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
Even though Bendrix once joked to himself that Henry would ask him to move in, he is surprised when the invitation comes. Henry tells Bendrix that he has plenty of space in his apartment for Bendrix to move his books and other things in—Henry also says that Bendrix would be doing him a favor by agreeing to do this. Henry goes on to say that he regrets not giving Sarah a Catholic funeral. Bendrix tells him that it would have been ridiculous to do that because Sarah “was no more a Catholic” than either of them. After a short back and forth about man’s inability to prove or disprove the existence of God, Henry repeats his wish for Bendrix to move in with him.
Henry shares his regret at not giving Sarah a Catholic funeral, which shows that the doubts that Bendrix tried to prevent from taking root in Henry’s mind have, in fact, begun to grow there. Still, Bendrix doubles down on his claim that Sarah was not Catholic and would not have wanted a Catholic funeral, because Bendrix is still holding onto his hatred of God and his unwillingness to admit that Sarah left him for something (God) that neither of them were supposed to believe in.
Themes
Suddenly, Henry asks Bendrix if there is any tension remaining between them, especially since Henry got mad at Bendrix about hiring a detective. Bendrix tells Henry to forget about it. Henry goes on to say that Sarah was a good woman and it wasn’t her fault that he had been unable to “love her properly.” Henry begins talking about his house and how it doesn’t feel empty with Sarah gone: “Because she’s always away, she’s never away.” Henry apologizes for talking about Sarah so much but explains that he has nobody else to talk to about her. However, he mentions that he met a man named Parkis who claimed to know Sarah and wanted to have something of hers to give his son. Bendrix explains, to Henry’s surprise, who Parkis is, and then he agrees to move into Henry’s house.
Henry displays a lot of healthy development and growth in his admission of the role he played in Sarah’s fate. Now that Sarah is dead, Henry is able to recognize that he failed to see Sarah’s unhappiness and was therefore unable to help her find happiness and fulfillment. Henry also describes Sarah as a good woman, which means he recognizes that beneath her surface faults and mistakes, she never intended to hurt anyone or to do wrong—she quite innocently sought out the love she couldn’t get from her husband.
Themes
