Henry Miles Character Analysis in The End of the Affair

Henry is a simple, honest civil servant who is married to Sarah. Although Henry is always very kind to his wife, he is unable to sexually satisfy her, so she turns to extramarital affairs for fulfillment. Henry trusts Sarah implicitly, so he doesn’t notice any of these affairs even though some of them, including her final affair with Bendrix, happen in their house while he’s home. Two years after Bendrix and Sarah’s affair ends, Henry runs into Bendrix and tells him that he’s worried Sarah is having an affair because she’s very distant. In fact, Henry has looked into hiring a private detective and has learned of one named Mr. Savage, but he is ultimately too ashamed to go through with it and burns the paper with Mr. Savage’s address. Unbeknownst to Henry, Bendrix promptly hires Mr. Savage himself and arranges to have Sarah followed. Eventually, Mr. Savage’s employee Mr. Parkis uncovers evidence of Sarah meeting a man named Mr. Smythe at his home, and Bendrix brings the evidence to Henry. When Bendrix tells Henry of Sarah’s behavior, he also tells Henry that he had had an affair with Sarah, as well. Henry doesn’t get mad but returns home and begs Sarah to stay with him for just a few more years but doesn’t tell her he knows about her affairs, which highlights one of the key differences between Henry and Bendrix: Henry does not become cruel and jealous when he learns that Sarah has been with other men, but simply asks her to give him another chance by staying with him. After Sarah’s death a short time later, Henry is haunted by her memory and asks Bendrix to move in with him. Henry and Bendrix grow very close in the weeks and months after Sarah’s death and Henry eventually admits that taking evening walks with Bendrix is one of the only two things he ever looks forward to anymore.

Henry Miles Quotes in The End of the Affair

The The End of the Affair quotes below are all either spoken by Henry Miles or refer to Henry Miles. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

If hate is not too large a term to use in relation to any human being, I hated Henry—I hated his wife Sarah too. And he, I suppose, came soon after the events of that evening to hate me: as he surely at times must have hated his wife and that other, in whom in those days we were lucky enough not to believe. So this is a record of hate far more than of love, and if I come to say anything in favour of Henry and Sarah I can be trusted: I am writing against the bias because it is my professional pride to prefer the near-truth, even to the expression of my near-hate.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles

Page Number and Citation: 1

Explanation and Analysis:

The fool, I thought, the fool to see nothing strange in a year and a half’s interval. Less than five hundred yards of flat grass separated our two ‘sides’. Had it never occurred to him to say to Sarah, ‘How’s Bendrix doing? What about asking Bendrix in?’ and hadn’t her replies ever seemed to him… odd, evasive, suspicious? I had fallen out of their sight as completely as a stone in a pond. I suppose the ripples may have disturbed Sarah for a week, a month, but Henry’s blinkers were firmly tied. I had hated his blinkers even when I had benefited from them, knowing that others could benefit too.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Henry Miles, Sarah Miles

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

Jealousy, or so I have always believed, exists only with desire. […] But I suppose there are different kinds of desire. My desire now was nearer hatred than love, and Henry I had reason to believe, from what Sarah once told me, had long ceased to feel any physical desire for her. And yet, I think, in those days he was as jealous as I was. His desire was simply for companionship: he felt for the first time excluded from Sarah’s confidence: he was worried and despairing—he didn’t know what was going on or what was going to happen. He was living in a terrible insecurity. To that extent his plight was worse than mine. I had the security of possessing nothing. I could have no more than I had lost, while he still owned her presence at the table, the sound of her feet on the stairs, the opening and closing of doors, the kiss on the cheek—I doubt if there was much else now, but what a lot to a starving man is just that much.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Henry Miles, Sarah Miles

Page Number and Citation: 31-32

Explanation and Analysis:

‘Do you mind?’ I asked her, and she shook her head. I didn’t really know what I meant—I think I had an idea that the sight of Henry might have roused remorse, but she had a wonderful way of eliminating remorse. Unlike the rest of us she was unhaunted by guilt. In her view when a thing was done, it was done: remorse died with the act. She would have thought it unreasonable of Henry, if he had caught us, to be angry for more than a moment.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

I am a jealous man—it seems stupid to write these words in what is, I suppose, a long record of jealousy, jealousy of Henry, jealousy of Sarah and jealousy of that other whom Mr. Parkis was so maladroitly pursuing. Now that all this belongs to the past, I feel my jealousy of Henry only when memories become particularly vivid (because I swear that if we had been married, with her loyalty and my desire, we could have been happy for a lifetime), but there still remains jealousy of my rival—a melodramatic word painfully inadequate to express the unbearable complacency, confidence, and success he always enjoys. Sometimes I think he wouldn’t even recognize me as part of the picture, and I feel an enormous desire to draw attention to myself, to shout in his ear, ‘You can’t ignore me. Here I am. Whatever happened later, Sarah loved me then.’

