Charles Ryder
The narrator and main protagonist of the story. He is an only child and raised by his father in London after his mother dies while working for the Red Cross when he is very young. Although his father provides a financially comfortable life, Charles is not as rich as some of his aristocratic peers at Oxford. In the beginning of the story, he feels emotionally unfulfilled in life. He has an idea of what he imagined Oxford would be and is disappointed that it does not live up to this standard.
Charles meets Sebastian in 1923 while studying history at Oxford and they develop a deeply close friendship, which brings him into the folds of the Marchmain family. Charles admires Sebastian’s free-spiritedness and lively personality and quickly becomes enamoured with the whole Marchmain family and their home, Brideshead Castle. His lonely childhood is contrasted by the large Marchmain family and he enjoys feeling as though he is part of a family. He is so deeply affected by his relationship with the Marchmain family that he looks back on his time at Oxford as only beginning after his first meeting with Sebastian.
As a young man, he is an atheist and is honest about this with the Marchmains, despite their mother’s deep Catholicism. After school he goes on to enjoy some success as an artist and is later an officer in WWII and a converted Catholic. He marries Celia, but truly loves Julia and is subsequently unhappy in his marriage and cold towards Celia. Although him and Celia have two children of their own, he is still infatuated with Julia and plans to be with her until she changes her mind.
By the end of the story, he feels guilt about many of the choices he has made in life, yet is also cognizant of the fact that he was once youthfully naive. He deeply wanted to find love when he first went to Oxford, but by the end of the novel, he is more aware of love’s complexities.
Edward "Ned" Ryder
A widower and Charles’ somewhat eccentric father. He is intelligent and astute, though forgetful and somewhat hard on his son. Sometimes his forgetfulness makes him seem that he is emotionally distant toward his only son, but he has good intentions and is hard on Charles in order to teach him to be independent and capable in life. He provides some comedic relief within the story through many of his exchanges with Charles.
Lord Sebastian Flyte
He is the younger Marchmain son and has a troubled relationship with his mother. Due to his unhappiness that stems from strained familial relations, he has a drinking problem.
He is extremely childish in some aspects, which is seen in his possessiveness over his friendship with Charles, his closeness with his former nanny, and his toy teddy bear, Aloysius that he is very attached to and brings with him most places. He loves surrounding himself with beautiful and luxuriant things, and even enjoys the aesthetics of Catholicism such as the dramatic stories in the bible. His actions are often eccentric and he is dramatic, yet charming.
He becomes close friends with Charles at school, which is how Charles is introduced to the Marchmain family. Eventually their relationship grows more distant as Sebastian falls deeper into alcoholism and roams, living in various places. His alcoholism is due to his depression over his strained relationship with his mother, who is extremely controlling of him, as well as the guilt he feels when his actions are at odds with his religion. He ends up living far away from his family, in Northern Africa as the head of a leper colony.
Lady Julia Flyte
She is the eldest daughter in the Marchmain family and is described as being beautiful and having short, dark hair and a strong resemblance to her brother Sebastian. She is a recent debutante at the beginning of the story and is initially standoffish with Charles. She is rebellious against her mother’s strict Catholicism and at one point refers to herself as a “heathen”.
Charles is in love with her and they have an affair, although she is married to politician Rex Mottram. She initially appears to be vibrant, charming, and confident, reminding Charles of her brother Sebastian, although internally she is sad and later conflicted about her loveless marriage with Rex.
Despite the fact that her and her brother Sebastian are so similar, she is not overly kind to him and is unsympathetic about his alcoholism and depression. While Sebastian reacts to his conflicted emotions over being a dutiful Catholic with alcoholism, Julia instead has an affair with Charles and almost leaves her marriage before changing her mind after the death of her father and reaffirming her Catholic beliefs.
