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Book 1, Chapter 1
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
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 across the Common anymore and wonders if he’s embarrassed about having openly admitted his suspicions of Sarah’s behavior. When he’s not keeping vigil, Bendrix tries to write his next novel, but he has trouble getting the characters to come alive. Furthermore, Bendrix says there was a “hate and suspicion” and a “passion to destroy that went deeper than the book.” To that end, Bendrix decides to get in contact with Mr. Savage.
Even though it had been nearly two years since Bendrix had seen either Henry or Sarah, his conversation with Henry and seeing Sarah again immediately sends Bendrix on a downward spiral of jealousy and obsession that reflects the jealousy he felt during his relationship with Sarah. Furthermore, Bendrix is so consumed by his hatred for Sarah and Henry that his work is suffering, highlighting the self-destructiveness associated with jealousy and hatred.
Themes
At Mr. Savage’s office, Bendrix is shown into one of the two waiting rooms. When Mr. Savage comes in, Bendrix notices that he has a receding hairline and a shaved face; a peculiar movement of his fingers when he shakes Bendrix’s hand makes Bendrix think he must be a freemason. Mr. Savage’s head, Bendrix notes, glistens like “a beacon-light of understanding, sympathy, anxiety to be of service.”
Bendrix is driven to Mr. Savage by his jealousy of whomever Sarah is seeing—if Henry is correct in his suspicions, that is. Mr. Savage’s entire appearance is geared toward comforting the jealous men and women who come to see him; he seeks to convey, through his appearance, the impression that he can put an end to their jealousy by uncovering the truth.
Themes
When Bendrix is invited to sit in a comfortable chair and tell Mr. Savage to explain everything, Bendrix begins to feel “embarrassed and bitter.” Bendrix asks Mr. Savage what the “charges are for watching.” Mr. Savage tells Bendrix not to worry about that and that, if he wants, Bendrix can leave the office right then without being charged three guineas for a preliminary consultation. Before he begins sharing details, Bendrix notes that he is aware that Mr. Savage probably already knows what he’s going to say, since this case is no different than the dozens of others Mr. Savage has been hired to take care of already that year.
Bendrix’s bitterness here is actually a form of self-hatred born out of the shame he feels at his own actions. Even though Bendrix hasn’t officially hired Mr. Savage yet, he has taken the irrevocable step of coming to his office, thus admitting to his own jealousy.
Themes
Even though Bendrix says there’s not much evidence, Mr. Savage tells him that all he needs is “the mood, the atmosphere” and guesses that Bendrix is talking about his wife. Bendrix tells him that he’s there about a friend’s wife. Mr. Savage asks him if he and “the lady” are “intimate” and is surprised when Bendrix reveals that he’s “only seen her once since 1944.” When Mr. Savage expresses confusion, Bendrix asks, “Can’t one love or hate […] as long as that?” Bendrix also assures Mr. Savage that he is just a jealous person like Mr. Savage’s other clients. Mr. Savage assures him that jealousy is actually “the mark of a true love.”
Both Mr. Savage and Bendrix reveal very unhealthy attitudes about love. Mr. Savage makes his attitude about love very clear in his assertion that jealousy is evidence of “a true love.” This means that, in Mr. Savage’s opinion, love is only real when one or both partners feel possessive over the other. This possessiveness can drive jealous partners to great lengths to prove the wrongdoing of the other. This is evidenced by Bendrix’s decision to have Sarah followed even two years after his personal relationship with her ended.
Themes
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Bendrix tells Mr. Savage that there’s reason to believe that Mrs. Miles (that is, Sarah) is deceiving her husband because she’s lying about her whereabouts and keeping “secrets.” Bendrix provides details about the house, whether they have a maid, and Sarah’s age. Bendrix also agrees to receiving weekly reports either in person or on the phone, with Mr. Savage’s promise the investigation will be discreet. Bendrix reflects that Mr. Savage’s job (the “detection of the innocent”) is not a “respectable trade” and that lovers are usually innocent, because they don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong. Bendrix also thinks about the fact that he used to think loved excused everything, too. By the time Bendrix leaves, he notes that he is nearly convinced that all men go through this kind of conversation sometime in their lives.
Bendrix recognizes that Mr. Savage’s career is a disreputable one but, ironically, continues to justify his own unhealthy jealousy and obsession with Sarah. The phrase “detection of the innocent” implies that Mr. Savage and his men are looking for wrongdoing and are somewhat determined to find it even if it doesn’t exist—they have been hired to find it, and so find it they will. Furthermore, Mr. Savage helps normalize Bendrix’s jealousy by making him feel that he’s doing no more than every other man has done. For Bendrix, this serves to further justify his behavior even though his thoughts about Mr. Savage reveal that on some level he is aware that his actions, like Mr. Savage’s career, lack respectability.
Themes
