Just a Piece of Peace

Marriage, like any other relationship in life, is a two-way street. But what if, one spouse cannot be happy as long as the other one is. Trying to find a balance in any relationship can be difficult especially if there is a stark conflict of interest. In Graham Greene’s novelette The Heart of the Matter, Scobie is shown to be a man struggling to walk the line between finding his own happiness through peace and fulfilling his duty to keep his wife Louise happy.

            Captured best in the final scene of Book 1, Scobie’s internal struggle comes to a head when he fails to procure the money needed to send his wife Louise to South Africa. Despite his best attempts to keep his true emotions bottled up, Scobie muddles out the harsh truth to his wife with one simple sentence, “You can’t give me peace.” (129) What is most interesting to me about this scene is the inside look Greene gives the reader into the methodical process of this squabble between the married couple. Throughout, it seems as though Scobie is just going through the motions of the argument, already knowing how it will play out in the end. This is best exemplified when Greene explains, “Again the nerve in his head tightened; unhappiness had uncoiled with its inevitable routine.” (129) Through the use of words and phrases such as “again” and “inevitable routine”, the reader is lead to believe that such a scenario has become commonplace in the relationship between Scobie and Louise. Greene goes further with the idea that such an argument was only routine in their relationship by framing it into scenes. Scobie says to himself, “They were through again, on the other side of the scene: he thought coolly and collectedly, this one wasn’t so bad.” (130) Despite the heated truths that came out during their quarrel, Scobie is only look forward to the end of the argument, where he could once again have the peace he so hopes to achieve. By the use of the phrase “this one”, the reader is lead to believe that this is just one of many arguments that Scobie and Louise have had, and is certainly not the last.

            Regardless of their dealings with each other, this scene in the novelette shows the growing tensions between Scobie and Louise and highlights the ups and downs of their relationship. Through Greene’s word choice and structuring of the argument, the reader is shown the inner workings of Scobie’s mind and view of his dying marriage.

Question: How would the argument have been portrayed if Greene wrote from the perspective of Louise rather than Scobie?