Eric Clifford Ambler was born in 1909. His parents were very creative in earning money: they ran a string puppet-show (Ambler 1986, p. 61). Every now and then, they performed their show in public and were even able to gain quite a reputation. Little Eric Ambler was interested in reading mystery stories and started to spend his time on chemical experiments in a friend’s garage (Ambler 1986, p. 93) to find out how things work.
Eric Ambler took up a job in an advertising agency where he kept on writing plays and his first novel The Comedian, which was never completed. (Ambler 1986, p. 143 et seq.)
A very good friend of Ambler encouraged him to write mystery stories just as Somerset Maugham (Ambler 1986, p. 199), which he liked to read as well. In the following two years, Ambler wrote The Dark Frontier (1936) and Uncommon Danger (1937). The young man quit his job at the advertising agency and now worked as an author in fulltime (Ambler 1986, p. 211). He travelled a lot – to France, Spain and the USA, where he got to know his future wife Louise Crombie (Ambler 1986, p. 242).
Ambler joined the army and soon became a screenwriter for educational films for the army film unit (Ambler 1986, p. 276 et seq.). After World War ll, Ambler worked on films about civilian professions and everyday things which might have been changed during the war to give former soldiers a certain security back in the civilian life: A British Diary supplied this information (Ambler 1986, p. 352f.).
Writing novels again turned out to be difficult, since Ambler was not used to work with concentration for a longer period anymore. He himself had changed over the years and needed to find out what to write next. (Ambler 1986, p. 361) Ambler also kept on writing screenplays and even received an Academy Award nomination in 1953 for The Cruel Sea .He died in 1998 in Switzerland.
The Mask of Dimitrios was written in 1939. In the novel, Ambler perpetuated to create another kind of criminal – one with credibility and realistic features. The reader does not ‘see’ Dimitrios until the end of the novel, but Charles Latimer, who writes detective stories, decides to research the bad guy’s life, which puts him in danger and tests his mettle.
On the following pages, Dimitrios’ life is depicted and parallels are shown to a real life criminal named Basil Zaharoff. Moreover, important themes of the spy novel such as internationalism and crime by itself are explored.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Eric Ambler
2. Hunting a Criminal – Dimitrios’ Life
2.1. A Biography
2.2. Internationalism and Identity
2.3. Criminals and Crime
3. Fiction and Reality
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This paper examines Eric Ambler's novel "The Mask of Dimitrios," focusing on the construction of the realistic criminal figure, the influence of historical real-life parallels, and the exploration of themes such as internationalism and moral ambiguity within the spy fiction genre.
- The biographical development of the character Dimitrios Makropoulous.
- Analysis of identity instability and internationalism in the underworld.
- The subversion of traditional "master detective" tropes in spy fiction.
- Comparison between the fictional character Dimitrios and the historical arms dealer Basil Zaharoff.
- The portrayal of crime as a reflection of a diseased, disintegrating social system.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2. Internationalism and Identity
Charles Latimer is a popular writer and can afford to spend some time abroad. He travels to Turkey and Greece, where he first hears of Dimitrios (Ambler 2009, p. 2). He then starts to trace Dimitrios and goes on a long journey through different countries. During his journey, he never has problems concerning the communication since he is able to speak French (Ambler 2009, p. 5), Greek (Ambler 2009, p. 42) and German (Ambler 2009, p. 46). Crossing the boarders is not a problem for him, although the boarders were not as easy to pass as today, for example because the Schengen Agreement was not established yet, let alone the European Union. At that time, one had to file an application for traveling in another country in advance. This process could take quite a long time.
Mr. Peters, a criminal who worked with Dimitrios, considers himself to be a “citizen of the world” and speaks several languages fluently as well (Ambler 2009, p. 48). He has a Latin American citizenship but is Danish.
The story of Dimitrios is not completely laid open in the novel, since Latimer cannot find out everything what has happened and who Dimitrios really is. It is not even clear which nationality Dimitrios belongs to – is he Greek or Turk? Is he a Muslim or a Jew? Colonel Haki says that “no government has ever caught him and there is no photograph in his dossier” (Ambler 2009, p. 12). Dimitrios stays a man in the shadows until the end, where Latimer finally meets him in person. Therefore, he seems almost inhuman, because the reader cannot get a picture of him in mind and fails to classify this man. However, this fuzzy concept of him is what makes the novel modern –Dimitrios is an international criminal who can defy boarders and national restrictions. This is what we call globalization today – worldwide operating networks, which means boundless criminality in that context.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Eric Ambler: This chapter provides an overview of Eric Ambler's life, his transition from engineering and advertising to writing mystery stories, and the historical context of his writing career.
2. Hunting a Criminal – Dimitrios’ Life: This section details the life of the character Dimitrios through a chronological biography, examines the role of shifting identities in an international context, and analyzes the shift in the portrayal of criminals in fiction.
2.1. A Biography: This chapter outlines the life events of Dimitrios from his presumed birth in 1889 to the events in 1938, mapping his criminal activities across various European locations.
2.2. Internationalism and Identity: This chapter discusses how the characters navigate national borders and languages, arguing that Dimitrios’ lack of a fixed identity reflects modern globalization and boundless criminality.
2.3. Criminals and Crime: This chapter explores how Ambler rejects the traditional master detective archetype in favor of more realistic, common protagonists and provides a psychological background for his criminals.
3. Fiction and Reality: This chapter compares the fictional life of Dimitrios with the historical real-life criminal Basil Zaharoff, highlighting how Ambler used these parallels to comment on geopolitical crises and the spirit of the age.
Keywords
Eric Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios, spy novel, Charles Latimer, Dimitrios Makropoulous, Basil Zaharoff, internationalism, identity, crime, espionage fiction, globalization, detective fiction, morality, criminal psychology, political history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this analysis?
The paper provides a critical examination of Eric Ambler's 1939 novel "The Mask of Dimitrios," focusing on its protagonist's criminal life, the character's ambiguity, and the real-world historical influences behind the story.
What are the primary themes discussed in the text?
The text focuses on the themes of internationalism, the fluidity of identity, the evolution of criminal representation in fiction, and the reflection of geopolitical instability in literature.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to illustrate how Ambler moved away from traditional detective tropes to create a more realistic, morally ambiguous portrait of crime and the criminal within an increasingly globalized world.
Which methodology is employed in this analysis?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, synthesizing biographical data about Eric Ambler, textual evidence from the novel, and historical context regarding real-life figures like Basil Zaharoff.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body breaks down the character trajectory of Dimitrios, discusses the sociopolitical implications of international crime, and draws parallels between fictional events and historical reality.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Eric Ambler, spy fiction, Basil Zaharoff, internationalism, moral ambiguity, and the deconstruction of the traditional master detective figure.
Why does the author consider Dimitrios a "modern" criminal figure?
Dimitrios is considered modern because he defies national borders, maintains a fluid, unrecognizable identity, and operates within global networks, representing a "diseased" social system rather than a cartoonish villain.
How does Charles Latimer differ from traditional fictional detectives?
Unlike traditional detectives, Latimer is an author with no professional experience in crime-solving; his journey is an "experiment in detection" driven by curiosity rather than expertise or moral duty.
- Quote paper
- Regina Schultze (Author), 2009, "The Mask of Dimitrios" - The character of Dimitrios, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/156022
