 Benson considers the most obvious theme of the novel to be good versus evil . Parker agrees , and highlights a conversation between Bond and <unk> in the chapter titled " The Nature of Evil " , in which Bond says : " By ... [ Le Chiffre 's ] evil existence ... he was creating a norm of badness by which , and by which alone , an opposite norm of goodness could exist . " The subject was also dealt with by the academic Beth Butterfield , in an examination of Bond from an existentialist viewpoint . In light of Bond 's conversation , Butterfield identifies a crisis of confidence in Bond 's character , where he has " moved beyond good and evil " to the point where he does his job not because of principles , but to pursue personal battles . Eco comes to the same conclusion , stating that Bond " abandon [ s ] the treacherous life of moral mediation and of psychological anger , with all the dangers they entail . " 
