Our Man in Havana

Part 3 marks a turning point when Beatrice enters the plot as the story’s heroine and love interest. Beatrice helps Wormold pursue his spy activities and, as they fall in love, gives him an extra motive for his actions. Her arrival right at the beginning of Part 3—the midpoint of the story—gives a new sense of hope to Wormold’s situation that drives the rest of the story. We know that Wormold’s fortunes will change as Greene tells us at the beginning of the chapter that it “was not a night Wormold was ever likely to forget” (87). The party scene starts in near-disaster, but by the end there is a new sense of optimism; we sense that Beatrice will play an important role in Wormold’s life along with Milly. The party scene also marks a turning point in that we meet Captain Segura for the first time.

As Beatrice gets her things settled in Wormold’s office, she converses with a Black woman who sympathizes with what she did to Captain Segura the night before. The two women cooperate in a friendly manner, and the woman tells Beatrice “We Britishers have to stick together” (100). This parallels the first chapter of the book, when Dr. Hasselbacher spoke of the Black seller with the limp as being English, just like Wormold. Greene points out how that the British empire is heterogenous.

Wormold finds a kindred soul in Beatrice, yet at the same time he wants to complain to her about what spies did to Dr. Hasselbacher. He stops short when he remembers that she is “one of them” (103). Beatrice reminds him, “So are you” (103). This moment shows the conflicting loyalties that Wormold faces.

There is also conflict and irony in the fact that Wormold, while working together with Beatrice, must also conceal from her the fact that his reports are fake. The scene in Chapter 3 when they walk back from the seafood restaurant is filled with tension. Wormold is not sure if Beatrice suspects his deceptions. Greene uses the natural environment to emphasize the emotional mood of this scene. Watching the crashing waves from the ocean, Wormold “felt himself to be a part of the slow erosion of Havana” (112). He sees his spy work as the only way out of Havana, and deception as the only way to fulfill the job. Wormold and Beatrice’s conversation turns personal. Wormold says that he would find it difficult to marry again because of Milly’s religious beliefs. Beatrice, ironically, thinks that Wormold is using other people (like his agent Raul) for gain, just like the Secret Service staff.

The tension of this scene builds to the shocking revelation of Raul’s death that closes Part 3. Part 3 sets up the wild rescue mission that Wormold must now carry out.