Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The End of the Affair, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Hatred
Faith, Acceptance, and the Divine
Jealousy and Passion
Adultery, Deception, and Honesty
Summary
Analysis
Bendrix returns home from Mr. Savage’s and his landlady tells him that Mrs. Miles called while he was out. For a moment, Bendrix is excited and hopes that seeing him the other day had “woken not love, of course, but a sentiment, a memory which [he] might work on.” Bendrix believes that if could “have [Sarah] once more” then he might be able to get her “out of [his] system” and move on. Bendrix dials Sarah’s phone number (which he must look up because he no longer has it memorized) only to find that the number he has is no longer her phone number. Before he can dial Inquiries to get the number, Sarah calls Bendrix again and he answers the phone.
Bendrix expresses a desire to “work on” some awakening emotion in Sarah. By this he means that he wants to manipulate her emotions for his own gain, evidently to get her “out of [his] system.” This is something he apparently cannot do without “hav[ing]” her again, meaning he wants to have sex with her one last time. This is something Bendrix feels he has to do to move on, revealing that time has not lessened Sarah’s hold on him enough for him to engage in a healthier, more legitimate relationship.
Themes
Sarah asks Bendrix if he got the message she left with his landlady and Bendrix tells her he was going to call her once he finished writing an article. Sarah tells Bendrix she wants to have lunch with him the next day, but Bendrix tells her that he can’t because he must finish writing his article. Sarah suggests they meet Wednesday, but Bendrix tells her Thursday is better. Sarah agrees and Bendrix notes that he can “almost imagine disappointment” in her voice, but also that “our pride deceives us.”
Bendrix lies to Sarah in order to convey to her that she is no longer an important part of his life—he makes it clear that he would rather finish writing an article than call her back right away, even though the reader knows that he was actually very eager to talk to her. By doing this, Bendrix hopes to make Sarah believe that he’s moved on and she no longer has a hold on him. This is something that Bendrix believes will hurt Sarah and make her regret their breakup.
Themes
Sarah and Bendrix agree to meet at a nearby café and hang up. Immediately, Bendrix looks at hate as if it were “an ugly and foolish man whom one did not want to know” and calls Sarah, who hasn’t had time to walk away from the phone yet, back to tell her that he actually can meet her tomorrow. After hanging up again, Bendrix realizes that “This is what hope feels like.”
Despite Bendrix’s attempt to seem nonchalant and indifferent, his decision to immediately call Sarah back reveals just how excited he is to hear from her and to get to spend time with her again. As Bendrix describes it, the situation gives him “hope,” which he hasn’t had since the end of their relationship.
Themes
