Novels' Interpretation
*Spoiler Alert!!
Murderers & Motives
1) The Mysterious Affair at Styles::::
Murderer: Alfred Inglethorp
Motive: Money
Alfred is in financial distress, but he can inherit a large amount of wealth from his wife, Emily Inglethorpe. However, after a quarrel, Emily changed her will, which threatens Alfred. If he kills Emily and burns the new will, he can immediately inherit based on the old one.
2) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd::::
Murderer: James Sheppard
Motive: Keep secret
Dr. Sheppard killed Roger Ackroyd to prevent him from exposing his blackmail scheme since he is the reason why Mrs. Ferrars committed suicide.
3) Murder on the Orient Express::::
Murderers: All 12 Passengers
Motive: Revenge
The murder victim kidnapped and murdered a young girl named Daisy Armstrong several years prior. This incident led to the downfall of the whole family. The passengers all have personal connections to the Armstrongs, therefore, they come together to avenge.
4) The ABC Murders::::
Murderer: Franklin Clarke
Motive: Money
Franklin is an adopted child of the Clarke family. He wants to be one to inherit Lady Clarke's wealth. Considering there might be a new child born in the family who will take over this role, he decided to murder.
5) Cards on the Table::::
Murderer: Geoffrey Roberts
Motive: Keep secret
Dr. Roberts murdered Mr. and Mrs. Craddock. He thought he kept the secret well, but Mr. Shaitana's invitation made him scared, he then committed the murder to keep him from announcing it.
6) Death on the Nile::::
Murderers: Simon Doyle & Jacqueline De Bellefort
Motive: Money
Simon is engaged to Linnet Ridgeway, a wealthy heiress. Jacqueline is Linnet's former best friend, who is Simon's ex-boyfriend. On the surface, it seems like Simon broke up with Jacqueline and chose Linnet because she is rich, but in reality, the two conspire to murder Linnet in order to gain access to her wealth.
7) And Then There Were None::::
Murderer: Lawrence Wargrave
Motive: "Justice"
Justice Wargrave is a judge who is conflicted, ruthless, but insists on his sense of justice. In the name of justice, he murdered nine other guilty people on the island.
8) Five Little Pigs::::
Murderer: Elsa Greer
Motive: Revenge
Amyas Crale promised Elsa that he will divorce Caroline Crale and marry her, but she found out that he was lying. Therefore, she murdered Amyas and let Caroline take the blame for revenge.
9) Curtain::::
Murderer: Hercule Poirot
Motive: Justice & Protection
In order to catch the killer and bring him to justice before he can kill again, Poirot devises a plan to draw out the killer and ensure that justice is served by committing the murder.
(Photos are screenshotted from the original David Suchett's Poirot series and And Then There Were None 2015)
Motive: Money
The Mysterious Affair at Styles; The A.B.C. Murders; Death on the Nile
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is narrated from Arthur Hasting's first-person point of view. The murderer Alfred is a harsh and overbearing man who was disliked by everyone around the Styles Court. Hastings' description says: "His watchful and attentive manner never varied. From the very first I took a firm and rooted dislike to him" (5). His motive for murdering his wife is to inherit all her fortune. Before they are married, Alfred already developed a relationship with Evelyn Howard. They planned to cheat on her so that they can become clothed and fed.
The A.B.C. Murders also revolve around the motive for money. However, this time, Poirot faced the serial killer Franklin who murdered two other innocents just to keep people from suspecting him. Additionally, he made Alexander Bonaparte Cust, a man who is suffering from mental illness, his scapegoat. The purpose of all these crimes is only to kill Carmichael Clarke so that he cannot marry Thora Grey and have a child together because he wants to inherit the money.
These two novels above indicate the most common human desire for money. In fact, among the 66 detective fiction novels Christie wrote, half of them are financially gain rooted murders. In Death on the Nile, Mrs. Allerton asked Poirot the question: "What are the most usual motives?" Poirot answered: “Most frequent—money. That is to say, gain in its various ramifications" (37). In this novel, Simon and Jacqueline's alibi is almost perfect through cooperation. Their motive to kill Linnet is similar to Alfred and Evelyn's, longing for unearned glory and wealth for the future. However, they also killed Louise Bourget and Salome Otterbourne because they saw the process of the previous murder unintentionally, which relates to the other motive—secret keeping.
