Re: Neil and Willie/Tapes
Mark Foss (mhfoss@web.apc.org)
Wed, 4 Feb 1998 13:58:31 -0500 (EST)
>One of the things that always strikes me about the character of Willie is
>that he wants to protect people. He is always trying to protect Neil. He
>also volunteered to go to Berlin for Laura.
>
Yes, and I think it's Willie's desire to protect Neil that unwittingly
shames Neil into making the decision to send Laura to Berlin. You could
argue that, by making the offer to go in her stead, Willie was putting his
feelings before the Service. Perhaps this jolted Neil out of his dithering
and made him realize how he too had been putting "personal feelings ahead of
the Service". I think Laura was right: if she'd stayed, that would have been
the end of their relationship because he would have resented her and hated
himself.
Mark
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