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Karl Riemeck’s mistress, Elvira is suspected of having revealed that Riemeck was spying for the British to the East Germans, leading to his assassination by Mundt. Later, she is assassinated in West Berlin. Leamas believes that Mundt must have had her killed, but the fact that she dies in West Berlin suggests that the British were involved in her death.
Elvira Quotes in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
The The Spy Who Came in From the Cold quotes below are all either spoken by Elvira or refer to Elvira. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
That damned woman, thought Leamas, and that fool Karl who'd lied about her. Lied by omission, as they all do, agents the world over. You teach them to cheat, to cover their tracks, and they cheat you as well. He'd only produced her once, after that dinner in the Schürzstrasse last year. Karl had just had his big scoop and Control had wanted to meet him. Control always came in on success. They'd had dinner together—Leamas, Control, and Karl. Karl loved that kind of thing. He turned up looking like a Sunday School boy, scrubbed and shining, doffing his hat and all respectful. Control had shaken his hand for five minutes and said: "I want you to know how pleased we are, Karl, damn pleased." Leamas had watched and thought, "That'll cost us another couple of hundred a year." When they'd finished dinner Control pumped their hands again, nodded significantly and implying that he had to go off and risk his life somewhere else, got back into his chauffeur-driven car.
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Leamas is waiting for his agent Karl Riemeck to pass through the checkpoints at the Berlin Wall from East Berlin to West Berlin. He is nervous that Riemeck will not be allowed to pass through, because he believes that the East Germans suspect Riemeck of spying for the British. Leamas believes that the reason Riemeck is suspected is because he opened up too much to his lover, Elvira. As he reflects on what he considers Riemeck’s mistake, the novel introduces us to one of Leamas’s greatest fears: that he will get close to someone and betray his mission. Leamas believes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusant
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Elvira Character Timeline in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
The timeline below shows where the character Elvira appears in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Checkpoint
...checkpoint, then goes out to talk to the occupant of the car, a woman named Elvira. She tells Leamas that Riemeck escaped arrest in East Berlin and will try to cross...
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...on the moment, some months before, when he first discovered that Riemeck had confided in Elvira. Riemeck had had a huge success and Control had come to Berlin to meet him....
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Leamas, who offered Elvira a place to stay at his flat and told her he would bring Riemeck later,...
(full context)
Chapter 2: The Circus
...and the secretaries. Control says it’s a shame that Riemeck was shot, and says that Elvira must have turned him in. Leamas does not ask Control how he knows about Elvira....
(full context)
Chapter 8: Le Mirage
...when Riemeck was shot. Leamas says Riemeck was likely killed because he told his mistress Elvira so much.
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...files, and Leamas says they didn’t. Peters asks Leamas if he has heard the news: Elvira was shot a week ago as she left her apartment (in West Berlin). Leamas says...
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Leamas goes on to wonder about Elvira. Who killed her? He wonders if Control’s Special Interest had known that Elvira knew his...
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Chapter 14: Letter to a Client
...thinks the flattery went to Riemeck’s head and led to his betraying too much to Elvira. Fiedler says to Leamas that he is beginning to like him, but wonders why he...
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