Conrad Discussio
Text: The Secret Agent
Is Mr Verloc, the hero of the tale?
Mr Verloc is not the hero of the Secret Agent tale in that he plays the double character without anyone noticing. The role that everyone in the story knows about him is a businessman and a secret agent. In that case, nobody suspects him of being involved in any activities that are against the norms of society. In secret, Mr Verloc is a member of an anarchist group which is out to overthrow the government. Also, he plays the role of an ineffectual terrorist and no one, even those in his family have an idea of what he does beyond running his business. Having failed in becoming a terrorist, he takes up the role of a person that provokes others to commit crimes.
On the one hand, though, he becomes influenced quickly as the moment he meets Mr Vladimir, who has a high rank in the government, he agrees to commit a crime to redeem himself. That is after being threatened of losing his job for performing poorly as a secret agent. For Mr Verloc to earn the title of becoming the hero, he should have sacrificed his position other than taking part in a terrorist attack. That is considering that his brother-in-law died in the same attack which angered his wife, Winnie. Either way, before taking part in this act, he is undecided on whether it is the right or wrong thing to do, considering that he has no political interest. That though does not make him a hero as he finally succumbs to pressure to blow up the Greenwich observatory as earlier advised by Mr Vladimir.