- Maria Freudenstein
-
Maria Freudenstein Character from the James Bond franchise Affiliation KGB (novel) Portrayed by Rachel Weisz (Rumored) Maria Freudenstein, or Maria Freundenstadt, is a character in the James Bond universe. She is the subject of the 1964 short-story The Property of a Lady and appears briefly in Ian Fleming's last novel The Man With The Golden Gun.
Contents
The Property of a Lady
She is a known double-agent who works for the KGB who receives a Faberge’ crafted clock from the Russians that is supposed to be auctioned at Sotheby’s auction house. The Russians intend to bid up the price of the item in order to pay Maria for her services. According to her dossier in The Property of a Lady, she was born in France in 1935, the illegitimate daughter of a woman who later became a member of the resistance during World War II. After Maria graduated from the Sorbonne, she worked for a naval attaché in the British Embassy in Paris as a translator, there she was blackmailed into working for the NKVD by her mother’s friends from the resistance after some “unattractive sexual business”. She started working for the Foreign Office in 1959 as a cipher clerk in the "Purple Cipher" after being trained as a Soviet agent. However at the time she hired, she was suspected of being a Russian agent. According to the ticket for the auction, we surmise that the events take place in June of 1961 - making her about 26 years old at the beginning of the story. She was described by Bond as being “unattractive” and having “black hair” and “pale and pimply skin”, and a “vaguely unwashed appearance”. Bond also makes reference to her “flattish bosoms” [1].
The Man with Golden Gun
A reference is made to Maria Freudenstein in The Man With The Golden Gun.[2] in the very first chapter Can I Help you? However, due to a typo, she was called Maria Freundenstadt. However, in the novel excerpt in the April 1965 issue of Playboy her name is Freudenstein, not Freudenstadt[3]. We learn of her eventual fate. However, we do not how or by whom.
Bond 23 Rumors
In April of 2010 many of Bond fandom internet sites circulated a rumor that Maria Freudenstein would be a character in the yet untitled Bond 23. Rumors stated that she were to be played by actress Rachel Weisz[4]. These rumors have yet to materialize, but generally believed to be untrue.
Footnotes and References
- ^ Fleming,Ian - Octopussy and The Living Daylights, 2004 Penguin Books Ltd. "The Property of A Lady" pp. 47-76.
- ^ Fleming,Ian - The Man with The Golden Gun, April 1st, 1965, Gildrose Publishing p.16
- ^ Playboy magazine, Vol 12, Number 4; April 1965, p. 68.
- ^ Gross,Ed (2010-04-19). "Bond 23: "Property of a Lady"". Earthsmightiest. http://www.earthsmightiest.com/fansites/actionhero/news/?a=6839. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
Categories:- James Bond characters
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
