Who Are You?

We have seen Greene, especially in The Third Man, embrace the theme of paradoxical, dynamic, and “mixed-up” characters. In The Heart of the Matter, the same theme arises in the case of Scobie, but it presents itself through his relationship with Louise. In this early glimpse of the relationship, we start to wonder who Scobie really is. What is his place in the relationship? What type of relationship is it even? The questions seem hard to answer.

When Scobie finds Louise sleeping on the bed with a stomachache, their “marriage” starts to unravel and reveal startling details. While watching her sleep, Scobie realizes that this is a time “of ugliness when he loved her” (96).  Most husbands do not require ugly times to love their wives. Nor would he want to disturb “his worst enemy from sleep, leave alone Louise” (96).  When a husband puts his wife and his worst enemy in the same position, then something must be wrong and crooked. Even so, Scobie demonstrates a remarkable (though questionable) generosity and selflessness to “poor Louise” (93). He concerns himself, to the point of paranoia, with her happiness. He needs her less and thus becomes “more conscious” of  “his responsibility for her happiness” (96). Indeed, husbands (and wives) should be keen on making their spouses happy. However, it should not become a chore or responsibility that one must maintain awareness of. Spouses ought to make each other happy primarily by their love for one another, rather than by self-sacrificial efforts. Scobie cares for Louise’s happiness, but considers it a “responsibility” (96). He even goes about this in an odd way. Scobie “never listen[s] while his wife talk[s]” (100). He cares not for the substance of the conversation, but rather for the  “note of distress” and “silence” in their “conversations” (100). Spouses (hopefully) find listening and talking to each other significant. Scobie finds importance in the tranquil tone of his wife’s voice, not in what she has to say. It is hard to determine whether or not Scobie really is a husband to Louise, or even if his motives in their odd relationship are healthy.

Scobie’s dynamic further complicates the marital relationship. At times he wishes that he could sit happily “in his own world” in the bathroom (113). He feels more comfortable alone than he does with his wife. Although spouses can feel embarrassed at times because of their significant others, they generally feel comfortable around each other. Why else would they marry? Husbands and wives are friends as well as lovers. It seems Scobie cannot be both, at the same time or at all. He looks for friends she can be happy with, and neglects trying to “understand” the “bare relations of intimate feeling,” which tilts his marriage on its head (113). Scobie won’t listen to his own wife read poetry to Wilson because “a man [can’t] listen to a woman [read] poetry in the presence of an outsider” (113).  Although we only have a glimpse of their relationship, the marriage does not appear to exist. Scobie acts only as lover when things seem ugly. He cannot be a friend to his own wife. Do you see the marriage differently? Can you foresee some evolution of their marriage, or do you see only failure ahead?