--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley…" description: "\"“Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of the Foreign Office and his job consisted of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg" --- # Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either… ![“Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of the Foreign Office and his job consisted of lunching visiting dignitaries whom no one else would have entertained in his woodshed. He was a floating bachelor with a grey mane and that…” quote by John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg) > ““Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of the Foreign Office and his job consisted of lunching visiting dignitaries whom no one else would have entertained in his woodshed. He was a floating bachelor with a grey mane and that nimbleness which only fat men have.”” [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character is portrayed as socially isolated, professionally marginal, and physically indulgent, highlighting his outsider status and personal quirks. **In simple terms:** A lonely, odd bachelor with odd habits. Key Takeaway Recognize how marginalization shapes behavior. Themes isolation social status professional marginalization physical description Mood reflective critical Type character analysis literary commentary When to use this quote - office politics - diplomatic events - personal relationships - social gatherings Key Concepts identity otherness power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does marginalization affect personal identity? - What does his physical description reveal about his self‑perception? A Different Perspective His portrayal may exaggerate traits for narrative effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bachelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor/) [Claim Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claim-smiley-798417/) [Fat-men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fat-men-61935/) [Fleshy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleshy-65173/) [Fleshy Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleshy-foreign-798419/) [Martindale Valid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martindale-valid-798418/) [Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiley/) [Smiley Professionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiley-professionally-798416/) ## Related quotes > [“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/middle-children-weep-longer-than-their-brothers-and-sisters-over-her/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Merridew might not have been the slenderest of men or the tallest. But he had grip, he had cunning and like many fat men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/merridew-might-not-have-been-the-slenderest-of-men-or-the-tallest-but/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“He who makes fun of a short and fat man’s weight is much less cruel than he who makes fun of his height.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/he-who-makes-fun-of-a-short-and-fat-man-s-weight-is-much-less-cruel/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Many obese people spend a significant amount of their energy on suppressing the urge to tell some of the people who are staring at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/many-obese-people-spend-a-significant-amount-of-their-energy-on/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is my fondest desire to bust a host of caps into multitudes of fleshy personages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-willingham/it-is-my-fondest-desire-to-bust-a-host-of-caps-into-multitudes-of/) [Bill Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-willingham/) > [Blonds look angelic, but can (oh, happy!) be fleshy as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/blonds-look-angelic-but-can-oh-happy-be-fleshy-as-well/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Exposed like butt cheeks at a strip club; chicken breasts, fleshy and sallow in the butcher’s case; tequila bottle soldiers lined up across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/exposed-like-butt-cheeks-at-a-strip-club-chicken-breasts-fleshy-and/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“One of the leading causes of obesity is the misbelief that, when it comes to juice, ‘100%’ means ‘sugar-free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/one-of-the-leading-causes-of-obesity-is-the-misbelief-that-when-it/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“He was a large, fleshy man, weighing at least two hundred pounds, and he quickly became a faithful representation of a quivering jelly mountain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/he-was-a-large-fleshy-man-weighing-at-least-two-hundred-pounds-and-he/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) ## More by John le Carré > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [All power corrupts but some must govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/all-power-corrupts-but-some-must-govern/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“You're history, Donohue. You think countries run the fucking world! Go back to fucking Sunday school. It's 'God save our multinational' they're singing these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/you-re-history-donohue-you-think-countries-run-the-fucking-world-go/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/when-you-re-my-age-and-you-see-a-story-you-better-go-for-it-pretty/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The trouble is, when professional spies go out of their way to make a definitive statement about one of their own, the public tends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-trouble-is-when-professional-spies-go-out-of-their-way-to-make-a/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/ideologies-have-no-heart-of-their-own-they-re-the-whores-and-angels/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Home's where you go when you run out of homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/home-s-where-you-go-when-you-run-out-of-homes/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Pain observed is journalistic pain. It's diplomatic pain. It's television pain, over as soon as you switch off your beastly set.