Aloysius (teddy bear)
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Aloysius is Lord Sebastian Flyte's teddy bear in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited, published in 1945.
Aloysius is with Sebastian as he gets a "haircut" the first time the novel's protagonist, Charles Ryder, sees Sebastian at Oxford University. Later in the novel, Sebastian wonders whether he should take Aloysius to Venice with him: "I have a good mind not to take Aloysius to Venice. I don't want him to meet a lot of horrid Italian bears and pick up bad habits" (Chapter 3). Sebastian describes his time spent at Brideshead with Charles in Chapter 4: "If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe, and Aloysius in a good temper...".
The model for Aloysius was Archibald Ormsby-Gore, the beloved teddy bear of John Betjeman, Waugh's friend at Oxford. The bear is most likely named after the Catholic saint Aloysius Gonzaga – the patron saint of youth.[1]
Aloysius, and in particular his representation in the 1981 television adaptation of the novel, is credited with having triggered the late-20th century teddy bear renaissance.[2] He was depicted by a teddy bear named Delicatessen, owned by the actor Peter Bull.[3][4]
References
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Further reading
- "Brideshead bear is signed, sealed and delivered back from auction" Oxford Mail. 23 July 2013
- "Aloysius too ancient to revisit Brideshead" Reuters. 5 June 2007