the novelist as God, and God as the novelist

Critic David Lodge once said that in Greene's fiction, 'Catholicism is not a body of belief, but a system of concepts which Greene can arrange and dramatise in order to illustrate the weakness of human nature'. In 'The End of The Affair', where this idea is tested to its limits, Greene illustrates the struggle of the adulteress and her lover trying to come to terms with the fact that they may not ultimately be in control of their lives. Describing his novel as the fight between Man and his creator, Greene used Bendrix to illustrate a man 'who was driven and overwhelmed by the accumulation of natural coincidences, until he broke and began to accept the incredible - the possibility of a God'. Hereby presenting the subject of freewill, Greene depicted his characters already in total control of their lives, but, due to the 'natural coincidences' he describes, they soon began to realise how little of their prohibitive existence they had actually bargained for, and how inconsequenti!

I feel that the novelist mentioned in the title of this essay is not Graham Greene, but Mau

Nevertheless, it is not only Bendrix who is seen as 'the novelist' in 'The End of The Affair' - God can also represent this powerful being as he dictates what happens in Sarah's world and, as he slowly begin to believe in him, he becomes more than just a 'vapour', he becomes the giver of freewill. Sarah confirms this when she talks to Him through her dairy saying, 'I have the freewill to break my promise, haven't I, but I haven't the power to gain anything from breaking it'. In other words, God has given her the power to make her own decisions, but she feels bound to keep her promise as she is not able to do anything about the situation she is in, as this would mean denying her growing faith. This leaves her alone 'in the desert, seeking the same water holes' as Maurice and God, but is unable to touch them - the fundamental of her being able to believe in something. By personifying God, she can believe in Him, and as He becomes the novelist when she feels comforted by His pres!

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rice Bendrix, one of Greene's chief characters. This can be seen from the opening paragraphs, as Greene uses the first person narrative, as the voice of Maurice Bendrix. The statement, 'this is a record of hate far more than of love', not only indicates that Maurice is perhaps writing his own novel, but also serves to set the tone for the novel, and convey a principle theme - when in love, two subjects which may seem contradictory, or are deemed opposite, can actually merge, and become one.

Indeed, it is this central theme which blurs the distinction between God and the novelist, seen most predominantly through the example of Sarah Miles. As Sarah's faith grows after her bargain with God and she becomes more and more blinded by her love for Bendrix, she begins to see 'man and his creator', as one being. One predominant example of this is when she is desperately hoping to bump into Bendrix as she feels this won't be breaking her vow. She says, 'it was for the firs

Some common words found in the essay are:
Miles Sarah's, Bendrix God, Affair' God, Maurice God, Maurice Bendrix, Lodge Greene's, God' Hereby, Acting God, Graham Greene, Greene Bendrix, graham greene, 'the affair', affair' graham greene, affair bendrix, begin believe, control lives, maurice bendrix, example sarah, own lives, david lodge, love bendrix,
Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)