“My mother told me she would never forgive me and she would never forgive herself if I went off to read English and became no more than a slightly better educated housewife than she was.”

From a young age, Serena is pressured to achieve something extraordinary. Her mother, the wife of a bishop who has been unable to embrace her own feminist ideals, lives vicariously through her daughter. Serena studies mathematics at Cambridge as an obligation to her mother and her mother’s expectations. Whether studying at Cambridge or being recruited by MI5, Serena’s achievements are notable in terms of the way in which she breaks new ground for British women of her generation. However, she is never truly invested in these achievements as they belong chiefly to her mother. Serena is a trailblazer, but almost by accident and obligation rather than idealism.

“Wasn’t it right that England should have set itself apart to struggle against the Catholic despotisms on the Continent?”

Tony is an important figure in Serena’s life, not just as a lover but as a teacher. He is a history lecturer at Cambridge, but also someone embroiled in the world of intelligence. Tony represents the fine line between history and ideology, and frequently and deliberately blurs this line. The lessons he gives to Serena are as much ideological lessons as they are history lectures, as Tony is grooming Serena to be a tool of the state. He is not just teaching her about history, but how to interpret history in such a way that will be useful to the world of British intelligence.