Amsterdam

The Garmony photographs are the novel’s central symbol, and they represent the vulnerable, private self that exists behind a curated public persona. As the catalyst for the plot, the images of Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony cross-dressing expose The Hypocrisy of the Public Versus the Private Self as Garmony is a politician who pushes traditional “family values.”

Initially, Clive’s reaction to the photos suggests a complex sympathy for Garmony’s hidden life and the trust he must have placed in Molly. Clive reflects that the images reveal a “rare sight below the waves, of a man’s privacy and turmoil, of his dignity upended by the overpowering necessity of pure fantasy” (76-77). In this light, the photographs represent the contradiction between a constructed public identity and an authentic self, which the novel suggests is a fundamental condition of modern life. The photographs are not merely an exposé but a symbol of the life that public figures must conceal.

Ultimately, the symbol’s power lies in how the novel’s cynical characters manipulate the photographs, connecting it to the theme of The Corrosion of Personal and Professional Ethics. For Vernon, the photos are a tool to rescue his newspaper’s circulation and destroy a political enemy.