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles, Mr. Parkis

Page Number and Citation: 42

Explanation and Analysis:

I wanted her burnt up, I wanted to be able to say, Resurrect that body if you can. My jealousy had not finished, like Henry’s, with her death. It was as if she were alive still, in the company of a lover she had preferred to me. How I wished I could send Parkis after her to interrupt their eternity.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles, Mr. Parkis

Page Number and Citation: 112

Explanation and Analysis:

There had been a time when I hated Henry. My hatred now seemed petty. Henry was a victim as much as I was a victim, and the victor was this grim man in the silly collar.

Related Characters: Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles, Father Crompton

Page Number and Citation: 126

Explanation and Analysis:

‘[…] I know when a man’s in pain.’

I couldn’t get through the tough skin of his complacency. I pushed my chair back and said, ‘You’re wrong, father. This isn’t anything subtle like pain. I’m not in pain, I’m in hate. I hate Sarah because she was a little tart, I hate Henry because she stuck to him, and I hate you and your imaginary God because you took her away from all of us.’

Related Characters: Father Crompton (speaker), Maurice Bendrix (speaker), Sarah Miles, Henry Miles

Page Number and Citation: 151

Explanation and Analysis:

Henry Miles Character Timeline in The End of the Affair

The timeline below shows where the character Henry Miles appears in The End of the Affair. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Faith, Acceptance, and the Divine Theme Icon

...then he might’ve believed that it was God who prompted him to go talk to Henry Miles. The narrator did this even though he hated Henry, and even though Henry would... (full context)

Adultery, Deception, and Honesty Theme Icon

...narrator, whose name is revealed to be Bendrix, says that it was strange to see Henry out that night because it was so rainy, and Henry loved to be comfortable. The... (full context)

Henry tells Bendrix that Sarah is out somewhere, which reminds Bendrix of a time when other... (full context)

Henry notes that it’s been a long time since he or Sarah has seen Bendrix, to... (full context)

At the bar, Henry and Bendrix each order a rum. While they sit at the table together, Bendrix thinks... (full context)

After Bendrix and Henry exchange pleasantries about the past Christmas and Sarah’s health, Henry offers to go get them... (full context)

Bendrix asks Henry if he is miserable and Henry responds that he is “worried.” Bendrix encourages Henry to... (full context)

Once home, Henry calls out to see if Sarah is back yet. There is no answer, so Henry... (full context)

Bendrix asks Henry what exactly it is that he’s worried about and Henry shows him a letter. Bendrix,... (full context)

Henry asks Bendrix what he should do and Bendrix tells him to either burn the letter... (full context)

Just then Bendrix and Henry hear someone come in. Henry says it must be the maid, but Bendrix insists that... (full context)

Over the next few days, Bendrix keeps vigil outside of Henry and Sarah’s house, hoping to see Sarah come out. Bendrix notices that Henry never walks... (full context)

...about walking out of the party where he met Sarah and onto the Common with Henry, whom Bendrix had met at another party the week before. Bendrix says he had an... (full context)

Once again thinking of the party, Bendrix remembers walking back into the house with Henry and thinking he saw Sarah and another man “separating as though from a kiss,” but... (full context)

...of time there. After eating their lunch, Sarah tells Bendrix that she is worried about Henry and asks Bendrix to check on him from time to time because he’s lonely. Bendrix... (full context)

...at this point in the story’s events, according to him, was “nearer hatred than love.” Henry, on the other hand, had stopped being attracted to Sarah long before he suspected her... (full context)

...movie, the waiter brought out a dish of onions and Bendrix had asked Sarah if Henry liked them. Sarah told him that Henry hated onions but that she loved them, and... (full context)

...going to Sarah’s house. At Sarah’s, they continued touching each other. When Bendrix noted that Henry would be arrving soon, Sarah told him that they’d hear him because there’s “one stair... (full context)

One morning Sarah called Bendrix and told him that Henry was sick at home, thus preventing her from leaving. However, Sarah invited Bendrix over to... (full context)

...over to Sarah’s house and they had sex on the floor of the room below Henry’s. After Sarah reached orgasm, Bendrix worried that Henry heard her. However, Sarah told him that... (full context)

...to apologize and end the argument, Bendrix challenged her by claiming she’d be jealous if Henry “threatened [their] marriage” by sleeping with someone else, but Sarah asserted that their marriage “never... (full context)

...Bendrix claims that he would have dropped the case right then, but then he sees Henry’s face in the paper and is overcome by hatred again—he writes Henry a letter saying... (full context)

Henry and Bendrix meet up for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Henry is clearly ill at... (full context)

Henry drops his hat on his way out of the restaurant after Bendrix gives him Parkis’s... (full context)

Bendrix wanders into the Victoria Gardens and spots Henry sitting on a bench. It is clear that Henry is crying and Bendrix, overcome with... (full context)

Henry asks Bendrix why his affair with Sarah ended, and Bendrix explains that he also became... (full context)

...Sarah, although he also claims that he might have moved on if he hadn’t seen Henry in the Common. (full context)

...house that he managed to sneak into by making Sarah believe he was one of Henry’s friends and vice versa. Mr. Parkis puts a package on Bendrix’s desk and tells him... (full context)

