

gets himself ;in the soup/, only sa!ed by a kind of idiot optimism and his old

9arro!ian status and %rendergast, former !iar rendered useless by

Boubts. They/re both omi turns @ 0rimes with his u!enile determination

to ha!e a good time, %rendergast with his wig and the impression he gi!es

that he really was born yesterday. There/s the head, only keeping the plaegoing beause his daughters are a lot more ompetent than he is, and the

butler, another omi turnK.

• What happensA :ot a lot in the eduation line* after one lesson Waugh gets

bored with that and fouses on the ridiulous stuff. There/s the boys/ routine

o!er#familiarity with all the staff. There/s the head/s gloom, oasionally


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enli!ened by a rakpot idea for raising the shool/s profile. 8nd there/s

%hilbrik, the butler with a pastK whih he desribes to %aul in all its

Bikensian splendour. 9e/s my fa!ourite, bold and in your fae enough to

make anybody belie!e anything. t turns out he/s told ompletely different

stories to the others @ and when the polie do e!entually trak him down

it/s to arrest him for doing what we/!e seen* pretending he/s someone he

isn/t and li!ing off it. 8nd when the ops arri!e he/s already left.

• The biggest set piee is the sports day. t/s a fare, ob!iously, but lady

2irumferene the appalling snob and 6argot este#2hetwynde the soiety

fashion#plate don/t notie. %rendergast gets drunk at the mere whiff of

alohol at the loal and shoots 3ady 2ir/s son in the foot with the (loaded)

starting#pistol. 8nd 6rs #2/s esort is a lak 8merian who gi!es Waugh

all the opportunities he needs to send up lak 8merians. 9ow welaughed.

• 8nyway, %aul is making his way and atually seems to be gaining something

from the experiene @ whih is a lot more entertaining than his thin

existene at Oxford. This isn/t the sort of no!el to ha!e the young,

inexperiened teaher tortured by the boys* he, and they, ome up with a

satisfatory modus !i!endi almost from the start. 9e e!en seems to ha!e

diso!ered lur!e @ although he doesn/t reognise it e!en when he trips o!er

it* 0rimes has to spell it out for him in an absurd LM8 session. utK

0rimes doesn/t do so well and, to extriate himself from the soup again, he

marries one of the head/s daughters. Bisaster. The last trae we see of him is

a pile of lothes on the beah and an apparent suiide note in whih he

seems to aept that retribution has finally aught up with him.

• 7o, Himmy 2arr#style blak omedy or moral treatiseA :either, ob!iously,

but you an see why ask. Waugh is a ruel author, not suffering fools

gladly @ and e!erybody/s a fool. Or ridiulous, to a greater or lesser extent.

Or self#ser!ing, u!enile. ut is he using the antis of these lowns to say

something about life and how it should be li!edA Boesn/t he, somewhere,are about %aul and the lessons he/s ha!ing to learn, or %rendergast and the

terrible region of hell he/s li!ing in now he/s lost sight of 0odA 8nd what

about 0rimes, who finally seems to ha!e run out of roadA

• 8sk me later.

• N :o!ember

Part 2


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We know (don/t weA) that none of this is to be taken seriouslyK and this

setion onfirms we/re not in any kind of world we/d reognise as real.

Waugh/s had enough of satirising the publi shool system and mo!es us to

6argot este#2hetwynde/s stately pile. =xept it/s not a stately pile any

more* she had it knoked down and replaed with a 6odernist statement. f

anything, %aul is e!en more of an innoent abroad* 6argot has in!ited him

to be her son/s tutor for the =aster holidays, and within about a week she/s

got him to propose, and she/s had him gi!e a demonstration of his

redentials in the bed department. =!erything/s fine, sine you ask* in this

world it seems a woman with nearly two deades of sexual experiene an

be satisfied by a loistered !irgin like %aul.

• Waugh lets us belie!e it* throughout these hapters things simply happen to

%aul @ all of them at 6argot/s instigation @ and, like him, we/re a bit bemused by the way stuff happens. 6argot feels like demolishing her

house, a uni&uely untouhed Tudor national treasureA 4ine. 7he wants to

replae it with a satire on 6odernism designed by an autisti egomaniaA

:o problem. 7o when %aul beomes her next fad, now that she/s bored with

the lak 8merian, we/re as happy to aept it as he is.

• Throughout this setion, as things beome darker and darker, Waugh

resolutely desribes them in terms that make sense to the innoent %aul.

The white sla!es 6argot is exporting @ we/!e guessed by now, e!en if %aul

hasn/t @ get stuk at 6arseilles. 7he sends %aul to sort it out with a bit of

bribery and orruption and, beause we/re ahead of him in understanding

what/s really going on, we/re not as surprised as he is when he/s arrested

shortly after his arri!al bak in =ngland, on the morning before his

wedding.

