The Bourne Identity

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, The Bourne Identity explores the hidden world of assassination and covert operations that functioned behind the scenes of the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. While the majority of the threats to Bourne are clear, including the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, Villiers’s wife, and Carlos himself, the underlying danger that Bourne faces is the self-imposed secrecy of the American government that he needs to return to for protection. Not only does this secrecy endanger Bourne’s physical safety, but it also fragmented his identity even before he loses his memory, as he took on a string of false identities and feared losing contact with his authentic self. The novel explores the psychological harm inflicted on an individual by institutional secrecy.

Through the shifting third-person point of view, the novel explores the climate of secrecy that often impedes communication even between segments of the same government while Bourne is fighting his physical enemies in Europe. In the first scene that shifts to the American government, several leaders from the CIA, NSC, and Congress meet to discuss Bourne’s situation. However, their talks quickly erode as the men realize that they have been hiding information even from each other. At the conclusion of the talks, it is revealed that David Abbott knows Bourne’s identity and where he comes from—yet willingly chose to keep it from the other members of the meeting. These facts heighten the suspense in this spy thriller while underscoring the dangers of government secrecy. Since Bourne is alone and isolate in Europe, his only chance of survival is a group of men who refuse to work with each other or share information. From there, Abbott meets with the other members of Treadstone, who are then killed by two of Carlos’s men. It is here that their emphasis on secrecy and covert operations becomes clear: Bourne is now fully isolated, with no hope of returning to the CIA, even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Although Bourne willingly worked with both Medusa and Treadstone, the past that he uncovers throughout the course of the novel highlights the ruthlessness of government covert operations. When Conklin explains the situation with Bourne to Dr. Panov, he seems astounded: As a psychologist, he understands the enormous psychic cost of constantly hiding behind false identities: “When will you damn fools learn? Even prisoners in the worst camps could be themselves, talk to others who were themselves” (544). Dr. Panov’s analogy, which compares Bourne to a prisoner of war, emphasizes the danger that the American government willingly put Bourne in. He spent three years pretending to be someone else, dealing with the constant stress and pressure of geopolitics, assassinations, and threats to his life.

The American government serves as one of the central antagonists in the text, though hidden behind the immediate threats that Bourne faces. Through Bourne, Ludlum explores the danger of government secrecy and espionage and, more importantly, the US government’s willingness to endanger the lives and mental health of personnel to achieve its end goal of defeating the Soviet Union.