Graham Greene 'The heart of the matter'

The novel begins with the famous scene of Henry Scobie relaxing upon a rod-iron balcony and him just watching life below him. He watches the local high school get dismissed, he hears the Cathedral bells toll the hour, he watches the fishing boats return from their voyages, he watches as life in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa passes him by. Scobie is brought back into reality from this daze upon hearing that he did not receive the position of Commissioner of Police Forces for Freetown. Disappointed he seeks comfort in his wife Louise who although loves him very much, is unable to give him the type of relationship that he needs as Scobie is also unable to give the same to her. Despite the awkward and shaky relationship, they are all each other have in

Scobie saw a perfect opportunity in Louise’s absence to give himself something that he had been deprived of for his whole life. He could get the love and care that he thought that only God could give him. Greene shared this same quest too, but unlike Scobie, Greene never accomplished it. Perhaps this event in the story was a direct reflection on that aspect of Greene’s life; since he couldn’t achieve it, it made him happy to be able to give someone else the pleasure, regardless that the person is just a figure of his creativity.

Scobie, still unaware of the affair keeps living his regular life and lets Louise depart shortly thereafter. After a couple days of stressful work at the police force like dealing with teenage suicides, murders, and search and seizures, Scobie meets a lady named Helen who is recently widowed as part of his instructions from his wife to get more socially involved with the town. Eventually Scobie and Helen begin to see each other more and more and develop a stronger bond. Scobie began to find in Helen what he was unable to find in Louise.

Graham Greene can be seen in Henry and Louise’s marriage in that it is something that Greene longed for since childhood, and he felt that the only person who can give him that kind of love and affection was an unearthly being of higher power. Greene felt that a strong Catholic faith in God would in return give him the emotional support that he was so deprived of all his life. Thus in the novel, many of Scobie’s struggles in life stemmed from this longing.

Some topics in this essay:
Henry Louise, South Africa, Louise Wilson, Freetown Scobie, Graham Greene, Henry Louise’s, Scobie Greene, Wilson Louise, Everyday Helen, Henry Scobie, greene’s life, graham greene, police force, scobie helen, freetown scobie, deprived life, henry scobie, life freetown, south africa, eventually scobie,