33 pages • 1 hour read
Agatha ChristieA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles is largely unconcerned with physical appearance. Besides Arthur Hastings’s preoccupation with young women with auburn hair, just two characters’ physical aspects are described with any amount of careful attention. In Alfred Inglethorp, we find a highly mannered physical presence which serves a distinct plot function: His heavy glasses, funny hat, and black beard mark him as an outsider and make him distinctive enough for someone to embody via diversionary costume.
Poirot’s appearance is similarly distinctive, described with delicacy and exhaustive precision. He strives towards outwardly perfection in ways that seem reflective of his wartime experiences: “The neatness of his attire was almost incredible. I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound” (16). Poirot’s deep discomfort with dirt and disorder borders on the pathological, as we often see Poirot rearrange objects to calm himself during times of stress. The investigator’s neurotic tendencies clearly cause him pain—so much so that we begin to suspect that he solves crime primarily to create order in a chaotic world.
In cozy mystery fiction, murders are puzzles to be solved, or games to be played through. Murderers plan with the neat forethought one would put into wiring a complex explosive device. When the crimes happen, they take place in remote, isolated beautiful great houses or mansions in the country, where the outside world and its distractions are always at a minimum. Such a location ensures that several people will be staying over, and that each will have at least a remotely intimate association with one another. That way, the party of gathered guests can then stop their boring daily lives and become amateur sleuths or shifty-eyed suspects. In Styles Court, we have the perfect example of such a place: old enough for a variety of rooms and corridors leading to one another in confusing ways; doors that can be locked or bolted from either side to give the investigators many often conflicting clues to work through.
There are many false leads which Poirot must clear away before he can get to the bottom of the crime. There is the problem of Mary Cavendish, who, in her jealousy, peppers the crime scene with clues. The Cavendish brothers innocently mislead Poirot while attempting to protect the women in their lives. Cynthia works in a dispensary filled with poisons and appears knowledgeable in their use. Emily Inglethorp’s tendency to alter her will at the drop of a hat creates multiple murder motives, seriously impeding the assassination itself and its investigation. And of course, there is the crafty Alfred Inglethorp and his mistress Evelyn Howard, who are whirlwinds of subtle misdirection. Even Arthur misleads the reader, jumping to one false conclusion after another in his clumsy attempt to assist Poirot.
The red herring (or plot-driven misdirection away from central clues towards misleading clues) is a staple of detective fiction, and no such work of fiction is satisfying without them. Christie’s novel contains a dozen or more. The fun and fascination of watching Poirot do his work is in watching him clear away the red herrings to get at the truth of Emily’s murder.
By Agatha Christie
British Literature
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Class
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Class
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Guilt
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Horror, Thrillers, & Suspense
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Immigrants & Refugees
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Marriage
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Mystery & Crime
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Psychology
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YA Horror, Thrillers, & Suspense
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YA Mystery & Crime
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