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
The work Bendrix is doing on his book isn’t going well, so he goes for a walk in the park. At the park, Bendrix notices Richard Smythe in a crowd in front of a street performer. Bendrix approaches Richard and asks if he still speaks in the park. Richard tells Bendrix that he has given up speaking about atheism and is no longer sure what to believe. Bendrix notices that Richard is holding a handkerchief against the cheek that is covered in spots, so Bendrix asks him what is wrong. Without a word, Richard takes the handkerchief off and reveals a perfectly smooth cheek. Bendrix asks how it happened and Richard evasively answers that it was “Modern methods. Electricity.”
Bendrix’s friendliness towards Richard shows that Bendrix has let go of his hatred and jealousy of him. Richard’s seemingly sudden decision to stop preaching atheism in the park, combined with his statement that he no longer knows what to believe and evasiveness about answering Bendrix’s question, indicates that Richard may have had a spiritual epiphany that is linked to his cheek. However, Bendrix either genuinely does not or purposely will not pick up on these clues.
Themes
Bendrix goes back home to struggle over writing a character in his book. As he works, Bendrix imagines that God must experience a similar feeling about a lot of people, who only “help to furnish the scene in which a living character moves and speaks.” After working for a while, Bendrix hears Henry come home. Bendrix goes to Henry so they can leave for their usual evening drink at the bar. While Henry gets ready, he tells Bendrix that he ran into Mrs. Bertram, who needed to borrow some money and grew angry when Henry lectured her about borrowing so much. Henry adds that Mrs. Bertram then told him a “strange story.” Before he can explain, Bendrix tells him that Mrs. Bertram shared the same story with him already and assures Henry that it’s just “an odd coincidence.”
The story Mrs. Bertram told Henry was, of course, the story of Sarah’s childhood baptism. Bendrix knows that if he doesn’t quickly talk Henry out of thinking too much about the story of Sarah’s baptism and how she wanted to become Catholic before her death, then Henry will likely slip into the same belief of God that Bendrix is fighting against. However, Bendrix himself has found a new way to connect with God because he has realized that, as a novelist who creates worlds and people with his books, he has something in common with God.
Themes
While Henry is getting his shoes on, the phone rings. Bendrix runs to get it himself—Richard Smythe is on the other end and anxiously reveals that he lied about how his cheek healed. Bendrix states that he really doesn’t care, but Richard goes on to say that his cheek cleared up overnight and that “It was a…” But Bendrix hangs up on him before Richard can finish the sentence. Bendrix convinces himself that it is a gimmick and that soon Richard will be speaking about it in the park the same way he spoke about atheism. Henry walks in and asks who was on the phone, but Bendrix, worried that Henry might run to Father Crompton with the story, tells him Richard called to share that he has been to a doctor who cleared up the spots on his face.
Bendrix is unwilling to even hear the word “miracle” because once that seed is planted so openly in his mind, soon he will be accepting miracles (and therefore God) as a reality, as well. In a similar way, Bendrix wants to keep Henry from believing in miracles because he doesn’t want Henry to believe in God, either. If Henry begins to believe, then Bendrix will be surrounded by believers and will be unable to fight belief any longer—and he will also be vulnerable to all the pain that comes with it, as shown in Sarah’s diary.
Themes
To himself, Bendrix wonders “how many coincidences are there going to be?” He thinks back over how Mrs. Bertram saved him from having dinner with Sylvia, the story about Lance and Sarah’s book, Richard’s cheek, and Sarah’s childhood baptism. Despite all of this, Bendrix thinks that he has a “duty” to “hold Henry up till the last moment” even as he himself drowns. Suddenly, Bendrix decides to go back to his room so he can destroy Sarah’s journal and keep Henry from ever finding it.
Bendrix’s question to himself suggests that he is losing the struggle to believe that all these things are coincidences rather than miracles. Furthermore, his concern for Henry and how to keep Henry safe from the pain of learning to believe in God is similar to Sarah’s devotion to Henry and desire to save him pain. For Bendrix, belief is painful because it means accepting defeat and because, thus far, belief in God always comes at a terrible personal price—after all, it cost him his relationship with Sarah.
Themes
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Bendrix rips the cover off Sarah’s diary and it falls open to the entry where she asks God to give Bendrix peace. Addressing Sarah, Bendrix thinks, “you’ve failed there, Sarah.” He tells Sarah that he has neither peace nor love, except love for Sarah. Bendrix thinks about how he had called himself a “man of hate,” but notes that now he doesn’t “feel much hatred.” He thinks about how Sarah, despite all her sins, took the leap into acceptance and belief in God, and he considers the implication that anyone could do the same and attain sainthood. Turning to God, Bendrix tells him that he “[hasn’t] got [Bendrix] yet” and rejects God’s peace and love. Bendrix accuses God of ruining his and Sarah’s happiness and says: “I hate You, God, I hate You as though You existed.”
By continuing to deny God’s existence, Bendrix is able to deny that God ultimately won Sarah. Bendrix, still suffering from his horrible insecurity and jealousy, doesn’t want to think that his hold over Sarah had been so weak that an unseen force such as God was able to pluck her away. Admitting that God exists would also mean that Bendrix would be admitting his own powerlessness—accepting that he couldn’t save Sarah, or possess her, or force her to accept him as the most important part of her life. For Bendrix, this is still a competition and he doesn’t want to admit defeat, even as his belief grows stronger.
Themes
Bendrix looks down at Sarah’s diary and realizes that it is all he has left of Sarah, so he picks it up and puts it away. Then Bendrix says to Sarah that he will believe in God, but that “it will take more than your prayers to turn this hatred of Him into love.” Bendrix described his hatred for God as something that is in his brain, and therefore can’t be removed like some physical ailment.
Bendrix says he will accept God on the condition that he can keep his hatred for God, too. In doing this, however, he doesn’t account for his earlier realization that hatred and love are nearly one and the same, and that hatred often has its roots in love. In this case, Bendrix’s hatred for God has roots in his love for Sarah. Like Henry, Bendrix is looking for a way to be closer to Sarah, and making this concession is his way of getting closer to her.
Themes
Henry calls to Bendrix to see if he is ready to go out for a drink. The two men walk out together toward the bar. Henry tells Bendrix that he always “look[s] forward to these evening walks of ours.” Bendrix agrees and puts a hand on Henry’s arm, while thinking to himself that he will have to be strong for both of them. Then Henry says that their walks “are the only things” he looks forward to. This prompts Bendrix to pray to God: “O God, You’ve done enough, You’ve robbed me of enough, I’m too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone for ever.”
Bendrix’s final prayer—and clearest admission of his belief in God—comes about as a result of Henry’s words. Bendrix feels Henry’s growing love for him and recognizes the danger—if Henry loves Bendrix, then Bendrix may come to love Henry. Love itself does not scare Bendrix, but the pain of losing love does. Ultimately, what Bendrix wants is apathy. He doesn’t want the pain of love or hatred; he doesn’t have any more energy to spend on either one, because he’s spent it all on Sarah and his pursuit of revenge. In her diary, Sarah wrote that she and Bendrix had “squander[ed]” all of their love on each other so there’d be nothing left, leaving room for God. Bendrix goes through a similar situation here: he realizes he has “squander[ed]” all of his meaningful emotions, and the best he can now hope for is for God to allow him apathy and indifference, both of which will keep him safe from pain. Of course, it’s unclear whether Bendrix will get what he wants; the ending leaves open the question of how Bendrix and Henry’s relationship might develop from here.
Themes
