Necesidades de orientación receptor–usuario

93 Philip H. J. Davies, M I6 and the Machinery o f Spying (London: Frank Cass, 2004), 124. 94 Eric Taylor, Women who w ent to w ar 1 9 38-1946 (London: Robert Hale Limited, 1988), 95.

female agents posted to France by the SOE were FANYs.95 Women were actively sought out based on their linguistic capabilities and knowledge of occupied countries. Women also had more choice in this form of recruitment as it was a voluntary decision and they were able to train in skills they felt suited them most; for example becoming a radio operator or courier based on proficiency with technology or language skills. The training of women in the SOE is often shown or described in spy fiction in much greater detail than previous recruitment. It involved weapons, handling explosives, hand-to-hand combat and communication techniques. We see extensive training and preparation montages in the films Against the Wind, Odette and Carve Her Name with Pride, all of which are films about the SOE and which are focused on female protagonists.96 This level of detail on display could be because SOE activities were acknowledged by the government soon after the end of the war. Although it could also be because these activities took place during the Second World War, a period when women had been sanctioned and encouraged to move outside their traditional gender roles.

The character Lucy, in the 1978 Follett novel Eye o f the Needie, which is set during the Second World War, undergoes a transformation from Angel to Patriot.97At first her motivation for picking up a weapon is about defending her young child; then it becomes about avenging the deaths of her husband and friend, and lastly she does it for her country to stop a German spy Henry from taking important information to a

95 'History of th e FANY', FANY (PRVC) Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps, h ttp ://w w w .fa n v .o rg .u k /o u r- historv/ (accessed 0 2 /0 6 /2 0 1 4 ); Hugh Popham, The FANY in Peace & W ar: The Story o f the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry 19 07-2003 (Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2003), 98.

96 Clarke, Against the W ind; W arren Chetham-Strode, Odette. Directed by Herbert Wilcox. United Kingdom: W ilcox-Neagle Productions, 1950; Vernon Harris and Lewis Gilbert, Carve H er N am e With Pride Directed by Lewis Gilbert. United Kingdom: Angel Productions, 1958.

97 Ken Follett, Eye o f the Needle (first published: London: Penguin Group, 1978 edition used: London: Pan Books, 2009).

U-boat rendezvous. Lucy starts off as an Angel trying to avoid violence and nearly giving up and allowing Henry to kill her and her son but slowly she evolves into a Patriot as she realises the gravity of the situation and how his rendezvous with a U- boat and the secrets he could pass on could potentially impact the war effort. With this new understanding she gathers some strength and this development into a Patriot spy is complete when she succeeds in defending the house she is in from Henry, 'Suddenly she felt happy, almost gay. She had won the first round - she had driven him off - and she was a woman!'98

Lucy also has to engage with unfamiliar technology when she realises she needs to work the radio in order to get help and alert someone to Henry's plans. Through persistence and logic she eventually succeeds in contacting the mainland. When Lucy decides to short out the electricity in the house with her fingers to stop Henry from broadcasting to the waiting U-boat, risking her own life for the sake of her country she is acting as a Patriot. 'She knew what she had to do. She had no right to give up, now that she understood; for it was not only her life that was at stake. She had to do this one last thing for David and for all the other young men who had died in the war.'99 She is a Patriot because she has achieved equal status with men by setting out to protect and then avenge them.

In the end, Lucy manages to kill Henry by causing a rock slide to fall directly on him as he waits to board the U-boat. Her return to Angel is made simpler with this method of killing, not having used a weapon to kill him directly. Her return to being an Angel is also signalled when she allows the male MI5 agent to take control of the situation

98 Follett, Eye o f the Needle, 425. 99 Follett, Eye o f the Needle, 446.

as she carries her child back into the house. 'Bloggs turned to the woman again. He felt an overwhelming surge of affection and admiration for her. She looked frail and helpless, now: but he knew she was brave and strong as well as beautiful/100 However, even though Lucy is once again cast as 'frail and helpless', briefly she had occupied the Patriot role when she was the only person on the island able to do the job.101

This slide between Angel and Patriot is an unusual one particularly for the context of the novel, as the 1970s did not see many active female spies. Women in the 1970s rarely appeared in spy novels, and if they did were passive Angels or evil Whores. The threat second wave feminism posed to masculinity in reality caused the Patriot character to all but disappear as traditional gender roles needed to be restored and enforced. The only reason the rare example of Lucy survived is likely because it was set in the Second World War and as such did not pose a direct threat to the present masculinity.

After the end of the Second World War and the disbanding of the SOE the next time Patriot spies were seen regularly in espionage fiction was the 1980s. Their recruitment into the services came through university but was distinct from university-educated Angels, in that the Patriot is depicted as ambitious, focused on her career (rather than trying to cultivate an advantageous marriage) and often rising to roles or joining sections where she is the only woman.

