La Boca, historia, identidad y patrimonio

men by other men is always considered more shocking than the betrayal of men by women.

The betrayal of a man by a female colleague, one with whom he is not sexually involved, is a rare occurrence in espionage fiction. This could be because traditionally the organisations have been male dominated ones; colleagues or superiors were more likely to be men whereas subordinates i.e. secretaries or sources were more likely to be women and seen as 'fair game' for sexual conquest but not as an equal colleague. We see this clearly in the representation of Angels who are portrayed by the author and seen by the hero as not holding any power or harbouring any motive for treachery. This is interesting as many secretaries depicted in espionage fiction work for very important men; these women hold high security clearance and are privy to many top level secrets. However, they are invisible in terms of their potential treachery; a difference between fact and fiction that will be explored further in the chapter.

For male spies, as they are often the hero of the plot, betrayal is a test of their loyalty to the organisation, to their country and to an ideology, be that Capitalism or Communism. Betrayal is how audiences are shown their character and how they make the difficult choices of who to trust and who to fight. Betrayal can highlight the weaknesses of male spies and how they reconcile these vulnerabilities with their espionage work.

For the female spy, betrayal characterises them in one of three ways. Unlike the hero they are not usually at the centre of the action but instead become 'pawns' used as part of the betrayal plot to reveal something about the hero. Women can be

characterised as femmes fatales, collateral damage or voices of conscience. This matches clearly to the established spectrum of classification for female spies. Angels are the voices of conscience, Patriots are often collateral damage women because of their more active role, and femmes fatales are Whores.

Sex and betrayal have always been linked due in part to the reputation of the femme fatale. She is seen as a deviant seductress luring men to betray their secrets with pillow talk. The femme is often seen as a dangerous obstacle for the hero to overcome, proving himself through how he handles her betrayal. However, although the femme is a persistent trope of espionage fiction she often has very little real power. The femme's power is confined to the bedroom; femmes usually fulfil the trope of a mysterious and dangerous woman closer to a sexual fantasy figure than one who wields any real power.

This chapter will discuss issues which have a deep connection to the realities of espionage life and the version of it reported in the media between 1939 and 1999. Real events like the Philby scandal determined how betrayal was portrayed in fiction. In reality the friends or colleagues from the past can become the enemies of the future and therefore betrayal takes on a different meaning in fact and fiction.

There are many sources that touch on wartime betrayal especially 1945-1950 and in the early 1960s. This latter group examined the ripples of wartime betrayal and how these events affect the Cold War atmosphere; this can be seen in the novel, Decision

at Delphi by Helen Maclnnes.6 The novel examines Greek politics in the late 1950s

and the impact a betrayal in the Second World War has had on current events, family

6 Helen Maclnnes, Decision a t Delphi (first published: London: Collins, 1961 edition used: Leicester: Ulverscroft, 1973).

and community relationships nearly fifteen years later. The theme of revenge runs through the novel and is observed by the two neutral American characters as something strange. 'Cecilia's quiet voice changed. "How can people live like that?" she asked angrily. "Lies, deceit, treason, treachery - how can they bear it? "'7 For many of the characters, however the possibility of being able to take revenge for the betrayal by their previous friends has been the one thing that makes life bearable.

After the Second World War the fraternal and sorority networks that had been formed between British agents and their European resistance colleagues were called into question as left-wing politics were soon considered dangerous. Countries that fell under the Iron Curtain automatically became suspicious and any friendships that had been made in these countries were seen as potentially compromised. Colleagues who had fought the Nazis in resistance cells could now be enemies. It is during the Second World War and its aftermath that we also see the connection between betrayal and collaboration.

In reality for women the decision as to whether these friendships could continue was made easier by the fact that nearly all British female agents were removed from their active duties as the SOE was disbanded at the end of the war. Women who had worked for the SOE during the war were either moved into administrative work away from front line duties or returned to civilian life. The SOE women had also rarely worked with Communists which meant that most women were able to work after the war in a far more black/white moral world where the enemy was the Soviet