SO THIS IS MY JAM YO
I've read stacks of other Agatha Christie's but this one is still my favourite for a variety of reasons. Just going to spoiler tag everything just in case!
In terms of the order of death I think that Marsden makes sense being early because he didn't actually intend to kill anybody but Mrs R, being an accomplice at best, should probably have gone before him. On the other hand its a bit more dramatic from a narrative perspective to have the young, fit man be the first to die, and to die quite dramatically, as opposed to the boring middle-aged woman that sort-of dies in her sleep. So maybe that's just a storytelling device? Or maybe Wargrave was just banking on being able to off her in the kerfuffle after Marsden's death?
The other option, and I've been thinking a lot about this, is that Wargrave is punishing people who've killed but also people who have disrupted the right order of things. So going to the other end of the ten Vera has killed one person as opposed to Lombard killing twenty, but because hers was a child and she's a woman its inherently a worst thing in the eyes of Wargrave and disrupts the natural order of things: women being protectors of children, etc, etc. So I was thinking maybe Mrs R is worse than Marsden because, as a servant and aboo hiss social inferior, its inherently wrong of her to have had any part in offing her mistress?
Which still doesn't explain why Miss Brent telling her serving wench to fuck off out her house constitutes her killing the girl but w/e. I embrace the hypocrites, leave me be.
As for Vera's hanging at the end I think it's just supposed to be her acknowledgement that she escaped the noose once and this time there is no escape? She's literally the only one left with all the bodies so chances are when the authorities arrive homegirl is going to jail at best but, more likely, would be hanged anyway so might as well?
fabulous set by Lady <3
I've read stacks of other Agatha Christie's but this one is still my favourite for a variety of reasons. Just going to spoiler tag everything just in case!
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- I love the lack of detective. It adds such an element of discontent and urgency to proceedings because there's no avuncular presence to swoop in and make everything safe again by unmasking the killer. If you liked this you should try Ordeal by Innocence for a similar sort of set up.
- The nature of guilt and past transgressions is a big thing in Christie but ATTWN is the one that sort of takes it to its logical conclusion of what somebody would do with that if they were a judge and accustomed to punishing people.
- It's essentially a middle-class English version of a slasher film where all the teenagers are being bumped off which I find hilarious. "Oh no, what's that noise, we should split up and investigate...oh fuck he's dead."
In terms of the order of death I think that Marsden makes sense being early because he didn't actually intend to kill anybody but Mrs R, being an accomplice at best, should probably have gone before him. On the other hand its a bit more dramatic from a narrative perspective to have the young, fit man be the first to die, and to die quite dramatically, as opposed to the boring middle-aged woman that sort-of dies in her sleep. So maybe that's just a storytelling device? Or maybe Wargrave was just banking on being able to off her in the kerfuffle after Marsden's death?
The other option, and I've been thinking a lot about this, is that Wargrave is punishing people who've killed but also people who have disrupted the right order of things. So going to the other end of the ten Vera has killed one person as opposed to Lombard killing twenty, but because hers was a child and she's a woman its inherently a worst thing in the eyes of Wargrave and disrupts the natural order of things: women being protectors of children, etc, etc. So I was thinking maybe Mrs R is worse than Marsden because, as a servant and a
Which still doesn't explain why Miss Brent telling her serving wench to fuck off out her house constitutes her killing the girl but w/e. I embrace the hypocrites, leave me be.
As for Vera's hanging at the end I think it's just supposed to be her acknowledgement that she escaped the noose once and this time there is no escape? She's literally the only one left with all the bodies so chances are when the authorities arrive homegirl is going to jail at best but, more likely, would be hanged anyway so might as well?
fabulous set by Lady <3