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Solitaire (James Bond)
Encyclopedia
Solitaire is a fictional character in the James Bond
novel
and film Live and Let Die
. In the film, she was portrayed by Jane Seymour
. At the age of 22, Jane Seymour became the youngest actress ever to play a Bond girl
at the time (the current recordholder is Alison Doody
).
In a relative rarity for the James Bond franchise, there is little difference between the film and novel in the treatment of Solitaire's basic character and role. The novel reveals that her real name is Simone Latrelle, that she is of French stock, and she was born in Haiti
; the name "Solitaire" (an near-oronym
of her real name) is given to her by the Haitians because of her apparent exclusion of men from her life. The only physical difference appears to be that Solitaire is stated to have blue-black hair; she also possesses pale skin reminiscent of the tropical planter class. When Bond meets her she is twenty-five years old and described as "one of the most beautiful women Bond had ever seen." On a later occasion Bond describes her as looking "rather French and very beautiful." At their first meeting, in the presence of Mr. Big, she comes across as superior, cold, and disdainful, an attitude reflected by her face, which Bond finds beautiful partly because of its lack of compromise and its hint of both cruelty and command. Once Solitaire has escaped from Mr. Big, she immediately becomes warm, open, and passionate towards Bond. Despite her obvious Gallic-Haitian heritage, there is no mention of her having any French accent.
Solitaire was initiated into some of the practices of Voodoo while still a child in Haiti. Either naturally or through this initiation, she has an extrasensory ability both to foretell the future and to judge the veracity of others, even if they converse in a language that she does not speak. These gifts instilled great fear of her among those who know her. Mr. Big discovered her doing a mind-reading act in a Haitian cabaret and, recognizing the value of her abilities, took her into his employ, using her in his espionage operations and planning for her eventually to have his children. Solitaire becomes, more or less, his hostage, with little or no autonomy, and when he uses her to interrogate Bond, her mental abilities immediately tell her that he is the one who will rescue her. She thus covers for Bond by lying to Mr. Big, telling him that Bond is not out to get the gangster. She later escapes from Mr. Big and accompanies Bond on his assignment, though the gangster locates and kidnaps her, ultimately attempting, unsuccessfully, to kill both her and Bond by towing them over a Jamaican reef (a scenario adapted for the film version of For Your Eyes Only
). The effort fails when Mr. Big's boat is destroyed by a mine Bond had earlier planted. The novel ends with Solitaire preparing to accompany Bond on his post-assignment recuperative leave.
Unlike in the film, there is no evidence that Solitaire would lose her psychic powers after sexual congress, an eventuality that does not appear due to a broken finger Bond sustains and his need to stay vigilant during their only night together. As is the case in the film, she is apparently a virgin, and she gives every sign of wishing to have a sexual relationship with Bond, going so far as to initiate their first physical contact and later teasing him with her nudity. While the culmination never comes to pass in the novel, the indications are that it will happen during their shared vacation as the story concludes. Unusually for one of Fleming's heroines, what becomes of Solitaire after Live and Let Die is never explained; in Dr. No, when returning to Jamaica, Bond finds himself wondering about her whereabouts.
in the employ of Dr. Kananga. As Bond travels to New York
by plane, Solitaire describes his journey to Dr. Kananga through the use of Tarot
cards. The one drawback to her ability is that she must remain a virgin in order to preserve it.
After Bond follows Kananga to the Fillet of Soul restaurant, he meets Solitaire. After a rather brief encounter with Mr. Big, Bond asks Solitaire about his future. When instructed to pick up a card Bond quizzically comments "us?” after picking up the lovers card.
When Bond and Rosie Carver visit San Monique, Solitaire tells Kananga the future, once more picking The Lovers card in regard to Bond, but for the first time she lies to him about what she sees, saying that it is the Death card. When her false reading proves to be inaccurate, she incurs Kananga's anger. He points out that her mother had had the gift too, but lost it and so became useless to him (Presumably by losing her virginity and perhaps resulting in Solitaire's birth). Later that evening Bond returns to the island. After convincing Solitaire they are meant to be lovers, by the use of a Tarot deck secretly composed of only The Lover cards, Bond succeeds in seducing her. After losing her virginity to Bond, Solitaire loses her psychic power, which endangers her life. Bond discovers Kananga is hiding vast areas of opium poppy
fields. Bond and Solitaire evade Kananga's men, escaping in Quarrel Jr.'s boat.
After arriving in New Orleans, Bond and Solitaire are captured and taken to Mr Big. Before Bond can be given his skydiving lesson without a parachute, he manages to escape. Solitaire is recaptured by Kananga's henchmen and taken back to him.
Later, Felix Leiter
informs Bond that after a raid on the Fillet of Soul, Kananga has taken Solitaire back to San Monique, leaving three Tarot cards: the high priestess, the moon and death. After travelling to San Monique, Bond rescues Solitaire and kills Kananga while Quarrel Jr. destroys the opium poppy fields.
