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Illustrated portrait of Lance Parkis

A character in The End of the Affair

Lance Parkis

Parkis's observant son, who accompanies surveillance and later becomes dangerously ill.

What they want

To be useful to his father and included in his serious work.

The book

Cover of The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The End of the AffairGraham Greene, 1951

A wartime affair ends without explanation, and jealousy turns the search for an answer into a struggle with belief.

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At a glance

Parent
Albert Parkis
Role
Occasional surveillance companion

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Lance is Albert Parkis's school-age son. He accompanies surveillance because he wants to share an adult world with his father.

His curiosity gives early detective scenes a comic surface, but the novel does not keep him outside its questions about suffering and belief.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Schoolboy seriousnessHe treats the detective role as important.
  • Father's assistantHis presence mixes affection with surveillance.
  • Observant curiosityHe notices behavior without grasping the affair.
  • Physical vulnerabilityLater illness removes the safety of his earlier scenes.
Lance's illnessHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Lance survives an abdominal crisis and believes Sarah relieved his pain. Its timing becomes part of the novel's miracle debate.

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