The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene
"The Honorary Consul" is a novel by Graham Greene, set in the politically charged environment of Corrientes, Argentina, during a time of guerrilla warfare and social upheaval. The story follows Dr. Eduardo Plarr, a young physician who returns to his hometown to serve the poor, while also grappling with personal ties and the legacy of his father, an Englishman with a complicated history in Paraguay.
The plot thickens as Plarr becomes unwittingly involved in a kidnapping scheme orchestrated by Paraguayan guerrillas, including his childhood friend Father León Rivas. The kidnappers mistakenly abduct Charley Fortnum, the British honorary consul, instead of their intended target, leading to a tense standoff filled with themes of loyalty, betrayal, and moral ambiguity.
As the narrative unfolds, Plarr's emotional detachment is challenged by his relationships with both Fortnum and Clara, the consul's wife. The novel explores profound questions about political commitment, personal responsibility, and the complexity of human connections in times of crisis. Greene's work is noted for its exploration of the moral dilemmas faced by individuals against a backdrop of political turmoil, making "The Honorary Consul" a compelling reflection on the intricacies of personal and political identity.
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The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene
First published: 1973
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: Early to mid-1970’s
Locale: Argentina
Principal characters
Eduardo Plarr , a middle-aged doctorCharley Fortnum , a British honorary consulClara Fortnum , his wife and Plarr’s mistressLeón Rivas , a revolutionary priestColonel Perez , a policemanAquino , a kidnapper
The Story:
Dr. Eduardo Plarr is a man incapable of making emotional commitments. He returns to the provincial town of Corrientes, Argentina, on the border between Argentina and Paraguay, after completing medical school in Buenos Aires, in order to be of use to the poor. He is also drawn back to the place by memories of his father, an Englishman, who sent his wife and young son to safety in Argentina many years before and who remained behind in Paraguay.
Plarr, clinging to the mistaken belief that his father is still alive, comes into contact with a band of Paraguayan guerrillas led by Plarr’s boyhood friend, Father León Rivas. Rivas, who intended to be a lawyer, is now a priest. His faith fails him, however, and, feeling he can no longer quote the Bible to the poor to comfort them in their poverty, he decides the time has come to take some action. He and the mysterious revolutionary figure El Tigre come up with their plan to kidnap an American ambassador who is to visit the Corrientes area, in order to exchange him for political prisoners in Paraguay.
Because Plarr, through his relationship with Clara Fortnum, wife of the English honorary consul, will be able to discover the plans for the visit and the routes the car will take, Rivas includes Plarr’s father on the list of prisoners to be released. Plarr does not know that the old man was shot during the escape of Aquino, another member of the band of kidnappers. In the hope that he might be able to save his father, Plarr agrees to help.
Rivas and the kidnappers, acting on the information Plarr provides them, are waiting at the designated point when Charley Fortnum, the honorary consul, unexpectedly passes them in his car. Fortnum is anxious to return home to his pregnant wife and leaves the ambassador early, thus disrupting the plans of the kidnappers. Expecting only the car of the American ambassador, the kidnappers abduct Fortnum and take him to a remote mud hut in the “barrio popular,” where they keep him sedated with drugs obtained from Plarr. When Fortnum’s life appears to be in danger because of the effect of the drugs on a system ravaged by alcoholism, the kidnappers send for Plarr, who is reluctantly drawn deeper into the affair.
Plarr, who recognizes Fortnum, informs the kidnappers of their mistake and of the unlikelihood that Fortnum will be worth anything as a bargaining tool, since he is only an “honorary” consul. He hopes to take Fortnum home and pass off the whole affair to him as a drunken hallucination, but Rivas and the others refuse to believe him and decide to continue with their plans. Plarr returns to the city and comforts Clara, who suspects that he knows more about Charley’s disappearance than he is letting on. Colonel Perez of the local police, a friend of Plarr, also suspects that Plarr knows something about the situation, partly because his father’s name is on the list of prisoners to be released.
Fortnum attempts to befriend his captors, thinking that this might facilitate his escape. The kidnappers supply him with whiskey, which he shares with Aquino, who becomes slightly drunk. Fortnum thereupon attempts to escape, but Aquino shoots him in the ankle. Plarr travels to Buenos Aires to visit his mother and to find out what the British embassy there is doing about Fortnum’s abduction. An official at the embassy suggests that he send word to the newspapers in Great Britain to prod the diplomatic service to take action in the case. It is apparent that the home office will be only too happy to sacrifice Fortnum to make a statement to the guerrillas. Plarr attempts to organize an Anglo-Latin club to protest the inaction of the diplomatic service but without much success. Time seems to be rapidly running out for Fortnum.
