Solitaire (James Bond)

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James Bond character

Solitaire
Gender	Female
Role	Bond girl
Affiliation
Current status	Unknown
Portrayed by	Jane Seymour

Solitaire is a fictional character in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die. In the film, she was portrayed by Jane Seymour.

[edit] Film biography

Solitaire is a psychic in the employ of Dr. Kananga. As Bond travels to New York by plane, Solitaire describes his journey to Dr. Kananga through the use of Tarot cards. The one drawback to her ability is that she must remain a virgin in order to preserve it.

After Bond follows Kananga to the Fillet of Soul restaurant, he meets Solitaire. After a rather brief encounter with Mr. Big, Bond asks Solitaire about his future. When instructed to pick up a card Bond quizzically comments "us?” after picking up the lovers card.

When Bond and Rosie Carver visit San Monique, Solitaire tells Kananga the future, once more picking the lovers card in regard to Bond. Later that evening Bond returns to the island. After convincing Solitaire they are meant to be lovers, with odds stacked in his favour, Bond succeeds in seducing her. After losing her virginity to Bond through their sexual intercourse, Solitaire loses her psychic power, which endangers her life. Bond discovers Kananga is hiding vast areas of poppy fields. Bond and Solitaire evade Kananga's men, escaping in Quarrel Jr.'s boat.

After arriving in New Orleans, Bond and Solitaire are captured and taken to Mr Big. Before Bond can be given his skydiving lesson without a parachute, he manages to escape. Solitaire is recaptured by Kananga's henchmen and taken back to him.

Later, Felix Leiter informs Bond that after a raid on the Fillet of Soul, Kananga has taken Solitaire back to San Monique, leaving three Tarot cards: the high priestess, the moon and death. After travelling to San Monique, Bond rescues Solitaire and kills Kananga while Quarrel Jr. destroys the poppy fields.

[edit] Novel biography

In a relative rarity for the James Bond franchise, there is little difference between the film and novel in the treatment of Solitaire's character. The novel reveals that Solitaire's real name is Simone Latrelle, that she is of French stock, and she was born in Haiti; the name "Solitaire" is given to her by the Haitans because of the apparent exclusion of men in her life. The only physical difference appears to be that Solitaire is stated to have black hair.

Unlike in the film, she does not lose her psychic powers after sexual congress, and in fact due to a broken finger Bond sustains in the novel such an eventuality does not even come up. The existence of her powers in the novel are left considerably ambiguous but the way her abilities are utilized by Mr. Big is similar to the way they are in the film, though in the novel she says that she gave answers based on how she "divined" the person.

Unusually for one of Fleming's heroines, what becomes of Solitaire after "Live and Let Die" is never really explained, though in Dr. No, when returning to Jamaica, Bond finds himself wondering about her whereabouts.