51 pages • 1-hour read
An Inside Job
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide features discussions of graphic violence and death.
The Deceptive Nature of Appearances
Gabriel’s official profession consists of removing superficial distortions that mar the quality of a work of art. This work is an extended metaphor for the aphorism that appearances can be deceiving. Because the world of An Inside Job largely consists of deceptive facades, his side job as a private investigator accomplishes much the same thing. In each case, Gabriel is tasked with digging below the surface to reveal the truths and lies beneath. The lost Leonardo presents an entirely new set of problems since the artwork has been concealed beneath an inferior work by an anonymous artist.
While reclaiming the work of a master painter is intriguing as an art mystery, the lost Leonardo carries implications far beyond the provenance of the painting itself. Its disappearance and the string of murders that follows imbue the story with aspects of a morality tale. The painting is merely the plot device that allows the author to delve into much bigger questions about why and how people construct appearances to conceal the truth and what it takes to break through well-crafted networks of deception. The novel’s primary example of this theme is the appearance of sanctity in the Vatican, which is contrasted with the scandalous behavior of its members when the painting is stolen.
This theme carries strong weight in both the novel’s art and religious subplots. The art experts in the novel are initially unwilling to acknowledge that Penny Radcliff’s discovery is genuine. She has no standing in the art community, and the pundits have already decided that every lost Leonardo has been found. Similarly, no one in authority wants to believe that the painting was stolen by someone within the Vatican. The illusion of moral authority that has been carefully constructed to protect the church from criticism also protects criminals from facing punishment for their crimes.
Gabriel takes a dual role in the novel as the conservator of the painting but also as the conservator of moral order in the church and the law. Gabriel insists that Penny receive posthumous credit for discovering the painting. When he suggests this, Ferrari replies, “That would require us to tell the truth” (378). Ferrari’s comment indicates the degree to which convenient appearances are preferable to inconvenient truths for those in power. Because this is a classic spy thriller, justice prevails, and the truth proves stronger than deception.
Preserving Reputation at All Costs
Gabriel’s investigation into the disappearance of the lost Leonardo is largely impeded by the location from which the painting was taken. It was housed in the Vatican, which is an institution famous for guarding its secrets. This lack of transparency is related to the church’s need to maintain its moral standing among the faithful. As the oldest religious institution in the world, the Catholic church is built on its reputation for sanctity. The church maintains its credibility by presenting a façade of virtue to guide its followers along the path of righteousness even while corruption flourishes.
In Catholic law, the pope is declared to be infallible in matters of religious doctrine. The cardinals, as princes of the church, are perceived to be holy men who are morally superior to the sinners they lead to salvation. While most people want to maintain a good reputation, it becomes even more important when an institution’s credibility is on the line. Gabriel and Luigi know that the need to maintain a positive reputation is essential to the survival of the Vatican as an institution.
High-ranking members of the church are particularly careful to maintain a spotless reputation, but they too desire power and wealth. As Veronica tells Gabriel, “You know what it’s like inside the Curia, […]. The Apostolic Palace is a gilded cage filled with ruthless, sexually repressed men who know little of the world beyond the walls” (277). While these lines contain assumptions, they accurately describe the cloistered insider world of the Vatican. Its members will do almost anything to prevent a scandal even if that means compromising their principles.
The Vatican’s obsession with preserving its reputation can even be seen in the behavior of its reformer pope, Luigi. Although he knows that Bertoli ordered his assassination, he will never publicly accuse the cardinal of the crime. He tells Gabriel, “The charges that I will soon level against Bertoli will not include conspiracy to murder a pope. There is some laundry that is far too dirty to air in public” (366). Even for an idealist like Luigi, preserving the credibility of the Vatican in the eyes of the public takes precedent over exposing the truth. This questions the ability of reformers like Luigi to make any real changes if they, like others in their organization, place reputation above transparency.
The Limits of the Law
The novel’s third major theme is closely related to the first two. In Gabriel’s world, appearances hide deeper truths, yet those truths frequently compromise the reputations of powerful men. Ideally, the police should follow the rule of law no matter whose reputation is at stake. Unfortunately, the Vatican operates as a law unto itself. It is a sovereign state with its own laws and leadership, and its prominence in Italian culture influences the country as a whole. Consequently, Gabriel’s investigation is impeded by the very institution that is trying to assist him. At multiple points, Ferrari and Rossetti discourage him from pursuing certain angles of the case simply because they might embarrass those in high positions of power.
While the Art Squad isn’t corrupt, its personnel are sensitive to the political and religious climate in which they operate. They must do everything by the book and collect a voluminous amount of evidence or have their work discredited. Gabriel has no such constraints. When presented with the limits of the law, he merely finds a workaround. Since he has faced similar situations in the past, his network of contacts can offer assistance when the police cannot.
Because Gabriel has access to resources outside of regular channels, his friends on the Art Squad must turn a blind eye to the methods he used to accomplish his aims. This need to sidestep to law to achieve justice offers an unspoken commentary on the way that the rich and powerful manage to manipulate the system without accountability.
The Art Squad is ill-equipped to deal with criminals who are well-connected and adept at gaming the system. For example, the Camorra bank in Switzerland appears to be a legitimate financial institution, yet it engages in money laundering. Making a public accusation would have a domino effect, casting suspicion on anyone associated with their dealings. The Art Squad is not equipped to investigate on that scale. Cardinal Bertoli is another example. He is so close to the seat of power in the Vatican that mere outsiders cannot accuse him of embezzling funds without investigating the Vatican itself.
The protagonists of spy novels almost always work outside the law—even if they are part of it—to achieve justice. Just as the novel questions the ability of reformers who are tied to their institution’s reputation, it questions the extent to which the law is capable of pursuing justice if it is bound by its own restrictions. The paradox of the problem is that, without restrictions, it would not be the law. These opposing forces provide the tensions and conflicts that drive spy novels like An Inside Job.
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