Plarr is contacted again by the kidnappers to treat Fortnum’s injury. This time, Fortnum recognizes him and realizes his part in the conspiracy. Plarr treats his injury, but the kidnappers refuse to let him return to the city. When it becomes apparent that the law is closing in, Marta, Rivas’s wife, asked him to perform a final mass before shooting Fortnum, which he promised to do if their demands are not met. The ceremony is interrupted by the voice of the policeman, Perez, speaking through a bullhorn, informing the kidnappers that the hut is surrounded by armed paratroopers and that they must free Fortnum and come out, one by one, by morning.
Miguel, one of the kidnappers who was on watch outside the hut, is killed when he attempts to run back inside. Plarr convinces the kidnappers to vote on what to do about Fortnum, but they remain committed to their course of action, largely because of Aquino’s influence. They pass the night in uneasy silence, waiting for the hour of Perez’s ultimatum. Plarr decides that perhaps he can still do something to save those in the hut. He hopes to appeal to his friendship with Perez, but when he leaves the hut, he is shot and wounded. Father Rivas, who comes out of the hut to aid his friend, is shot in the stomach. As the two old friends lie side by side, Plarr jokingly absolves Rivas, who then dies. The paratroopers close in.
Fortnum survives and becomes aware of Plarr’s affair with Clara and of the fact that the unborn child is not his. He watches her at Plarr’s funeral, appalled by her apparent lack of feeling for Plarr, who at the end came to love her. He also thinks with some fondness of his kidnappers, who are not necessarily “bad” men. Fortnum is informed of the official version of events, according to which Rivas killed Plarr. He determines to confront Crichton, a representative of the English ambassador, with the truth: that Plarr was only wounded by the first shot and was subsequently killed in cold blood. When he and Clara return home, she begins to show her true feelings about Plarr’s death. Fortnum agrees that if the child is a boy, they will name him Eduardo.
Bibliography
Bergonzi, Bernard. A Study in Greene: Graham Greene and the Art of the Novel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Bergonzi examines all of Greene’s novels, analyzing their language, structure, and recurring motifs. He argues that Greene’s earliest work was his best, Brighton Rock was his masterpiece, and his novels published after the 1950’s showed a marked decline in his abilities. Chapter 7 includes a discussion of The Honorary Consul, and other references to the novel are listed in the index.
Bosco, Mark. Graham Greene’s Catholic Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Focuses on the elements of Catholic doctrine in Greene’s novels. Bosco contradicts many critics, who maintain these elements only are present in Greene’s early novels, demonstrating how the writer’s religious faith is a pervasive aspect of all of his work. Chapter 4 examines The Honorary Counsul and The Human Element.
Couto, Maria. Graham Greene: On the Frontier. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. Sees the novel as an exploration of social change among the liberation movements in Latin America. Excellent discussion of the role of personal faith in the struggle for dignity and freedom.
Dalm, Rudolf E. van. A Structural Analysis of “The Honorary Consul” by Graham Greene. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1999. An in-depth analysis of the novel, including examination of its composition, themes, characters, and the function of time in the book.
Hoskins, Robert. Graham Greene: An Approach to the Novels. New York: Garland, 1999. An updated look at Greene’s oeuvre with individual chapters providing analysis of several novels, including The Honorary Consul. Examines the protagonists of Greene’s novels in the first and second phases of his career.
Land, Stephen K. The Human Imperative: A Study of the Novels of Graham Greene. New York: AMS Press, 2008. A chronological consideration of all of Greene’s work, demonstrating the common themes and character types in his novels and other fiction. Charts Greene’s development as a writer.
Miller, R. H. Understanding Graham Greene. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1990. An excellent introduction to themes in the novel. Treats the realism of the work at some length.
Roston, Murray. Graham Greene’s Narrative Strategies: A Study of the Major Novels. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Roston focuses on seven novels, including The Honorary Consul, to describe the narrative strategies Greene devised to deflect readers’ hostility toward his advocacy of Catholicism and to create heroic characters at a time when the traditional hero was no longer a credible protagonist.
Sharrock, Roger. Saints, Sinners and Comedians: The Novels of Graham Greene. Notre Dame, Ind.: Notre Dame University Press, 1984. Excellent treatment of the novel and its themes, particularly the theme of political commitment—“the political duty of a Christian in an unjust society.”
Thomas, Brian. An Underground Fate: The Idiom of Romance in the Later Novels of Graham Greene. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1988. Insightful treatment of the romantic aspects of The Honorary Consul. Thomas shows how Greene deals with contemporary political problems that are intricately bound in Christian symbolism.