The End of the Affair

The End of the Affair

The End of the Affair (1951) is a novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films (released in 1955 and 1999) that were adapted for the screen based on the novel.

Set in London during and just after World War II, the novel examines the obsessions, jealousy and discernments within the relationships between the central characters: writer Maurice Bendrix; Sarah Miles; and her husband, civil servant Henry Miles.

Graham Greene's own affair with Lady Catherine Walston played into the basis for The End of the Affair. The British edition of the novel is dedicated to "C" while the American version is made out to "Catherine." Greene's own house at 14 Clapham Common Northside was bombed during The Blitz.

Synopsis

The novel focuses on Maurice Bendrix, a rising writer during World War II in London, and Sarah Miles, the wife of an important civil servant. Bendrix is loosely based on Greene himself, and he reflects often on the act of writing a novel. Sarah is based loosely on Greene's mistress at the time, Catherine Walston, to whom the book is dedicated.

Bendrix and Sarah fall in love quickly, but he soon realizes that the affair will end as quickly as it began. He picks fights with her out of jealousy, but she remains patient. He is frustrated by her refusal to divorce Henry, her amiable but boring husband. When a bomb blasts Bendrix's flat as he is with Sarah, he nearly dies. After this, Sarah breaks off the affair with no explanation.

Two years later, Bendrix is still wracked with jealousy when he sees Henry crossing the Common that separates their flats. Henry has finally started to suspect something, and Bendrix decides to go to a private detective to discover Sarah's new lover. Through her diary, he learns that she made a promise to God not to see Bendrix when she thought he was dead after the bombing. Greene describes Sarah's struggles with Catholicism, though it is an odd version of the faith, more like Jansenism. After her sudden death from pneumonia, several almost-miraculous events occur, though it is not clear what Greene expects the reader to think. By the last page of the novel, Bendrix has come to believe in a God as well, though not to love him.

The End of the Affair is the fourth and last of Greene's explicitly Catholic novels, and is widely regarded as his best work. Though Greene disliked being referred to as a Catholic writer, his most powerful novels were about Catholic themes. He discusses faith in an unusual way in the novel, often referring to it as an infection or a disease, something one can catch like a cold. Unlike his other Catholic novels, there is no talk of damnation, only a kind of salvation. The introduction of supernatural elements is also new for Greene.

Adaptations

In 1955, the book was made into a film, directed by Edward Dmytryk, with the screenplay adaptation by Lenore J. Coffee. David Lewis was the producer and David E. Rose executive producer. It starred Deborah Kerr as Sarah Miles, Van Johnson as Maurice Bendrix, John Mills as Albert Parkis, and Peter Cushing as Henry Miles.

In 1999, the novel was again made into a movie (The End of the Affair), directed by Irish director Neil Jordan. Jordan also wrote the screenplay and produced the film with Stephen Woolley. It starred American actress Julianne Moore as Sarah Miles, English actor Ralph Fiennes as Maurice Bendrix, and Irish actor Stephen Rea as Henry Miles. Julianne Moore was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

In 2004, Jake Heggie composed an opera based on the novel. It premiered at the Houston Grand Opera in March of that year, and was subsequently revised into its final form.