Graham Greene 'The heart of the matter'

            
             The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene is a two-part novel written in 1948 in which through the meticulously crafted actions and thoughts of the main character, Henry Scobie, Graham Greene conveys messages of morality and integrity in aspects influenced by location, time period, and most importantly, religion. All three of these aspects were able to shine brilliantly through Scobie due to the fact that they are commonly shared in his creator's life. .
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             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 the world and they value that fact very highly. .
             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. .
             The story continues in describing how unbearable the conditions were to Henry and Louise and how both of them longed for a better life. The conditions were so bad that occasionally upon entering their house's bathroom Scobie finds "a rat that had been couched on the cool rim of the bath tub, like a cat on a gravestone" (40).