Even though James Bond, already in SilverFin, is an
amazing character himself he wouldn’t become this great spy if it wasn’t for
family and friends.
At a very young age he loses his parents in a tragic
accident. His mother seems to be the one he was closest to while his father was
a bit more absent, not being able to settle down. It’s like it’s just the way
it’s supposed to be that his mother is taking care of him while his father is
doing what he likes, going off on adventures, being a man.
When the parents are tragically killed in the accident
Aunt Charmian (James’ father’s sister) is the one who steps in to take care of
him, even though there is an Uncle Max (James’ father’s brother). Once again it
is the woman who takes care of the child. Luckily Aunt Charmian is a caring
woman, who really loves James. But she is also a woman who can take care of
herself. She lives on her own, drives a car and doesn’t depend upon anyone
else. When James later on gets into trouble at Lord Hellebore’s castle, Aunt
Charmian is there to pick him up and bring him home. She is certainly a woman
of actions, a modern woman and not one of these soft ladies that you might
think would fit into the story at this time. She shows James that women can.
Later in the book James gets to spend more time with
his Uncle Max, who unfortunately is dying at this point. You can tell that they
are very fond of each other and they would both have enjoyed having more time
together. But Uncle Max takes the opportunity to teach James to drive a car, “the
car”, and tells him about his life as a spy during the war. How he managed to
escape and survive. To never give up and to see and seize the opportunity. To
be a “real” man. And of course all this come in handy when James is trapped at
Lord Hellebore’s.
Red Kelly, who he first meets at the train station, is
a boy with quite the opposite life compared to James. But in spite of that they
both learn from each other and have to look after each other. The one wouldn’t
manage without the other in the case with SilverFin. You get the feeling that
they would like to keep in touch, but at the same time it’s like they both know
that that won’t happen.
Wilder Lawless is a girl that will not be dismissed. She,
as well as Aunt Charmian, is quite capable of taking care of herself. When
James first saw her, at the circus, it was her eyes that caught him. When she
later on wants to help out at Lord Hellebore’s she won’t listen to James talk
about she being a girl, danger and so on. She is also involved in helping James
when he is being chased by Lord Hellebore. Yet another capable woman.
So as you can see they all helped James to survive his
first adventure. He wouldn’t have made it without any of them.
