Patriotism

Patriotism is a major theme in Notorious. As the film begins, we see that Alicia's father is going to jail for lack of patriotism: he has been working as a Nazi spy in the U.S. Although Alicia did not support her father's work and motives, she does not oppose him publicly. Instead, she chastises him in private but attends his trial, revealing little emotion.

After the trial, U.S. officials contact Alicia through Devlin in order to convince her to work for them as a spy. Since her father's associates do not know Alicia's true feelings, she would be able to infiltrate their ranks and discover valuable information. Additionally, Alex Sebastian, who harbors many of the Nazis in Brazil, once loved Alicia and would be likely to want her back.

By working for the U.S. government, Alicia sacrifices her freedom in order to show her patriotism...