James Bond: The True Story Of Quantum Of Solace's Failure
4. The Unusual Title
So, what does Quantum of Solace mean? It’s a question that puzzled even the cast members and crew when probed with the question. Wilson decided the title days before the first press conference for the movie.
Taken from the name of one of Fleming’s short stories, Quantum of Solace was described by Craig in an interview as ‘Bond looking for his quantum of solace and that's what he wants, he wants his closure. Ian Fleming says that if you don't have a quantum of solace in your relationship then the relationship is over.’
The short story itself depicts Bond attending a dinner party in which one of the guests, the Governor of Nassau, recounts the story of a marriage between one of his employees and an air hostess. However, the air hostess becomes unhappy with their marriage and initiates a long standing and open affair with a professional golf player. Once the affair is discovered and ended, the husband and wife continue their marriage in order to appear happy to the public, however the two haven’t any quantum of solace for each other left.
It is not a conventional tale of Fleming’s as it is not a traditional Bond story. However, Quantum of Solace acts as a way of developing the character of Bond and the differences between his career as an agent and the reality of the real world’s drama. This has little relation to the movie however as the term Quantum of Solace represents the smallest amount of gratitude or care that one person has for each other in a relationship and without this, the relationship crumbles under these foundations; possibly in relation to Bonds clinging love for Vesper despite her betrayal.