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/pain-observed-is-journalistic-pain-it-s-diplomatic-pain-it-s/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The greatest threat to mankind comes from the renunciation of individual scruple in favor of institutional denominators. . . . Real heroism lies, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-greatest-threat-to-mankind-comes-from-the-renunciation-of/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“and the wood smoke will roll out of the fireplace on to the carpet we paid too much for on that rainy afternoon in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/and-the-wood-smoke-will-roll-out-of-the-fireplace-on-to-the-carpet-we/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/middle-children-weep-longer-than-their-brothers-and-sisters-over-her/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [For decades to come the spy world will continue to be the collective couch where the subconscious of each nation is confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/for-decades-to-come-the-spy-world-will-continue-to-be-the-collective/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I happen to write by hand. I don't even type. John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/i-happen-to-write-by-hand-i-don-t-even-type-john-le-carre/) [John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-more-identities-a-man-has-the-more-they-express-the-person-they/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) [Explore all 409 John le Carré quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## More Bachelor quotes > [Every Bachelor and Bachelorette says, 'I never would have dated a person like that or a person from this place.' But if you're on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/every-bachelor-and-bachelorette-says-i-never-would-have-dated-a/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) > [A Bachelor of Arts is one who makes love to a lot of women, and yet has the art to remain a bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/a-bachelor-of-arts-is-one-who-makes-love-to-a-lot-of-women-and-yet/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [A married man is a man with a past, while a bachelor is a man with a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-married-man-is-a-man-with-a-past-while-a-bachelor-is-a-man-with-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I've been doing 'The Bachelor' long enough that I don't really care whose feathers I ruffle and how many waves I cause, because my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/i-ve-been-doing-the-bachelor-long-enough-that-i-don-t-really-care/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) > [In my family, graduating and getting your bachelor's is just the beginning. It's only expected. You're underachieving if you don't strive for more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-brogdon/in-my-family-graduating-and-getting-your-bachelor-s-is-just-the/) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-brogdon/) > [I will never pretend like I did not come from Bachelor Nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-brown/i-will-never-pretend-like-i-did-not-come-from-bachelor-nation/) [Hannah Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-brown/) > [When it comes to love, making long-term decisions is a risky business. Sooner or later, most of us decide to leave our carefree bachelor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/when-it-comes-to-love-making-long-term-decisions-is-a-risky-business/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-don-t-want-to-hear-about-the-endless-struggles-to-keep-sex-exciting/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I think the beauty of the concept of 'The Bachelor' is that it will never be the same thing twice. I think it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-matthews/i-think-the-beauty-of-the-concept-of-the-bachelor-is-that-it-will/) [Spencer Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-matthews/) > [Obviously there was no point in being a bachelor if his houseman was going to filch his booze. If he was going to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/obviously-there-was-no-point-in-being-a-bachelor-if-his-houseman-was/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [The press has created this bachelor persona, but it's not really me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilmer-valderrama/the-press-has-created-this-bachelor-persona-but-it-s-not-really-me/) [Wilmer Valderrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilmer-valderrama/) > [The truth is you may be far happier as a bachelor, but you are far more at peace as a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-khan/the-truth-is-you-may-be-far-happier-as-a-bachelor-but-you-are-far/) [Sajid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-khan/) > [Shall I never see a bachelor of three score again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/shall-i-never-see-a-bachelor-of-three-score-again/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Bachelor' viewers are clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/bachelor-viewers-are-clever/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) > [I know it sounds silly, but no one really anticipates just how mentally and emotionally taxing and unbelievably physically grueling it is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/i-know-it-sounds-silly-but-no-one-really-anticipates-just-how/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) [Browse all 257 Bachelor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of the Foreign Office and his job consisted of lunching visiting dignitaries whom no one else would have entertained in his woodshed. He was a floating bachelor with a grey mane and that nimbleness which only fat men have.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John le Carré" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley-either-professionally-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bachelor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley-either-professionally-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/john-le-carre-651_bachelor_martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley_855741.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Martindale had no valid claim on Smiley either professionally or socially. He worked on the fleshy side of…” — John le Carré", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John le Carré", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Martindale had no valid claim on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley-either-professionally-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/martindale-had-no-valid-claim-on-smiley-either-professionally-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```