Editing Goldfinger (novel) (section)

==Themes==
As with other Bond novels, such as ''Casino Royale'', gambling is a theme—not only the money staked on the golf match as part of the novel, but opening with the canasta game. Raymond Benson identified times in the novel when Bond's investigation of Goldfinger was a gamble too, and cites Bond tossing a coin to decide on his tactics in relation to his quarry.{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=115}} Once more (as with ''Live and Let Die'' and ''Dr. No'') it is Bond the British agent who has to sort out what turns out to be an American problem{{sfn|Black|2005|pp=38–39}} and this, along with Bond's warning to Goldfinger not to underestimate the English, may be seen as Fleming's reaction to the lack of US support over the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956.{{sfn|Black|2005|p=38}}

[[File:An UH-1 Iroquois helicopter flies over the US Gold Bullion Depository.jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=View of helicopter flying over Fort Knox|Aerial view of the [[United States Bullion Depository|Gold Bullion Depository]] at Fort Knox]]
Benson identifies a theme of Bond acting as [[St George]] in ''Goldfinger'' which, he says, has run in all the novels, but is finally stated explicitly in the book as part of Bond's thoughts. This is after Goldfinger reveals he will use an atomic device to open the vault:{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=231}} "Bond sighed wearily. Once more into the breach, dear friend! This time it really was [[St George and the dragon]]. And St George had better get a move on and do something".{{sfn|Fleming|2006a|p=284}} Jeremy Black notes that the image of the "latter-day St George [is] again an English, rather than British image".{{sfn|Black|2005|p=39}} According to Ladenson, by making Bond St George, "Goldfinger himself&nbsp;... is a mere obstacle, the dragon to be got rid of before the worthy knight can make off with the duly conquered lady".{{sfn|Ladenson|2003|p=230}}

Goldfinger has an obsession with gold to the extent that Ladenson says that he is "a walking tautology".{{sfn|Ladenson|2003|p=222}} Ladenson lists both his family name and his first name as being related to gold ("[[gold|Auric]]" is an adjective pertaining to gold); his clothes, hair, car and cat are all gold coloured, or a variant thereof; his Korean servants are referred to by Bond as being "yellow", or yellow-faced";{{sfn|Ladenson|2003|p=223}}{{sfn|Fleming|2006a|pp=164, 167}} and he paints his women (usually prostitutes) gold before sex.{{sfn|Chancellor|2005|p=116}}

As with a number of other villains in the Bond novels, there is a reference to the Second World War, to show the post-war readers how evil Bond's villains were. Thus, Goldfinger employs members of the German [[Luftwaffe]], Japanese and Koreans.{{sfn|Black|2005|p=38}} For Operation Grand Slam, Goldfinger used the poison GB—now known as [[Sarin]]—which had been discovered by the Nazis.{{sfn|Black|2005|p=38}} Pussy Galore's all-woman criminal gang has some members that look "like some young [[SS]] guardsman",{{sfn|Fleming|2006a|p=304}} to underline the connection to evil.{{sfn|Black|2005|p=38}}