• 9e should ha!e been warned by the way 6argot/s rih#woman !agueness

disappears when she inter!iews the girls for the !enues that make her

money in 7outh 8meria. ut why would heA 3ike %rendy, he seems to ha!e

been born yesterday when it omes to understanding the ways of the world@ but unlike %rendy, he ne!er asks himself diffiult &uestions. 9e blithely

lets it all happen and, ust as the wheel is about to gi!e a great lurh

downwards, he drinks to ;4ortune, a muh#maligned lady./ 7illy boy* he

doesn/t realise he/s in a no!el by an author who only pretends not to are.

8s for 6argotK. don/t think she planned to ha!e %aul so omprehensi!ely

shafted @ the la!ish wedding preparations are real enough, after all @ but,


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well, she/s one of the 4it$gerald rih* she lea!es a trail of destrution behind

her as she does one thing after another on a whim. 7uddenly the

destrution of the house makes omplete sense* that/s what the super#rih

are like.

• One other thing. n the two#page hapter Interlude in Belgravia Waugh

whips off his authorial mask for a ouple of minutes and talks to us about

%aul man#to#man.


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• Waugh isn/t going to make %aul suffer muh, ob!iously, and he sets up a

typially absurd esape plan for him. (t/s not the same as 0rimes/s esape

plan. 9e/s turned up in a thinly#disguised Bartmoor, where %aul gets

mo!ed to, and Waugh lets the guards tie themsel!es in knots in the fog as

he leaps on one of their horses.) 6argot hasn/t forgotten him, and he soon

stops being surprised by arri!als of a!iar and high#lass no!els. utK well,

she/s been seeing rather a lot of the !ery toff who de#bagged %aul all those

months before @ and she/s had a proposal from the other idiot who looks set

to beome the new 9ome 7eretary. f she marries him he/ll probably find a

way to get %aul out. t all works like lokwork as Waugh shows how none

of the normal rules apply in Toff#land. 3uky old them @ and luky old %aul.

• The wheel @ and there/s a neat referene to a fairground wheel that sends

e!erybody spinning off unless they/re anny enough to be at the entre @has ome full irle. t/s easy for Waugh to get %aul bak at uni!ersity, bak

doing what he wants* despite his apparent lak of any workable moral ode

(he wonders about 6argot/s guilt and, well, simply aepts that she ouldn/t

possibly be sent to ail) he/s studying to beome a priest. 9e/s all right @ but

in the last hapter we meet someone who isn/t. ha!en/t mentioned

6argot/s son %eter, the one %aul was pretending to teah. 9e/s always been

the most grown#up harater in the no!el, dispensing ad!ie and oktails

whene!er neessaryK. ut by the time he/s old enough to go to Oxford

himself he/s an aloholi wrek, a member of the same mindless set that did

all the damage in the first hapter. 8nother wheel has ome full irle andK

• Kand whatA 9as %aul learnt a lessonA 9as %eterA 6argotA 9a!e weA Or, in

the spinning Waugh uni!erse, are we wasting our time if we look for

anything so bourgeois as meaningA

In Decline and Fall /1928 co(ic nonsense and fantasy bring to light the insanity which prevails

in postAwar society. he plot is presented with a (a$i(u( of econo(y and a studied will to

shoc). he hero, a product of the publicAschool and acade(ic syste(s, is an innocent (ar)ed as

a victi( of the corrupt world into which he is unwillingly thrust. aul enny feather lets things

happen to hi(D he would never have (ade a hero, the only interest about hi( arises fro( the

unusual series of events of which his shadow was witness.F /p. 124 Geturning fro( a (eeting of

the eague of 6ations ;nion, he is debaggedF by (e(bers of the *ollinger !lub, who are

having their annual dinner and greatly en>oy being riotous and destructive, and as a conse=uence


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he is sent down for indecent behaviour. "e beco(es a school(aster at lanabba !astle, where

?r. :agan, a cynical but not too e$acting head(aster, assures hi( that he has been in the

scholastic profession long enough to )now that nobody enters it unless he has so(e very good

reason which he is an$ious to conceal.F4 aul falls in love with argot *estA!hetwynde, the

(other of one of his pupils, a (illionairess who runs a chain of brothels euphe(istically called

he atinA%(erican Entertain(ent !o. td.F he introduces hi( into ayfair society and

involves hi( in the whiteAslave trade without his )nowledge. "e is arrested on the (orning of

their (arriage and sentenced to seven yearsH i(prison(ent. "e spends a few (onths in prison

and is rescued by argot, who arranges to have hi( sent to a nursing ho(e headed by ?r. :agan,

.?. %fter a (oc)Aoperation he is alleged to be dead and allowed to disappear fro( the social

scene. "e returns to #$ford and resu(es his studies in theology.

