By Evelyn Herzog

The range of Wolfe's reasons for taking on a case is nearly as broad as his girth. Honor, affection, appetite and envy are only some of the possible motives that propel him into action and sometimes out of his house.

Wolfe himself would be among the last to admit this. He avers that he adopted the profession of detective because of his desire to earn enough to live in "acceptable circumstances." Despite this claim and Archie's frequent statements that only the lure of the lucre can get Wolfe to work, actually less than half of Wolfe's recorded cases are undertaken on behalf of a regular paying client.

Wolfe's affectations and affections, even more than his avarice, can engage his interest in a case and command his services. There have been many admirable causes, and some ludicrous ones, which have induced Wolfe to bring his massive intellect to bear on cases which he would have shunned for mere money.

Ironically, the cases which Wolfe takes up "for love" typically require much more adroitness than ordinary business because in them Wolfe's aims are generally more complicated than simply providing a solution. He must, for example, solve the case while simultaneously keeping himself or Archie out of jail, protecting himself and his associates from a killer's venge-ance, keeping himself out of the witness box in a crowded courtroom, shielding from public scrutiny any sottise he or his clients have committed, arranging for adequate punishment of a killer despite inadequate legal evidence, or blacking the eyes of the police, district attorney or F.B.I.

Wolfe has acknowledged strong attachments for only a few people, and is not given to talking about his feelings. Actions, however, speak louder than words. Wolfe's unprecedented efforts in [BLCK] are directed toward avenging the deaths of Marko Vukcic, his oldest friend, and of Caria Lovchen on whose behalf he had earlier taken on the case in [OVER]. On several occasions, most memorably in [corn] and [notq], Wolfe commits himself on Archie's behalf when the latter becomes a murder suspect through bad luck, a killer's plot or even his own conniving. At other times Wolfe joins Archie in investigations rather than do without his services [BASE], [meth], [DUDE].

Honor, perhaps even more than personal affection, is a force with a powerful effect upon Wolfe. He is extremely sensitive to claims upon his services by people who share his passions or his work. His willingness to oblige orchid-growers and chefs, particularly his own Fritz Brenner and the staff of Rusterman's, leads to his involvement in [omit], [pois], [july], [this], and [RBOX].

To save a young gardener from a murder charge, Wolfe takes on the [door] case. He starts the [FERD] investigation to oblige Fred Durkin, one of his operatives, and the [DOXY] case to extricate another, Orrie Gather, from an accusation of murder. To requite a man who once provided him with valuable evidence, Wolfe becomes involved in the [RGHT] investigation. His services for Lily Rowan in [rode] may be prompted by Wolfe's sense of obligation as a guest or by the memory of services rendered to him many years before in an unusual and tricky situation.