The End of the Affair

The End of the Affair is a romance novel and work of psychological fiction written by British author Graham Greene, originally published in 1951. The narrative takes place in London between 1942 and 1946, during the middle and end of World War II. The work is comprised of five books, or parts, which center around the tryst of three primary characters: Maurice Bendrix, a blossoming writer; Sarah Miles; and Sarah’s ineffective husband, Henry Miles, who is a civil servant. Through the unreliable first-person narrator Bendrix, Greene addresses themes of jealousy, faith in God, and love. Greene also employs devices, such as flashbacks, Sarah’s diary, and a letter, to demonstrate temporal shifts in the nonlinear narrative structure. Since its publication, The End of the Affair has been adapted for film, the theatre, and the opera.

On a “black wet January night” (4), Maurice Bendrix meets Henry Miles walking across the Common. Henry confesses to Bendrix that he is worried about his wife, Sarah. Unbeknownst to Henry, Bendrix and Sarah enjoyed a brief and passionate affair; though they have been apart for 18 months, Bendrix has grown to resent Sarah. When Henry refuses to ask a detective to look into his wife’s activities, Bendrix offers to make the visit. Days later, still obsessing over Sarah, Bendrix enlists the help of Mr. Savage to track Sarah’s whereabouts. Bendrix recalls first meeting Sarah at a cocktail party. She treated him differently than most people do.

Bendrix returns home to find that Sarah has called. He returns the call and arranges to have lunch. The next day, they go to a familiar restaurant and talk about Henry. Sarah has a persistent cough. When they leave, they agree to meet again soon. Afterward, Bendrix finds it difficult to write. He keeps thinking about Sarah. Parkis, the detective tracking Sarah, details his investigation thus far. The meeting distracts Bendrix from his jealousy.

Bendrix and Sarah began their affair with a visit to the cinema; Bendrix wished to learn more about the life of a civil servant for his book and hoped to quiz her about Henry. They fell for one another and visited a hotel that same day. Bendrix often felt as though he were “one of many men” (26). He gets reports from Parkis about Sarah’s movements and her habit of keeping a diary. He reads a love letter stolen from Sarah’s home and believes she has a new lover.

Parkis informs Bendrix that Sarah regularly visits a house on Cedar Road. Bendrix reveals to Henry that he has employed the detective, and Henry is angry. Chasing Henry to a park, Bendrix finally reveals that he and Sarah were lovers. The two men find comfort in their shared love for Sarah. Bendrix remembers the moment when Sarah broke off the affair: One evening, they had been in Bendrix’s house when a German bomb fell. The blast hit Bendrix and he regained consciousness to find Sarah rushing to leave. The next day, she informed him that their relationship was over. Bendrix wrote to Sarah but received no reply; he considered suicide and began to loathe Sarah.

Henry and Bendrix discuss Parkis’s findings. Bendrix hatches a scheme, using Parkis’s son Lance, to lie his way into the Cedar Road house to get a better look at the man inside, Richard Smythe. The plan works and Bendrix enters the house, where he meets Richard, an evangelist for atheism with a birthmark on his cheek. They discuss religion and Bendrix leaves. When Bendrix meets with Parkis, Parkis has attended a cocktail party at Henry’s home and has stolen Sarah’s diary. He gives it to Bendrix.

Bendrix reads Sarah’s diary. Sarah describes her conversations, how she saw Richard Smythe lecturing on the Common, and the day the bomb struck Bendrix’s house. Bendrix reads Sarah’s version of events, in which she sees his body and prays to God that he is alive, promising to end the affair if he survives. When Bendrix regains consciousness, she makes good on her deal and severs all ties. The event kindles Sarah’s resentful belief in God. She begins to visit Smythe to discuss religion, and she has a brief, unsatisfying affair with a man named Dunstan. She considers returning to Bendrix but cannot bring herself to do it.

Sarah explains in the diary that has been visiting Smythe in the hope he can help her to not believe in God. She writes that one night (the January night detailed in the opening of the novel), she walks through the rain and returns home to find Bendrix drinking with Henry. Afterwards, she finds herself thinking continuously about Bendrix. She resolves to leave Henry but cannot find the right moment. She meets with Richard, who asks her to marry him, and she refuses. Sarah writes a letter to God but throws it into the bin. Bendrix reaches the end of the diary.

Bendrix calls Sarah and informs her that he is coming to visit. She tells him not to and, even though she is in bed with a terrible sickness, flees her house in the rain. Bendrix follows her through the city until he eventually catches her in a church. She has another coughing fit and, after they pledge their love to one another, falls asleep on his shoulder. They depart and she promises to telephone him in the morning. Eight days pass and Bendrix hears nothing. Then, Henry calls with bad news: Sarah is dead.

Bendrix goes to Henry’s home and they talk about Sarah. Bendrix takes over the funeral arrangements and stays the night at Henry’s house. The next day, he deals with the undertaker while Sarah’s body lies in the spare room. Smythe calls and tells Bendrix that Sarah converted to Catholicism. He believes she should be buried in accordance with the faith, but Bendrix wants to have her cremated. That day, Bendrix finds a letter in which Sarah tells him that they will never be together.

After meeting with a journalist, Bendrix is late to the funeral. The day before, he argued with Henry and a Catholic priest about the funeral arrangements. Bendrix won the argument and sees the smoke rising from the cremation facility. At the funeral, he meets Parkis and Sarah’s mother. He and Sarah’s mother dine together, and she reveals that Sarah was actually baptized as a Catholic when she was very young.

Henry invites Bendrix to live with him, and Bendrix accepts. They talk about Sarah often and, on one occasion, Bendrix argues with the priest again. Later, Bendrix runs into Richard Smythe, whose facial birthmark is gone. Smythe admits that he doesn’t know how or why, but he suspects supernatural intervention. The sudden mention of faith enrages Bendrix and he tears up Sarah’s diary. Bendrix and Henry walk together to the pub, having become friends.