Earl of Brideshead “Bridey”
He is the eldest son in the Marchmain family and the heir to the Marquess. He is always referred to as Bridey, a nickname derived from his title as the Earl of Brideshead. He is very reserved and doesn’t make many close emotional connections with the people around him. He is a strict Roman Catholic, like his mother, and as a child wanted to become a priest. He is described as being quiet and “quite like an old man”. He is very different from his outgoing brother Sebastian and they are not particularly close, although he is not overly close with any of his siblings.
Lady Cordelia Flyte
She is the youngest of all the Marchmain siblings. She is deeply Catholic, like her mother, and wishes to serve God, but is also deeply caring of her family. Because of her deep devoutness and focus on religion, she doesn’t feel as emotionally conflicted as the rest of her siblings and though she is a child for much of the story, she is portrayed as being quite wise. She has an innocence about her that the rest of her family does not while remaining intuitive and loves her family without judgment.
Alexander Flyte, Marquess of Marchmain "Lord Marchmain"
The patriarch of the Marchmain family. When he is young, he converts in order to marry his deeply Catholic wife, however the marriage sours quickly as they are mismatched and they are not happy together. He has an affair and ends up staying in Italy with his mistress and renouncing his religion, feeling socially outcasted from England and his family.
He later falls ill and returns to England and Brideshead Castle. On his deathbed, he takes his Last Rites and is willingly brought back into the Catholic faith. This has a profound affect on his daughter Julia, who similarly decides to reaffirm her devotion to their religion and leave her adulterous relationship with Charles.
Teresa Flyte, Marchioness of Marchmain “Lady Marchmain”
A devout Catholic, descended from a respected Roman Catholic family. She is the mother of the Marchmain children and tries to raise them as Catholic even though her husband is more apathetic toward the religion. After her husband moves to Italy and abandons the family, she essentially becomes the head of the household and enforces strict Catholic morals on her children, which creates familial strains with most of them.
She is manipulative and controlling with her children, especially Sebastian whom she is always trying to keep an eye on through other people. Through all this, she does love her children, but her deep devotion to her faith makes her show this love in a different way.
Cara
The mistress of Lord Marchmain. She lives in Venice with him and is protective of him. She introduces Charles to her musings on love, which influence his opinions on the emotion and the way he sees his relationships with Julia and Sebastian.
Anthony Blanche
A schoolmate at Oxford and friend of Sebastian. His origins are not made explicit but he is thought to be of Italian or Spanish descent. He is openly homosexual, and his flamboyance makes Charles uncomfortable. Lady Marchmain does not like him because she thinks he is a bad influence on Sebastian. He is deeply critical of the Flyte family, especially Julia, and warns Charles against becoming too close to Sebastian.
Viscount “Boy” Mulcaster
A rich, aristocratic schoolmate of Charles’ from Oxford. He is only ever referred to as Boy and we do not find out his given name. He is flighty and pretentious. His sister marries Charles.
Celia Mulcaster Ryder
The sister of Boy Mulcaster and a former schoolmate of Julia’s. She goes on to marry Charles, although it is a loveless marriage and she is unfaithful. Because of her infidelities, Charles feels free to look for love outside of his marriage and has an affair with Julia, although he was always distant with Celia and is never fully invested in their marriage. She is described as being feminine and charming.
Rex Mottram
A Canadian-born politician and husband of Julia. He is socially ambitious and he sees his marriage into the Marchmain family as a step forward for his career and social standing.He converts to Catholicism in order to marry Julia, but does not actually believe in or respect the religion. His main concern is politics and his position on the social ladder. The marriage is not happy and he carries on an affair with a married socialite and is not bothered later when Julia has an affair with Charles.
Samgrass “Sammy”
A don at Oxford who is paid by Lady Marchmain and meant to keep an eye on Sebastian for her. He is also a social climber and uses his connections with aristocratic students at Oxford to try to raise his station in life.
Nanny Hawkins
The nanny of the Marchmain children. She continues to live at Brideshead even after the children have grown up and maintains a close relationship with Sebastian.
Jasper Ryder “Cousin Jasper”
He is Charles’ cousin on his father's side and acts as a sort of guide to Oxford when Charles first gets there.
