“And if she’d been a member of a different political party?” “I’d have gone along and joined it just the same. I wouldn’t
havestayed in it,” he added quickly. “I mean obviously this was the start of a long political awakening for me—bringing
out values and beliefs that were already present but were simply dormant at that time.
Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 42
Character of the Prime Minister is quite temperamental, complete with a furrow, gentle style.
It can be seen quoted below:
Lang reluctantly let go of me and I fastened my seat belt. He did the same. He glanced out of the window at the terminal,
then back at me, appalled, as we dipped gracefully onto the runway.
“My God, you’ve already told someone, haven’t you?” I could feel myself turning scarlet.
“No,” I said. “You have.”
“I haven’t.” On the tape I sound as feeble as a child caught red-handed.
He leaned forward again. “Who have you told?” Looking out at the dark forest beyond the perimeter of the
airport, where anything could belurking, it seemed like the only insurance policy I had.
“Richard Rycart,” I said. That must have been a devastating blow to him. He must have
known then that it was the end ofeverything. In my mind’s eye I see him still, like one those once grand but now
condemned apartment blocks, moments after the demolition charges have been exploded: for a few seconds, the façade
remains bizarrely intact, before slowly beginning to slide. That was Lang. He gave me a long blank look and then
subsided back into his seat. Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 132
5.3 Ruth Lang
The wife of disgraced former British P.M Adam Lang. Ruth is a marvel of tighly wound fury and brittle, self-deprecating humor. She skulks about the gray-
on-gray shingle and concrete Brutalist beach house borrowed from her husbands
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publisher in high dudgeon, her ire seemingly the only thing preventing her from being crushed underneath the outsize wall art and huge plate-glass windows that
dont frame the drear wintery landscape as much as invite prying eyes to look in. Ruth is a very complicated and mysterious figure. Characteristics to
describe Ruth which began with clever, dominating, vulnerable, jealous, cunning, neurotic and proud of her husband, but contemptuous of him.
It can be seen quoted below:
From somewhere inside the house I heard a woman with a British accent shouting, “This isabsolutely bloodyridiculous ”
A door slammed. “Actually, forget I said that: it’sfucking ridiculous” shouted
the unseen woman. Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 27
Ruth appeared full of charm as the dialogues assertive, loud argument about politics, and concern for her husband.
She is sharp-tongued and likes to speak bluntly. Sometimes clashing arguments with her husbands secretary.
It can be seen quoted below:
She didn’t say anything for a while, just stared at the ocean, biting her lip. Then she looked at me, sizing me up. “You did
sign that confidentiality agreement?” “Of course.”
“You’re sure?” “Check with Sid Kroll’s office.”
“Because I don’t want to read about this in some gossip column next week, or in some cheap little kiss-and-tell book of
your own a year from now.” “Whoa,” I said, taken aback by her venom. “I thought you
just said I was your idea. I didn’t ask to come here. And I haven’t kissed anyone.”
Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 31
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Ruth is an emotional woman, her mood can change suddenly, a very unpredictable person, full of mystery.
It can be seen quoted below:
She nodded. “All right then. I’ll tell you why I can’t go home, between you and me. Because there’s something not quite
right with him at the moment, and I’m a bit afraid to leave him.”
Boy, I thought. This just gets better and better. “Yes,” I replied diplomatically. “Amelia told me he was very
upset by Mike’s death.” “Oh, did she? Quite whenMrs. Bly became such an expert in
my husband’s emotional state I’m not sure.” If she had hissed and sprung claws she couldn’t have made her feelings plainer.
“Losing Mike certainly made it worse, but it isn’t just that. It’s losing power—that’s the real trouble. Losing power, and
now having to sit down and relive everything, year by year. While all the time the press are going on and on about what
he did and didn’t do. He can’t get free of the past, you see. He can’t move on.” She gestured helplessly at the sea, the sand,
the dunes. “He’s stuck. We’re both stuck.” As we walked back to the house, she put her arm through
mine. “Oh, dear,” she said. “You must be starting to wonder what you’ve let yourself in for.”
Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 31
Ruth Lang is a former party activist, strong women, manipulative, and harsh personality. Slowly not only lose the love of her husband, but also against
her husbands political influence. Ruth was the wife of loneliness and then use Ghost as a runaway love.
It can be seen quoted below:
Something seemed to give way in her and she sagged toward me, her arms outstretched. Her head came to rest against my
chest and I thought for a moment she might have fainted, but then I realized she was clinging to me, holding on so fiercely I
could feel her bitten fingertips through the thick material of the robe. My hands hovered an inch or two above her, moving
back and forth uncertainly, as if she was giving off some kind
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of magnetic field. Finally, I stroked her hair and tried to murmur words of reassurance I didn’t really believe.
Robert Harris, The Ghost Writer, 2007, p. 90
The role of Ruth Lang, the ex-Prime Minister’s wife, proved a tougher challenge. intelligent and she’s the person who really makes everything work.
She’s also the funniest and the sharpest. She is charm and the gift of communication becomes the public face of the relationship and the one with the
acute political brain but less charisma. So upfront and seemingly transparent no one sees the threat that she is incredibly idealistic and driven. She will make the
ultimate sacrifice for her beliefs.”
5.4 Amelia Bly
