Welcome to our second read-along discussion of The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene. If you’re following our schedule, you should have read Book One and Book Two. We discussed Book One last week.
Spoiler warning: We will be discussing Book One and Book Two of The Heart of the Matter in detail, both in this post and the comments section.
Well, we’ve had some interesting developments in book two, the biggest being the entrance of Helen on the scene. Greene describes the shipwreck survivors so vividly – that was a difficult section to read. I was surprised that Scobie jumped into an affair with Helen so quickly, as he seemed to be so duty-bound and determined to be above-board. And yet his feelings for Helen don’t work to make him any happier than he was before. Knowing how tied up he is in doing the right thing, I can only see his guilt over the affair dragging him deeper and deeper into despair.
One thing I found intriguing: Scobie’s obligation to make Louise happy. He knows he doesn’t love her anymore, but he still takes it as his responsibility to see to her comfort and happiness. His obligation to her leads him to do the one thing that goes against his professional scruples: take money from Yusef. True, it is a loan, not a hand-out, but it has still put him inside Yusef’s pocket, culminating in the final scene of this section, in which he passes the package on to the ship captain.
I am pretty sure I know where the book is going. The foreshadowing hasn’t exactly been subtle, but I won’t spell it out in case I’m the only one who’s thinking in that direction. Here’s a few questions for those of you who are reading along with me.
~ Any predictions on what will happen when Louise returns?
~ What do you think was in the package Scobie gave to the ship’s captain?
~ In your opinion, how will things end for Helen?
~ How does Wilson connect to everything?
Feel free to leave your answers, and any other thoughts you have on this week’s section, in a comment below. If you write your own post, be sure and leave me a link so I can come read it. Next Friday we will discuss the final section of the book.
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Sorry for my late response Carrie, I have had lots to read but I’m catching up on the whole book today so I’ll leave my thoughts in this section and then the final section!
Scobie – not the brightest, is he? He was miserable with his wife, didn’t want to leave where he was and he finally was able to send her where she wanted to go and make her happy (and perhaps be happy himself) and he jumped straight into what is obviously an ill-advised affair with Helen. Helen has already shown flashes of being similar to Louise and petulant when she doesn’t get her own way so I can’t imagine this will end well, especially as Yusef knows about the affair.
I’m not sure what is in the package, I’m assuming diamonds (even though he says they weren’t because he’s not exactly trustworthy) but I really don’t know! I do think now that once Scobie has done this he’s sliding down a slippery scope and probably that’s where Wilson is going to come in as he’s already suspicious about the connection between Scobie and Yusef even though it was, until now, mostly innocent and Scobie is being blackmailed.
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Bree – no problem! I know how life can get in the way of reading.
I can’t really comment on your thoughts here, because I’ve finished the book. Other than agreeing with you that Scobie is really not a bright man. Very misguided. I’ll be curious to read your thoughts after you finish. 
“You are safe with any of those books,” Mrs. Bowles said. “They are censored by the committee before they come out. Sometimes people try to send the most unsuitable books. We are not teaching the children here to read in order that they shall read—well, novels.”
The conflict between the missionary’s peddling of pious literature and Scobie converting, on the spot, A Bishop Among the Bantus into a pirate story struck me as funny, sad, powerful. I may copy this whole section into my commonplace book. I’m certain to bring it out and read it at a dinner gathering in the future.
I continue, not very much interested in Scobie, Yusef, Helen, Wilson, and Louise. But it is easy to keep reading when I come across a sentence like “(he) won out of her a stiff unused smile.”
I find Greene’s use of letters and notes interesting, almost a motif. His note to Helen is playing a major role in the plot. But there are many more: Wilson’s to Scobie, Helen’s father to Helen, Scobie’s to Louise, etc.
The Catholic/religious/morality bits intrigue me. Helen complains how convenient it is for Scobie to be Catholic: it doesn’t stop you sleeping with me, but it stops you marrying me. And this sentence: “Virtue, the good life, tempted him in the dark like a sin.”
This book ends with pity. Scobie got sucked into a mess “real good.” Sorry for the Sunday School mantra, but sin beget sin. Having compromised his values once, he’s found it easier and easier. And yet the tension rises.
I’m expecting I’ll read about Scobie’s downfall in the next book. I’ll check in with you when I finish. Thanks, Carrie, for hosting the read-along. It is much more fun to read a book like this with others to process it.
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Carol – the section where he read the pirate story was really the only section in the book when I felt any affinity for Scobie at all. And yes, Greene writes some of the most delicious sentences!