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August 15, 2006
falling in love over a dish of onions
I haven't finished reading the book yet, but I am positive this is the grossest scene from Graham Greene's The End of the Affair:
Maurice and Sarah had just seen a film adaptation of Maurice's book. He had not liked the way the film had treated his book, but he did like one scene. In it, a married woman and her lover are eating in a restaurant. They order steak and onions. The woman hesitates over eating the onions because her husband, understandably, thinks they smell disgusting. The man is offended that she is thinking of her husband's reaction to her onion-eating.Afterwards--we were back at Rules and they had just fetched our steaks--she said, 'There was one scene you did write.'
'About the onions?'
'Yes.' And at that very moment a dish of onions was put on the table. I said to her--it hadn't even crossed my mind that evening to desire her--'And does Henry mind onions?'
'Yes. He can't bear them. Do you like them?'
'Yes.' She helped me to them and then helped herself.
Is it possible to fall in love over a dish of onions? It seems improbable and yet I could swear it was just then that I fell in love...I said, 'It's a good steak,' and heard like poetry her reply, 'It's the best I've ever eaten.'
Any affair based on onions deserves to be ended.
Posted by onion slayer at 10:56 AM | Comments (1)