...be listening. At the time Sarah is writing, she’s on a train to go to Henry and she wonders what would happen if she were back in London. Sarah asserts that... (full context)

...come out of the desert by changing trains and going back to Maurice and that Henry would be none the wiser. Furthermore, Sarah says she can return to Maurice without anyone... (full context)

On the same night, Sarah writes that some of Henry’s coworkers came over for dinner. Henry and one of his coworkers talked about the V1s... (full context)

...writes of meeting “D.” for dinner and kissing him once while they were out with Henry. However, Sarah writes that “nothing worked” and that one night she looked up Maurice’s phone... (full context)

...out by herself and had a few drinks, but that this was a mistake. When Henry came home, he was excited to announce that he was going to receive an O.B.E.... (full context)

...that she “wasn’t afraid of the desert.” When Sarah returned home, she saw Maurice with Henry and realized that it was the second time God had given Maurice back to her. (full context)

...the first time since they separated. Sarah says that she wanted to ask Maurice about Henry because Henry’s behavior is leading her to believe that he’s worried about her—something that would... (full context)

...the decision to return to her house, pack her bags, write a goodbye letter to Henry, and then call Maurice to tell him that she was coming “for tonight and all... (full context)

In the same entry, Sarah says Henry told her that he had been to lunch with Bendrix and then abruptly said, “I... (full context)

...me, me.” Instead, Sarah tried to think about the “awful spots on Richard’s cheek” and Henry’s tear-stained face. In her prayer, Sarah begged God to “Teach [her] to love” him and... (full context)

...back and asks for Sarah again, but disguises his voice to sound like one of Henry’s coworkers. This time, Sarah answers the phone and is surprised to hear Bendrix on the... (full context)

Outside, Bendrix realizes that the weather is much worse than when he saw Henry outside the other night—there is sleet instead of rain, making it so that he can’t... (full context)

...shoulder, Bendrix whispers to her of his love, tells her that she shouldn’t worry about Henry, and says that nobody can stop them from being together. (full context)

...This, Bendrix remembers, was the same thing Sarah crossed out in her goodbye letter to Henry the night she tried to leave him As he gives Sarah a final departing glance,... (full context)

...from Sarah. Once, Bendrix calls Sarah’s house, but hangs up quickly because he is afraid Henry will answer. Eight days pass before Bendrix’s phone finally rings. When Bendrix answers it, however,... (full context)

Bendrix sleeps on the sofa in Henry’s house the night after Sarah‘s death. Over a bottle of whisky, Bendrix asks Henry to... (full context)

Henry tells Bendrix that he doesn’t know how to handle the practical matters of a death;... (full context)

Bendrix assures Henry that Sarah only mentioned a priest because she was delirious with fever, but Henry tells... (full context)

Henry asks Bendrix to stay the night as a favor to Henry and Bendrix agrees. When... (full context)

The next morning Bendrix wakes up before Henry. A maid brings Bendrix some breakfast and while he eats, he thinks about how he... (full context)

...“Let her have her Catholic funeral” because she wanted it. Richard explains that he knows Henry has a lot of respect for Bendrix and would give Sarah a Catholic funeral if... (full context)

...again. She writes about going to see a priest to ask if she could divorce Henry, become a Catholic, and marry Bendrix. The priest, however, told her that she had to... (full context)

Bendrix writes that Henry was uncertain about Sarah’s funeral the afternoon before she was to be cremated. Henry calls... (full context)

After listening to Father Crompton and Henry discuss Sarah, Bendrix speaks up and tells Henry that they have no reason to believe... (full context)

...been there. Over dinner, Mrs. Bertram tells Bendrix that she didn’t like the service, that Henry is “a very mean man,” and that she’s had to borrow money from Henry in... (full context)

Even though Bendrix once joked to himself that Henry would ask him to move in, he is surprised when the invitation comes. Henry tells... (full context)

Suddenly, Henry asks Bendrix if there is any tension remaining between them, especially since Henry got mad... (full context)

After moving into Henry’s house, Bendrix makes a more active effort to move on. Once while Henry is away... (full context)

One morning Henry comes into the house late and explains that he went gone to Father Crompton’s church... (full context)

Henry tries to make conversation with Father Crompton, but the priest only gives short answers to... (full context)

Bendrix asks Henry if he looked in the book that he gave to Mr. Parkis. Henry says that... (full context)

Henry apologizes for Bendrix’s outburst, but Father Crompton says that there is no need to apologize... (full context)

...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... (full context)

While Henry is getting his shoes on, the phone rings. Bendrix runs to get it himself—Richard Smythe... (full context)

...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... (full context)

Henry calls to Bendrix to see if he is ready to go out for a drink.... (full context)

Henry Miles Character Analysis

Henry Miles Quotes in The End of the Affair

Book 1, Chapter 1 Quotes

Book 1, Chapter 7 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 1 Quotes

Book 2, Chapter 2 Quotes

Book 5, Chapter 1 Quotes

Book 5, Chapter 3 Quotes

Book 5, Chapter 7 Quotes

Henry Miles Character Timeline in The End of the Affair