'The End of the Affair' (1951) by Graham Greene

Graham Greene’s 'The End of the Affair' is a deeply personal and emotionally charged novel that blends love, jealousy, faith, and existential despair. Often regarded as one of Greene’s finest works, it is both an intimate study of a doomed affair and a profound exploration of faith and the nature of belief.

Plot Summary: Set in London during and after World War II, the novel is narrated by Maurice Bendrix, a cynical and embittered writer who recounts his obsessive love affair with Sarah Miles, the wife of a civil servant, Henry. When Sarah abruptly ends the affair without explanation, Bendrix is consumed by jealousy and suspicion. He hires a private investigator, Parkis, to uncover the truth. What he learns is unexpected: Sarah made a secret vow to God during the Blitz, promising to end the affair if Bendrix was spared from a bombing. This revelation leads Bendrix to a bitter confrontation with faith, love, and the idea of divine intervention.

Themes and Analysis: At its core, The End of the Affair is about love and its limitations. Bendrix’s love for Sarah is obsessive and possessive, driven by selfish desire rather than genuine devotion. In contrast, Sarah’s love evolves into something transcendent, leading her toward self-sacrifice and spiritual awakening.

The novel is also a powerful meditation on faith and doubt. Greene, who had converted to Catholicism, frequently explored religious themes in his fiction, and here he presents faith as both a torment and a form of salvation. Bendrix, a confirmed atheist, cannot understand Sarah’s devotion to a God he does not believe in, yet he is unable to escape the possibility of divine presence in their lives.

Jealousy and obsession drive the novel’s narrative tension. Bendrix’s bitterness and paranoia make him an unreliable narrator, and Greene masterfully uses his perspective to show how love can turn into hatred and self-destruction.

Writing Style and Impact: Greene’s prose is sharp, controlled, and filled with emotional intensity. His use of first-person narration creates a confessional tone, drawing readers deep into Bendrix’s turmoil. The novel is structured in a non-linear way, moving between past and present, which heightens the sense of obsession and unresolved emotion.

Upon its publication, The End of the Affair was both praised and controversial. Some readers saw it as a moving love story, while others viewed it as a deeply religious novel disguised as a romance. Over time, it has come to be recognized as one of Greene’s greatest works, blending personal experience (his own affair with a married woman) with profound philosophical questions.

Final Verdict: The End of the Affair is a haunting and beautifully crafted novel that transcends the conventions of a typical love story. It is about the complexities of human relationships, the pain of lost love, and the paradoxes of faith. Whether one approaches it as a romance, a psychological study, or a spiritual inquiry, it remains one of Greene’s most compelling and enduring works.