The Russia House is told in the first person by Harry. This colors the events of the novel, and Harry frequently reminds readers that they are seeing events through the eyes of a biased witness. Like George Smiley and other significant figures in le Carre's fiction, he yearns for a clean, honest, successful spying operation. The ambiguities of his life in the secret service gnaw at him, costing him sleep and troubling his conscience. He confesses that his image as an unemotional and fastidious lawyer is part of an act. He often mentions his love affair with a woman married to one of his colleagues. She wishes to marry him, and in his heart, he wishes to marry her. Even so, he is afraid of her and of the powerful emotions she represents. Thus he uses his secret work as an excuse not to commit himself to her...