100 Follett, Eye o f the Needle, 454. 101 Follett, Eye o f the Needle, 454.

Fiona Samson, featured in nine novels by Deighton from 1983-1996, is one such Patriot spy, who is spotted while she is at Oxford University and then recruited into a long-term undercover mission.102 Fiona has a degree in philosophy, politics and economics, she speaks Russian and French and most importantly she comes from the right background.103 The class background is still important; even though she has been noticed at Oxford and has appropriate skills to enter the services, it is the fact that she comes from a good middle class family that allows her to easily enter and progress up through the ranks of the service. This is in comparison to her husband Bernard who has never been to university and is from a working class background. He is a well-respected field agent, but is not expected to rise to any position of power. It should be noted that while Fiona is 'noticed' while at Oxford, she is not directly recruited into a powerful position; although Fiona possesses all the necessary qualifications, including the correct class and education, she still has to work her way through various administrative roles instead of being fast-tracked like her male colleagues.

The relationship between a Patriot spy and a male superior often takes the form of a frustrated father trying to control a wayward daughter. This is particularly prominent in the 1980s with the re-emergent Patriots, trying to make their way in a masculine organisation. Fiona Samson and Agnes Algar (in the Major Maxim novels) have to contend with male superiors who do not take them seriously and constantly

102 Len Deighton, Spy Line (first published: London: Hutchinson, 1989 edition used: same), 234. 103 Len Deighton, Berlin Game (London: Hutchinson, 1983 edition used: same), 25.

denigrate their abilities because of their gender.104 In Agnes' case, her male superiors also try to curb her initiative and make her conform to a way of working which will not disrupt their careful planning and hierarchy. In the novel Uncle Target (1988) Agnes is transferred from MI5 to SIS and is taken under the wing of one of the senior male figures, Giles - called 'Daddy' in this extract - an ironic name because of his senior position and attitude to Agnes:

Agnes felt humble. Daddy had taken her into his own private den, humbling in itself, and told her that she was grown up now, it was time for her to know that the world was not as she thought it was, that she was not halfway up a career ladder but at the very bottom- but now of an unimagined golden ladder stretching infinitely high. And with Daddy's wise counsel, but only with that, she would climb and not put a foot wrong because when Daddy tells you, you are a big girl now he usually means you are really still a little one. 'You'd better come along and report a nil return on Mrs. Katbah to Snowflake,' Giles said, lifting the phone to call a car. Agnes nodded and kept a humble, thoughtful smile on her face because she fancied Daddy had also been telling her that he was on his way to becoming head of the Service and nobody, but nobody, was going to rock the ladder while he was on its last few

This passage reveals the discomfort men began to feel at young women coming into the services and rising within it, threatening their stable male hierarchy. It also demonstrates that characters like Agnes were beginning to understand the complexities of working within espionage as an agent rather than secretary. She needs to be seen to be accepting the advice and help of her older male colleagues while also negotiating a new path for herself in order to break some of the traditional barriers within the services.

104 M ajor Maxim novels comprise of: The Secret Servant (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980), The Conduct o f M a jo r M axim (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1982) The Crocus List (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1985) Uncle Target (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1988).

105 Gavin Lyall, Uncle Target (first published: London: Hodder &. Stoughton, 1988 edition used: same), 202-3.

The passage also shows the clash between different generations which was beginning to emerge in the 1980s as many people entered the services who had not served in the war but had instead grown up with the Cold War. These generational tensions were heightened as the older generation fought to keep control and not have their plans for the future of the services disrupted. The societal changes of the late 20th century such as the Gender Equality Act, equal pay and advancement in education and working conditions for women had a gradual impact on the stability of the male identity in the services.

The older generation's derogatory attitude towards women remains throughout the late 20th century and into the 21st even as the Angel, Patriot and Whore categories break down. This is highlighted in the 2007 novel, Illegal Action by the former head of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington.106 In the novel, the heroine Liz Carlyle faces prejudice from numerous male superiors who characterise her as 'difficult' and resent her approach to solving problems.107 Her SIS liaison and superior, Geoffrey Fane, sums up the generation gap in attitudes towards women in the services, but also shows a certain degree of division between MI5 and SIS when it comes to their attitude to employing women and making the services an inclusive place:

Liz. I must remember to call her Liz. She had seemed irrationally annoyed when they last met that he'd called her Elizabeth. I expect she thought I was patronising her, he mused. Though how it can be patronising not to use an abbreviation, I don't understand. These young women in MI5 nowadays are very defensive. Thank goodness in our neck of the woods we're still masculine. Well, nearly. It makes life so much easier.108

106 Stella Rimington, Illegal Action (first published: London: Hutchinson, 2007 edition used: London: Arrow Books, 2008).