Motive: Keep Secret
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; Cards on the Table
In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Dr. Sheppard discovers that Mrs. Ferrars poisoned her abusive husband. Therefore, he sees an opportunity to gain financial benefits and social status by using this information to blackmail her. This resulted in Mrs. Ferrars' suicide. Through a letter containing the truth, Roger began to suspect him, and to keep things from falling apart, Dr. Shepherd killed him. Nawal Abbas and Safaa Merzah analyze him as “not a cold-blooded psychopathic person who likes to harm or slaughter people for his pleasure. Instead, he is an ordinary man who grew weak at some point in his life" (338). Like the incidents in The A.B.C. Murders and Death on the Nile, when one crime was committed, more and more lies will come consecutively behind it, adding more to the size of the mistake.
This theory can also be found in other Christie's novels. For example: at the dinner conversation in Cards on the Table, Mr. Shaitana brings up that a doctor has great opportunities to poison their patients. This clearly hints to Dr. Roberts that he knew the truth about Mr. and Mrs. Craddock's deaths. Dr. Roberts joked away but he was stressed. His decision to commit murder is made in the heat of the moment, without careful planning or consideration of the consequences, which tells about his impulsive manner. His intelligence detected that Mrs. Lorrimer could be set up as his scapegoat, and also he used his skills to keep her quiet (killed).
Motive: Revenge
Five Little Pigs; Murder on the Orient Express
In Five Little Pigs, the narrative highlights are in the emotional relationships between the characters. The plot is similar to Death on the Nile, Elsa stepped between Amyas and Caroline because Amyas always needs attractive models to bring inspiration for painting. In order to finish the current painting perfectly, Amyas lied to her and Caroline compromised. Amyas' talk with Carline is overheard by Elsa; she immediately decided to poison him as revenge for the deception. The righteousness of Elsa's action is doubtful because she is the one who stepped into the Crale family and then destroyed it for the sense of betrayal.
This is parallel to after Linnet stepping in between Simon and Jacqueline, she feels fearful towards Jacqueline. Christie often uses the theme of love to combine the motives of the murders, but she also writes revenge motives that go towards the moral layer.
Murder on the Orient Express narrates twelve vigilantes' revenge against one man. Christie portrays the theme of revenge as a complex issue. While the murderers' actions are ultimately condemned as wrong, the novel also raises questions about the limitations of the justice system and the role of personal morality and justice. The fact that Poirot made the decision to not speak about the truth adds an emotional layer to detective fiction and to detective Poirot. Christie has been questioning the readers about "justice" also outside of her Poirot series.
“Justice" in And Then There Were None
Wargrave expresses his justice in an unconventional way. He called ten people, who have all been involved in crimes that went unpunished, to a remote island and systematically kills them one by one, creating a sense of fear among the remaining guests. He did once sentence a man, Edward Seton, to death; he was legally innocent, but the truth is that the man was extremely guilty but could not be bound by the law. Wargrave believes people who have escaped justice due to legal loopholes should be punished. He sees himself as an instrument of justice and he metes out punishment to those he deems deserving, even though his actions are illegal and morally questionable. One skill Christie uses is: "In terms of morality, [she] forces the reader to go beyond ‘good guy, bad guy’ thinking and develop an understanding of how morals do affect crime in a broader context” (Pruitt 5). Ten individuals each have their own secrets, and as the story unfolds, the characters begin to understand that their past actions have consequences. Wargrave's belief is controversial, it is in between good and evil, also beyond the principle of law.
“Justice" in Curtain
Poirot is confronted with the idea that the pursuit of justice may require unconventional or morally ambiguous actions. The serial murderer that Poirot is chasing after in this novel carefully covered his tracks by eliminating the physical evidence, creating false alibis, and using psychological manipulation techniques to deceive everyone. Poirot's close relationship with Hastings, whom he has worked with in many cases over the years, is depicted as a significant factor in his decision to commit the murder. He realized that Hastings is the murderer's next target. Poirot's protective instincts towards his friend, as well as his sense of duty to ensure that justice is served, drive his impulsive act. After considering his deteriorating health and reflecting on his life and career, Poirot is willing to make his last effort, including taking action that challenges his usual principles, to protect his friend and ensure that the guilty is held accountable for his actions. In the end, Poirot knows that he will soon die of illness, however, there is a detail that rather than a natural death, he committed "suicide." Ina Hark analyzes: "To cover all moral bases, [he] put his heart medication out of reach so that God can render justice upon him for violating his lifelong 'disapproval' of murder" (114).
