Q&A with Faculty Fellow Tabea Linhard

Stunning, seductive and shrewd – an image of the woman spy is easy to conjure. Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari, executed as an agent for Germany by the French army during World War I, perfectly embodies the stereotype. “Mata Hari’s shadow is always present in stories about female spies in the 20th century,” says Faculty Fellow Tabea Linhard, professor of Spanish, global studies and comparative literature, who is writing a book on the lives of women alleged to have traded in secrets. “In most accounts about female spies, the women appear as either heroines or villainesses and they are larger-than-life, preternaturally intelligent and sometimes cunning characters are in control of the narrative. 

Stunning, seductive and shrewd – an image of the woman spy is easy to conjure. Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari, executed as an agent for Germany by the French army during World War I, perfectly embodies the stereotype. “Mata Hari’s shadow is always present in stories about female spies in the 20th century,” says Faculty Fellow Tabea Linhard, professor of Spanish, global studies and comparative literature, who is writing a book on the lives of women alleged to have traded in secrets. “In most accounts about female spies, the women appear as either heroines or villainesses and they are larger-than-life, preternaturally intelligent and sometimes cunning characters are in control of the narrative. 


Briefly, what is your book about?

My book is about women who served as spies and women who, for specific moments in their lives, were allegedly involved with espionage even though to this day it remains unclear whether any facts support this claim. The women who may not have been “real” spies, but whose lives nevertheless intersected with espionage or accusations of espionage, allow for a more nuanced understanding of those who were. For some, the accusation of espionage was inconsequential; others were punished. Olga Benário-Prestes, one of the figures I discuss in the book, was executed. A deep dive into these women’s stories has revealed an additional question worth our attention: Can spies have friends? Or will they betray them, or be betrayed sooner or later? I think that that may end up being the best-kept secret of any agent.