READING HUMANITY BEYOND THE SPY DISCOURSE IN IAN MCEWAN’S THE INNOCENT

Abstract

The article interprets Ian McEwan’s The Innocent (1989) as a fictional illustration of the concept of humanity understood as a sum of universal features and activities of the human species (e.g. curiosity, feelings, initiation, recreation) and, at the same time, as the novel’s central provider of significance. In the light of the spy discourse, the analysis points out the human constants in the characters’ lives in terms of psychology and behaviour, shedding light on the historical contexts in which they become visible. The study centres around Berlin, the stylistic support for the author’s characterial explorations, and the intersection point of the book’s main thematic interests: espionage, war, romance.