4aulHs incursions into various spheres of English society are so (any encounters with the

irresponsibility, a(oralis(, corruption or sheer (adness discernible in (any aspects of English

life. Whether at #$ford, in an e(ploy(ent agency in ondon, in a public school in Wales, in acountry house, a prison, or a nursing ho(e, people act with the sa(e carelessness and

unawareness of the real i(plications of their actions. aulHs e$perience with the *ollingers is

only a rehearsal for his e$perience in the world7 he is illAtreated under the eyes of the unior

?ean, who does not intervene because aul is not i(portant enough. %ctually, the representatives

of authority i(plicitly encourage the destructiveness of the *ollingers because of the highly

priJed port that is only brought up fro( the cellars when the college fines reach fifty pounds.

i(ilarly, aul is un>ustly conde(ned and sent to prison, while argot etroland escapes

punish(ent. aulHs innocence and naivete contrast with, and e(phasiJe, the outrageous

behaviour of the other characters. #n the other hand, his passivity and lac) of insight into hu(an

character not only reveal the inade=uacy of his education but also his incapacity to discri(inate between good and evil. In a way, Waugh is (ore conte(ptuous of the people who, li)e aul,

stic) to the rules without understanding the( than of the rogues who deliberately defy society or

disturb its order and get away with it.

5hough none of WaughHs early characters is capable of a responsible, (ature, or si(ply

hu(ane, attitude, so(e appear to have in his eyes a )ind of saving grace which is not unrelated

to the superb aplo(b with which they ta)e their pleasure in co(plete defiance of all (oral

>udg(ent. argot etroland belongs to this category7 beautiful, attractive, and rich, she (a)es

the (ost of what life has to offer without troubling in the least about right or wrong. Kery

s)ilfully, Waugh provo)es at once indignation and tolerance for the people of her )ind. ustice,

education, or religion, perfor(s his tas) with integrity and a sense of responsibility. -ri(es, an

unscrupulous rogue, is always in the soupFD yet he is never let downF because he is an e$A

publicAschool (an. hilbric) is a swindler and a cri(inal who ends up as opulent as he has

always pretended to be. :agan, a cynical i(postor on a grand scale, will do anything provided it

http://books.openedition.org/pulg/884?lang=en#ftn3http://books.openedition.org/pulg/884?lang=en#ftn3


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is re(unerative. "e is twice an agent in aulHs change of personality, once when aul beco(es a

school(aster at lanabba !astle and a second ti(e when he presides over aulHs (oc)Adeath.

:or both he and aul this event is the beginning of a new phase in life,F i.e., of another round of

swindling for the one, of another period of dull and unrealistic initiation into life for the other.

B%fter his departure fro( #$ford aul (eets the sa(e characters playing the sa(e parts in

different spheres of society7 lanabba !astle, ayfair, Egdon rison. Wherever he goes,

inefficiency, (adness and dishonesty prevail. rendergast, the unhappy and unauthoritative

school(aster, who left the !hurch because he had doubts,F is seen at Egdon as the prison

chaplain. "is doubts are a source of disorder even in prison, where his incapacity to i(pose

discipline lands hi( into trouble with prisoners as it did with pupils. *y a cruel irony, his head is

sawn off by a visionary (aniac, a (an who has appointed hi(self the sword of Israel7 the lion

of the ordHs Elect.F hilbric) i(parts the news to aul in chapel7

L# -od, our help in ages past,H sang aul.

LWhereHs rendergast toAdayMH

LWhat, ainHt you LeardMH eHs been done in.H

L%nd our eternal ho(e.H

L?a(ned luc)y it was rendergast,

ight Lave been you or (eN

he warder says 0 and I agree 0

It serves the -overnor right.H

L AmenH /pp. 184A5

he grueso(e hu(our of the song leaves no doubt as to the way in which this piece of savageryshould be interpreted. rendergastHs wea)ness (ar)s hi( as a victi(. "e had left the !hurch

then gone bac) to it after discovering that there is a species of person called Lodern

!hurch(anH who draws the full salary of a beneficed clergy(an and need not co((it hi(self to

any religious belief.F /p. 151 ir ucasA?oc)ery, the governor of the prison, is a caricature of

the (odern refor(ist who applies literally and without understanding the( the new (ethods of

psychoAanalysis. "e is (ore concerned with the success of his (ethod than with the welfare of

the prisoners under his care and will blindly go to any length to prove his opti(istic conviction

that al(ost any cri(e is due to the repressed desire for aesthetic e$pression.F /p. 1OO "e gives

carpenter tools to the (ystic cri(inal who )ills rendergast. he episode is turned into an

inhu(an farce which derides the lunacy, not of the in(ates, but of those who are chosen toensure the wor)ing of institutions. !learly, it is a (ad world which trusts a :agan to educate its

children, a ucasA?oc)ery to see to it that cri(inals are fit to return to society, and a rendergast

to officiate as a representative of the !hurch.


