On Her Majesty's Secret Service Characters

On Her Majesty's Secret Service Character List

James Bond

Bond is the story's protagonist. He is Agent 007 for the British Secret Service, MI6. He is licensed to kill and one of the elite in his field. Bond has a reputation as a ladies' man, seducing any woman he encounters and generally avoiding emotional attachment. His character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is more emotionally developed than in previous novels in the series. In this story he is shown visiting the grave of his ex-lover, Vesper Lynd. Also, he pursues romantic commitment with his love interest Tracy, even to the point of marriage. Her death at the end of the story may be one of the most defining moments for Bond's character because he does not often allow himself to become emotionally involved with women afterwards. Among his skill set, Bond possesses talents for gambling, marksmanship, and hand-to-hand combat.

Countessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo

Tracy is the heroine of the story. Upon first mention, she is depicted as struggling with some sort of mental disorder. She attempts to kill herself in front of Bond. According to her father, Marc-Ange Draco, that wasn't her first suicide attempt. In fact, her dad is so afraid for her life, that he tries to bribe Bond into marrying her. Tracy loves Bond. While convalescing, she develops an intimate relationship with him. After he leaves, she even travels to Switzerland and ends up rescuing her lover. After defeating Blofeld with Draco's help, Tracy and Bond are married in Germany. Her character is tragic, though, and she is gunned down in a drive-by by Blofeld during her honeymoon. This tragedy serves as a plot device to launch Bond into his next novel You Only Live Twice.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Blofeld is the antagonist, head of the criminal organization SPECTRE. He is a classic villain, never displaying any compassion or selflessness throughout the story. Bond's mission is to hunt down Blofeld and end SPECTRE after they threatened the entire western world with nuclear weapons during the events of Thunderball. Blofeld is crafting his latest scheme while hiding away in the political protection of the Swiss Alps. There he established a "research facility" under the guise of curing allergies. In reality he is brainwashing his patients, a dozen young women, to return to their homes in Ireland and England and deploy Blofeld's biological weapons on European agriculture in order to cripple the economy. Blofeld's undoing comes from his quest for pride and legacy. He submits a claim to the College of Arms in London to the title Comte Balthazar de Bleuville. More than anything he desires to be recognized by the title and gain the authority of a count, even though he is illegitimate. He goes so far as to commission plastic surgery and have his earlobes removed to back up his claim. The cosmetic surgery also benefits him by disguising his features from any of the various authorities which are hunting for him. After Bond and Draco destroy his Swiss facility, Blofeld escapes and tracks down Bond and Tracy on their honeymoon in Germany. He murders Tracy but fails to shoot Bond. Blofeld's character is the antagonist in Fleming's next novel, You Only Live Twice, as well.

Marc-Ange Draco

Draco is Tracy's father. He is also head of the European crime syndicate Unione Corse. Unlike Blofeld's overt brand of criminality, Draco is more subtle and sinister. At the beginning of the novel he kidnaps Bond and tires to bribe him to marry Tracy. Obviously Draco is wealthy. Though he doubtless gained his resources through criminal means, he uses them to help Bond track down and Blofeld and destroy his facility in Switzerland. Draco's kind of criminality is common among Fleming's novels. Similar characters include Darko Kerim in From Russia, with Love and Tiger Tanaka from You Only Live Twice.

Sir Hillary Bray

Bray is Bond's alias that he uses when he travels to Blofeld's hideout in Switzerland. "Bray" has been sent by the College of Arms in London to verify the legitimacy of Blofeld's claim to the title Comte Balthazar de Bleuville. The true count should not have earlobes due to a peculiar genetic trait of the family. "Bray's" task is to examine Blofeld's earlobes and report back to London.

M

M is the head of MI6 and Bond's superior. He is a lifetime military man, having served in the navy. This supporting character is most likely based upon Fleming's own superior officer from WWII, Rear Admiral John Godfrey.

Irma Bunt

Bunt is Blofeld's assistant and second-in-command at Piz Gloria. She is an accomplice in the entirety of his scheme to collapse the European economy. Additionally, she escapes the destruction of the Swiss facility and participates in the drive-by shooting of Tracy.

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