107 Rimington, Illegal Action, 112. 108 Rimington, Illegal Action, 184.

Wartime recruitment of women into the FANY and subsequently the SOE meant that there were examples of female superior and female spy relationships. The Conducting Officers, who were also FANY, were responsible for reporting on the health and wellbeing of female agents during training and were also their last point of contact before they left for their mission, giving them their standard issue cyanide pill.109 One of the few occasions in spy fiction where we see this form of female superior and spy relationship is in the 1958 film Carve Her Name With Pride which features several key moments between Violette Szabo (the protagonist) played by Virginia McKenna, and her superior WAAF officer, Vera Atkins played by Avice Landone.110 Based on the real women, Vera and Violette's relationship is one portrayed on film as a friendship with an element of maternal concern from Vera. Vera first appears at the beginning of the film when she is sent to talk to Violette about what she is volunteering for, to make sure she knows and fully understands what she is doing. She regularly reminds Violette that it is a voluntary decision and also asks her difficult questions concerning her daughter Tania and what might possibly happen to her on missions (capture and death) and how this might affect Tania. Vera also builds a relationship between herself and Violette's parents, reassuring them about what sort of things their daughter will be doing by lying to them that she will be carrying out FANY work in first aid, ambulance driving and canteen duty. Both these elements demonstrate her concern for Violette as she is worried about what she might be sacrificing by joining the SOE, especially when her daughter is so young. Because Vera is the one who talks to Violette's parents, it saves

109 'History of the FANY', FANY (PRVC) Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps, h ttp ://w w w .fa n v .o rg .u k /o u r- historv/ (accessed 0 2 /0 6 /2 0 1 4 ).

Violette from lying directly to them about what she will be doing. Their relationship also shows a friendship element when Vera witnesses Violette's will for her and holds on to it when she returns behind enemy lines.

The concern that Vera has for Violette is a distinct departure from the masculine professional relationships examined in the previous chapter. Here is a relationship which, although never shying away from the fact that Vera is the superior officer (she is responsible for checking all the girls before they fly to make sure they do not have any items which might give them away such as English labels in their clothing), also includes a much deeper, caring element.111 Violette clearly trusts Vera enough to allow her to hold on to her will and important personal effects. It is a closer superior- subordinate relationship possibly because both are women and because they are both fully aware of the sacrifices attached to this particular form of work. Violette and Vera's relationship gives us an example of women supporting women in espionage, of them belonging to a community of women where female friendship comes before romantic attachment112 Although there is a chance for Violette of a romance with the fictional character Tony Frazer, one of her fellow SOE agents, this comes secondary to the friendship that she has with other SOE women.113 The idea of women supporting women continues throughout the film until the end when Violette, along with her two fellow agents and friends Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe, is held at Ravensbriick Concentration Camp and then executed together. The final image of Violette in the film is of her holding hands with the other two women as

111 SOE clothing was regularly checked so th at it would appear continental in style rather than English. This was part of the overall 'passing' technique for agents. For fu rth er discussion of th e term see, Juliette Pattinson, 'Passing unnoticed in a French crowed': The passing performances o f British SOE agents in Occupied France', N atio n al Identities, 12:3, (2010): 298.

112 W hite, Violent, 55. 113 W hite, Violent, 55.

they are shot by firing squad.114 The portrayal of female friendship and a supportive female community of spying is something only seen when there are multiple women working together in the field. It emerges from the idea of a wartime spirit but also the high number of women who were recruited into the services during this war. This community of female spies does not appear again in fiction, even when the Patriot figure returns in the 1980s. In that period she is portrayed as a solitary figure in a male organisation and lacks the female support the SOE women had. The Patriot is forced to adapt to a male identity rather than the service acquiring female attributes. This lack of a female community may be because the Patriots that we see in wartime or in the immediate post-war period are based on real life examples where women worked in networks or at least trained with other women. The community of women also taps into the 'all in it together' spirit which was projected by many films of this period. The 1980s Patriot has no real life counterpart to be based on and these characters were also situated in a decade when the concerns of the individual were permeating much of society and culture.115

The way Violette is portrayed as a Patriot on film is different from the way that Odette Samson is depicted. The film Odette was made in 1950, demonstrating that between 1950 and 1958 when Carve Her Name with Pride was released, there had been a change in the way in which women were depicted on film. Both films were based on best-selling biographies written by men: Odette: The Story of a British

Agent by Jerrad Tickell (1949) and Carve her Name with Pride: The Story o f Violette

114 Harris, Carve H er Nam e W ith Pride. 115 Rowbotham, A Century, 471-72.

Szabo by RJ. Minney (1956).116 Odette is depicted through a masculine gaze, which is emphasised from the beginning of the film when there is, as Deirdre Osborne views it, an, 'intrusive masculine omniscient narrative' voice telling Odette's story.117 Even though this voice is Maurice Buckmaster, the former head of F section during the war, therefore adding an element of realism to the film, it is a male voice rather than Odette's own. There is very little training shown for Odette and so the impression we receive is that she was an 'exceptional individual and a lucky amateur'.118 Although Odette is viewed through a masculine gaze in the film and in some ways holds to Angel qualities, she is still a Patriot spy because of the activities she undertakes while in the field. The fact that she uses weapons, takes a lead role in organising missions and undergoes torture shows that she has stepped outside of the normal Angel sphere and into that of the Patriot. Juliette Pattinson in her article on the cultural memory of SOE women comments that the return to more traditional roles by women after the war, 'underscores the extenuating circumstances of the war in which even some women were called upon to do their bit in order that the status