The British Economist / Mitchell Character Analysis

Karkov tells Robert Jordan about a British economist who spent time in Spain. Jordan has read the economist’s writing and respects him, but he feels that the economist doesn’t understand Spain, and he is offended when the economist interrupts him in the middle of an attack at Carabanchel. Karkov regards him as a “winter fool,” an “impressive man” who nonetheless acts in a misguided way. He is potentially a Soviet spy, and he is profiting from the war by organizing financial transactions outside of Spain for the government.