The Ministry of Fear (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

Arthur Rowe, a middle-aged Englishman living through World War II in London. He is a lonely widower, having killed his wife to prevent her living in pain. By accident, he comes into possession of secret films taken by Nazi agents, and he immediately becomes the object of their search. He suffers amnesia when injured in a bombing raid and is unable for a time to remember anything beyond his youth. He finds himself confined in a nursing home that is a front for Nazi activities. He escapes and, aided by counter-intelligence agents, uncovers the Nazi activities. He regains his memory at the same time. Meanwhile, he has fallen in love with Anna Hilfe, sister of the spy group’s leader.

Mr. Jones, a private detective. He is hired by Rowe, who wants to know why someone wants to kill him. Jones disappears, and his employer turns the case over to counter- intelligence.

Anna Hilfe, a young Austrian refugee. She informs Rowe that Nazi agents are after him. Though her brother is a Nazi spy, she helps Rowe uncover the enemy activities because she has fallen in love with the Englishman.

Willi Hilfe, an Austrian refugee, Anna’s brother. He helps Rowe “escape” when a man is supposedly murdered. Hilfe turns out to be the head of a Nazi fifth-column group operating in England. He commits suicide when he is found out.

Dr. Forester, head of the nursing home in which Rowe finds himself. Forester, an enemy agent, is killed by one of the hospital attendants.

Bibliography:

Allott, Kenneth, and Miriam Farris. The Art of Graham Greene. New York: Russell, 1963. One of the first book-length studies of Greene and still one of the best. Views The Ministry of Fear in the terms of Greene’s obsessions with “the divided mind” or “the fallen world.”

Boardman, Gwenn R. Graham Greene: The Aesthetics of Exploration. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1971. Sees the novel as “an ingenious parable on the nature of love.” The book is a commentary on the state of the world and “the mess that Western civilization” was in at the time.

Cuoto, Maria. Graham Greene: On the Frontier. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. An excellent discussion of the book’s complexities. Greene’s “artistry lies in breaking the mold of the thriller to integrate tragic and spiritual concerns.”

DeVitis, A. A. Graham Greene. Rev. ed. Edited by Kinley E. Roby. Boston: Twayne, 1986. An excellent starting point for a consideration of Greene’s work. Insightful chapter on the “entertainments” as opposed to the “novels.”

Wolfe, Peter. Graham Greene the Entertainer. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Essential book-length study which chiefly addresses those works classified as “entertainments.” Devotes an entire chapter to The Ministry of Fear.