I spent some time discussing the Bond novels with a longtime Flemign fan once, and trying to argue some of the things you've brought up here, and finally I was like, "But if they're male-fantasy novels, why does the character get the everliving crap beaten out of him in every single book?"
My correspondent replied that there was a reason spanking was the classic English sexual vice.
Bond survives outlandish assault all the time, and takes his revenge, and takes both attack and revenge as his ordinary due. To a certain extent, it's possible to see these rape victims reacting in the same way: I got (my fingernails pulled out/raped), and then I (shot the guy 100 times/sicced a black widow spider on him), and now it's over, and hey, let's move on with the plot, shall we? Not terribly insightful of Fleming, but a weird attempt at egalitarianism.
This doesn't cover the part where Honeychile is wandering around completely naked, which anybody who actually has glorious breasts will tell you is not advised during athletic activities.
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My correspondent replied that there was a reason spanking was the classic English sexual vice.
Bond survives outlandish assault all the time, and takes his revenge, and takes both attack and revenge as his ordinary due. To a certain extent, it's possible to see these rape victims reacting in the same way: I got (my fingernails pulled out/raped), and then I (shot the guy 100 times/sicced a black widow spider on him), and now it's over, and hey, let's move on with the plot, shall we? Not terribly insightful of Fleming, but a weird attempt at egalitarianism.
This doesn't cover the part where Honeychile is wandering around completely naked, which anybody who actually has glorious breasts will tell you is not advised during athletic activities.