A Perfect Spy: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Perfect Spy" delves into the complex relationships and moral dilemmas faced by its protagonist, Magnus Richard Pym, a British intelligence officer. The narrative explores Magnus's struggles with identity and loyalty, heavily influenced by figures in his life, including his father Richard Thomas (Rick) Pym, a charming con artist whose manipulative nature instills both admiration and resentment in Magnus. The novel features Axel H., a Czech intelligence officer who acts as a father figure to Magnus but ultimately leads him into betrayal, complicating Magnus's understanding of loyalty and betrayal.
Other key characters include Jack Brotherhood, Magnus's superior who admires him yet becomes determined to uncover his alleged guilt, and Mary Pym, Magnus's wife, who navigates the challenges of being married to a spy. Their son, Tom, represents the hope for a new generation free from the burdens of past familial legacies. The character of Annie "Lippsie" Lippschitz, a mistress of Rick, provides maternal support to Magnus, urging him to assert his individuality against his father's shadow. Through these relationships, "A Perfect Spy" examines themes of betrayal, identity, and the quest for self-understanding within the murky world of espionage.
A Perfect Spy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: John Le Carré
First published: 1986
Genre: Novel
Locale: England, Switzerland, Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Czechoslovakia
Plot: Spy
Time: The early 1930's to the 1980's
Magnus Richard Pym, a British intelligence officer. Magnus is tall, handsome, and unmistakably English. Ever eager to please, Magnus calls himself “overpromised”; he has professed loyalty to too many people, to the point that he believes that there is nothing left of and for himself. It is his narrative of his life that makes up the bulk of the novel. In it, he refers to himself in the third person, differentiating himself as writer from “Pym,” his protagonist.
Richard Thomas (Rick) Pym, Magnus' father. A handsome, charming confidence man who exudes righteousness despite his illegal schemes, Rick teaches Magnus the basics of betrayal: Rick promises to “see everyone right,” showering them with gifts while absconding with all of their money. Magnus both loves and despises his father, feeling consumed and controlled by him, yet is always trying to please him. Magnus feels set free from his cycle of betrayal by Rick's death.
Axel H., also known as Poppy, Alexander Hampel, Hans Albrecht Petz, and Jerzy Zaworski, a Czech intelligence officer. His face betrays the hardships he has endured. Axel is a father figure to Magnus; Magnus considers him to be his oldest friend. The two first meet in Switzerland and then in Austria, when Magnus is a young military intelligence officer. Axel, playing on Magnus' guilt over betraying him while they were young in Switzerland, persuades him to betray his country. They eventually erect a network of Czech agents that passes a mixture of true and false information to the British.
Jack Brotherhood, Magnus'superior. Jack, the British intelligence officer who recruited Magnus, is one of Magnus' admired father figures. Straight-backed and blue-eyed, he embodies England for Magnus. He defends Magnus to the intelligence corps after Magnus' disappearance yet becomes convinced of his guilt and is determined to trace him.
Thomas Richard (Tom) Pym, Magnus' son. A tall adolescent, Tom is an observant boy who admires authority, especially Jack Brotherhood, and quietly seeks approval. Magnus' account of his life is meant for Tom, who he hopes will escape the destructive influence of him and Rick.
Mary (Mabs) Pym, Magnus' wife. Mary is blond, forthright, unmistakably English, and from an upper-class family with a history of government service. She was trained as an agent, but after her marriage to Magnus she leads the life of a very good diplomatic-corps wife. Her interrogation by Jack Brotherhood after Magnus' disappearance forms one of the narrative strands of the novel.
Grant Lederer III, an American intelligence agent. He and his wife befriend the Pyms in Washington and Vienna. Lederer, an overeager and overambitious agent, discovers the connection between Magnus and Axel.
Annie “Lippsie” Lippschitz, one of Rick's mistresses, who acts as a mother to Magnus. She is a beautiful German Jew who is often melancholy and guilt-ridden, both over her survival when her family perished and over her role in Rick's schemes. Lippsie loves Magnus and tries to instill a moral sense in him. In essence, she tells him that he must break from his father and be his own man.
Miss Dubber, the landlady of the beach house where Magnus goes to escape. She is a small old woman who for years has doted on “Mr. Canterbury,” as she knows Magnus.
Sydney (Syd) Lemon, Rick's closest friend, a brash Cockney who understands Rick's influence over Magnus and Magnus' ambivalence toward his father.
Margaret (Peggy) Wentworth, the financially ruined widow of a man who invested in one of Rick's schemes. She gives Magnus a full account of his father's perfidy.