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inco(petent fools. coundrels are not (ore har(ful because they at least )now what they are up

to.

Ohe heartless and barbarous world of Decline and Fall is pictured with a disconcerting but

calculated detach(ent which (a)es it all the (ore shoc)ing. :or instance, little ord angentHs

death is i(parted without co((ent in four sentences7

angent was sitting on the grass crying because he had been wounded in the foot by r.

rendergastHs bullet, /p. O1

LangentHs foot has swollen up and turned blac),H said *estA!hetwynde with relish, /p. 95

Everybody was there e$cept little ord angent, whose foot was being a(putated at a local

nursingAho(e. /p. 1+B

LItHs (addeninH angent having died >ust at this ti(e, L&ady !ircu(ference said.H eople (ay

thin) that thatHs (y reason for refusinH. /p. 159

8hese state(ents are a (erciless co((ent on the negligence, the foolishness and the lac) of

co(passion of those involved. angentHs death and rendergastHs unheroic (artyrdo( are

e$tre(e conse=uences of a general unconcern. he unior ?ean who witnesses aulHs

debaggingF does not protest when he is sent down. 6either argot nor eter can be bothered

about aulHs un>ust conde(nation. otts, aulHs best friend, is the (ain witness for the

prosecution at his trial and is even co((ended by the court for his unsha)eable attitude. aul

ta)es this general callousness for granted. %part fro( his youthful infatuation for argot, he

hi(self see(s hardly capable of genuine feeling. "e is not unattractive as a character because he

is a victi( who never retaliates, a convenient scapegoat. In the end he accepts ilenusH definition

of life as a ga(e for a few privileged people7

Loin in the ga(e, even if they donHt en>oy it. It doesnHt suit everyoneP.

L6ow youHre a person who was clearly (eant to stay in the seats and sit still and if you get bored

watch the others. o(ehow you got on to the wheel, and you got thrown off again at once with a

hard bu(p. ItHs all right for argot, who can cling on, and for (e, at the centre, but youHre static.Instead of this absurd division into se$es they ought to class people as static and dyna(ic.

hereHs a real distinction there, though I canHt tell you how it co(es. I thin) weHre probably two

=uite different species spiritually. /pp. 2+8A9

9aul is also static in a different sense, for his e$perience in the world leaves hi( al(ost

unchanged. "e ac=uires a sense of hu(our, which is perhaps an indication that he understands a


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little better what goes on around hi(, but he behaves (uch as he did during his first stay at

#$ford. "e >oins again the eague of 6ations ;nion and ac=uires a new friend called tubbs,

with who( he develops the sa(e )ind of relationship as with otts. he only lesson aul has

learned as a future clergy(an is to avoid rendergastHs (ista)e. #rder in the !hurch (ust be

preserved at all costs, which suggests that social order should also be enforced if necessary7

here was a *ishop of *ithynia, aul learned, who had denied the divinity of !hrist, the

i((ortality of the soul, the e$istence of good, the legality of (arriage, and the validity of the

acra(ent of E$tre(e ;nction. "ow right they had been to conde(n hi(N /p. 212

1+aul even condones intolerance for the sa)e of the established order7

o the ascetic Ebionites used to turn towards erusale( when they prayed. aul (ade a note of

it. Quite right to suppress the(. /p. 21

11aulHs failure to achieve (aturity is typical of WaughHs preAwar heroes and no doubt i(plies

that (aturity and real understanding of traditional institutions are nonAe$istent in conte(porary

society. he acade(ic world is not (ore reliable than fashionable ondon. ady

!ircu(ferenceHs (oral code is a (ere set of conventions and pre>udices7 though a representative

of the landed aristocracy, she is not (ore aware of the values traditionally connected with her

class than the newlyA(ade peer altravers, who was born in a slu(. eft to the(selves the

young drift into debauchery. ociety is only a gathering of unattached individuals easily

adaptable to any situation because nothing really (atters. he rec)less and sha(eless pursuit of

e$cite(ent has beco(e the only recogniJable law, but it doesnHt lead to happinessD apart fro(

hilbric) and :agan all the characters are disenchanted, even -ri(es, the life force.F argotregains respectability by (arrying altravers, and ta)es %lastair ru(pington as a lover to sha)e

off the boredo( of her new (arried life. "er son, eter, WaughHs first *right ug or destroying the

(anuscript of a poe(. he novel ends, as it began, on the evening of the *ollingersH annualdinnerD they play their ga(e of destruction with the sa(e gusto as their predecessors.


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novel title: decline and fall

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