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
and film Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
. In the film, she was portrayed by Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
. At the age of 22, Jane Seymour became the youngest actress ever to play a Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
at the time (the current recordholder is Alison Doody
Alison Doody
-Early life:The youngest of three children, she was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed...
).
Novel biography
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
; the name "Solitaire" (an near-oronym
Oronym
An oronym is a pair of phrases which share a similar relationship as the homophonic, in that they differ in meaning and spelling, yet share a similar pronunciation....
of her real name) is given to her by the Haitians because of her apparent exclusion of men from her life. The only physical difference appears to be that Solitaire is stated to have blue-black hair; she also possesses pale skin reminiscent of the tropical planter class. When Bond meets her she is twenty-five years old and described as "one of the most beautiful women Bond had ever seen." On a later occasion Bond describes her as looking "rather French and very beautiful." At their first meeting, in the presence of Mr. Big, she comes across as superior, cold, and disdainful, an attitude reflected by her face, which Bond finds beautiful partly because of its lack of compromise and its hint of both cruelty and command. Once Solitaire has escaped from Mr. Big, she immediately becomes warm, open, and passionate towards Bond. Despite her obvious Gallic-Haitian heritage, there is no mention of her having any French accent.
Solitaire was initiated into some of the practices of Voodoo while still a child in Haiti. Either naturally or through this initiation, she has an extrasensory ability both to foretell the future and to judge the veracity of others, even if they converse in a language that she does not speak. These gifts instilled great fear of her among those who know her. Mr. Big discovered her doing a mind-reading act in a Haitian cabaret and, recognizing the value of her abilities, took her into his employ, using her in his espionage operations and planning for her eventually to have his children. Solitaire becomes, more or less, his hostage, with little or no autonomy, and when he uses her to interrogate Bond, her mental abilities immediately tell her that he is the one who will rescue her. She thus covers for Bond by lying to Mr. Big, telling him that Bond is not out to get the gangster. She later escapes from Mr. Big and accompanies Bond on his assignment, though the gangster locates and kidnaps her, ultimately attempting, unsuccessfully, to kill both her and Bond by towing them over a Jamaican reef (a scenario adapted for the film version of For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
). The effort fails when Mr. Big's boat is destroyed by a mine Bond had earlier planted. The novel ends with Solitaire preparing to accompany Bond on his post-assignment recuperative leave.
Unlike in the film, there is no evidence that Solitaire would lose her psychic powers after sexual congress, an eventuality that does not appear due to a broken finger Bond sustains and his need to stay vigilant during their only night together. As is the case in the film, she is apparently a virgin, and she gives every sign of wishing to have a sexual relationship with Bond, going so far as to initiate their first physical contact and later teasing him with her nudity. While the culmination never comes to pass in the novel, the indications are that it will happen during their shared vacation as the story concludes. Unusually for one of Fleming's heroines, what becomes of Solitaire after Live and Let Die is never explained; in Dr. No, when returning to Jamaica, Bond finds himself wondering about her whereabouts.
Film biography
Solitaire is a psychicPsychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
in the employ of Dr. Kananga. As Bond travels to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by plane, Solitaire describes his journey to Dr. Kananga through the use of Tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
cards. The one drawback to her ability is that she must remain a virgin in order to preserve it.
After Bond follows Kananga to the Fillet of Soul restaurant, he meets Solitaire. After a rather brief encounter with Mr. Big, Bond asks Solitaire about his future. When instructed to pick up a card Bond quizzically comments "us?” after picking up the lovers card.
When Bond and Rosie Carver visit San Monique, Solitaire tells Kananga the future, once more picking The Lovers card in regard to Bond, but for the first time she lies to him about what she sees, saying that it is the Death card. When her false reading proves to be inaccurate, she incurs Kananga's anger. He points out that her mother had had the gift too, but lost it and so became useless to him (Presumably by losing her virginity and perhaps resulting in Solitaire's birth). Later that evening Bond returns to the island. After convincing Solitaire they are meant to be lovers, by the use of a Tarot deck secretly composed of only The Lover cards, Bond succeeds in seducing her. After losing her virginity to Bond, Solitaire loses her psychic power, which endangers her life. Bond discovers Kananga is hiding vast areas of opium poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
fields. Bond and Solitaire evade Kananga's men, escaping in Quarrel Jr.'s boat.
After arriving in New Orleans, Bond and Solitaire are captured and taken to Mr Big. Before Bond can be given his skydiving lesson without a parachute, he manages to escape. Solitaire is recaptured by Kananga's henchmen and taken back to him.
Later, Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
informs Bond that after a raid on the Fillet of Soul, Kananga has taken Solitaire back to San Monique, leaving three Tarot cards: the high priestess, the moon and death. After travelling to San Monique, Bond rescues Solitaire and kills Kananga while Quarrel Jr. destroys the opium poppy fields.