Ian Fleming's James Bond in "From Russia, With Love" as a nostalgic desire for a revived British supremacy? (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Trier, course: James Bond, language: English, abstract: Ian Fleming's "James Bond: From Russia, With Love" is the fifth novel of the world famous James Bond series. The books reached an iconic status in film and literature. Considering the time of its publication in 1957 it is arguable that the narration of the novel and its depiction of the characters highly reflects the dichotomous nature of Cold War politics, making reference to the associated propaganda campaigns on both sides, East and West, in the 1950's.

A particularly salient feature of this novel, which stands contrary to other James Bond novels, is that Fleming dedicates the first half of the story to the description of the main villains, thoroughly portraying the viciously ruthless dictatorship of the Soviet communist party leaders. Obedience of subordination seems to have been achieved solely on the grounds of fear. In contrast, the protagonist, his agency MI5 and its head executive maintain a rather personal relationship, illustrating a selflessly idealistic incentive behind James Bond's extremely dangerous endeavors as a spy. But why did Fleming deploy such a simplistic black-and-white scheme? And why does the British intelligence play an exceptionally central role in counter-measures against the "evil" Soviets described in "From Russia, With Love", even though Great Britain, in comparison to the United States, had to accept an inferior role in anti-communist efforts?

In consideration of Fleming's involvement in the British naval intelligence, the answer might be convincingly apparent, yet, it is arguable that the cultural consequences of the British Empire's decolonization process on the British society influenced the way Fleming unfolded his story. The implicit notion in "From Russia, With Love" that James Bond successfully prevails in all adverse circumstances of his adventure in Istanbul might insinuate Fleming's intention to figuratively shift the British nation back onto the former hegemonic status of the preceding century.

This paper aims to analyze Fleming's depiction of the opposing characters as well as their respective intelligence agencies in view of the literary zeitgeist of the early Cold War era and the consequences of gradual decolonization in the British public. On the grounds of historical evidence, the extent to which Fleming's novel accommodated the British nostalgic desire for a new supremacy in an internationally constricting sphere of influence will be examined.