Who was the real spy in Paulo Coelho's The Spy?

Who was the real spy in Paulo Coelho’s The Spy?

Author: Beenish Mahmood

Lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho, who began his career with the novel The Alchemist, has sold more than 65 million copies of this book alone. He has sold over 200 million copies worldwide with translations in 81 languages. He has been appreciated by people as diverse as activist and youngest Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and Pharrell Lanscilo Williams.

He has studied philosophy, religion, magic, alchemy, dealt with drugs and torture and toyed with death. His experience of love, death, pain, happiness, sorrow and pleasure serve as an inspiration for his books.

As he looked for answers, he realised that we all face challenges in life and hold the strength to form our own destiny.

The books he has written so far are The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, By the River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept, The 5th Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die, Warrior of the Light – A Manual, 11 Minutes, The Zahir, The Devil & Ms Prim, The Witch of Portobello, Brida, The Winner Stands Alone, Aleph, Manuscript Found In Accra, Adultery and The Spy.

The epilogue to The Spy written by Paulo Coelho is punishment for Mata Hari, the French spy. As the headlines in the newspaper give the breaking news, “Woman dancer shot by French as spy” but what was really the reality nobody read!

For more on Mata Hari read Pat Shipman’s book Femme Fatale: Love, Lies & the Unknown life of Mata Hari. The Spy is a beautiful novel that encompasses a diverse variety of emotions. Love, hatred, shame, depression, crime, vulgarity, punishment and dignity are all feelings that Mata Hari, the protagonist goes through.

In the prologue Mata Hari is found in the St Lazareprison cell. Whether she is punished or not is a question that I will not answer. Read the novel and find out for yourself!

Mata Hari accused of espionage but all those who accused her know that “I never revealed anything new.”

What was her crime? Being a free and independent woman in a world “ruled by men?” Or being a spy for the French Intelligence? Or for being famous in the elite section of the society? Or for turning the ‘gossips’ into ‘secrets?’ Or for being a mediator for the Government? Who really is Mata Hari?

If the future remembers me, “may it never see me as a victim but as someone who moved forward with courage, fearlessly paying the price she had to pay.”

This is who Mata Hari really was!

What is the novel really about? Is it based on history, fact, fiction or personal experience? The novel set in the background of World War 1 is a story of love and betrayal. As Mata Hari’s joyous memories of her childhood give comfort to her aching soul and heal her wounds, she moves forward with a will power so strong that none can defeat her.

Adam and Antje Zelle gave birth to Margaretha Zelle. They died soon leaving behind only words of wisdom. Antje Zelle passed on tulip seeds symbol of her country to Margaretha Zelle.

“The tulips will never turn into roses or sunflowers, no matter how much they might desire to. And if they try to deny their own existence, they will live bitter & die.”

She guides her daughter of the reality of life. Nothing is permanent, everything like the flowers is temporary. The physical beauty is short-lived unlike the beauty of the soul. Heaven is our eternal abode to which we must return. And as one life is extinguished so another is born just like the leaves of a tree which fall and in its place new ones are born.

Who is Mata Hari? Who is H21? Are they all the same or are they different? What is dance? “Dance is a poem where each movement represents a word.” And dance is also “dance between the eyes” of a man and woman. But what is the boundary that will differentiate between dance and madness? Is dance made of soft, gentle movements or is it creating ripples through the body so much so that it crosses the fine line between beauty and vulgarity? Or is it an expression of love? What do you think? How do you know you have found true love?

When you find true love you know it at once. True love knows no borders, no frontiers of class, money, beauty. It only knows when the heart connects with heart. Beauty and purity of the soul is important and the rest becomes insignificant. Does Mata Hari find true love? Does the nightingale which bleeds to reborn the red rose, die? Like in the Greek Myth. Does Apollo grant Psyche her true love? Is Psyche able to keep the promise she made to Apollo of never seeing her husband’s face? Is Psyche able to face her fear of the serpent?

The writer can be reached at beenishmhmd@gmail.com