I’ve been reading some Agatha Christie of late, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I like the stories about Miss Marple better than the stories of Poirot. Please don’t be mad and heckle me!! I know I deviate from the norm, but I just can’t help it- Miss Marple really is the best sleuth out there.

What I love about Marple can be summed up best by what Sir Henry says in the short story Death by Drowning:

“You beat us all,” said Sir Henry warmly. “You displayed an absolute genius for getting to the truth. And you always instanced, I remember, some village parallel which had supplied you with the clue.”

Miss Marple takes the characters from her compact little village, and extrapolates their personalities and their quirks to come to conclusions and solutions. She is able to see the similarities in things others just can’t. She is a visionary. And, as I get a little big for my britches, I like to think that I am somewhat like her, but with slightly better fashion sense. After all, we both enjoy crosswords and jigsaws…

I love when I am able to connect the seemingly unconnectable dots…when I take one from column A, two from column C and one from column E and I make an educated guess. But perhaps it’s not really a guess: it’s more of coming to a conclusion based on evidence, intuition, logic and common sense. Just like Jane…

Miss Marple is underestimated because she is old and she is a woman. That’s what happened back in the middish 20th century. Alas, 100 years later we are still underestimating women who are older. So I guess I appreciate a female character who is true to herself and manages to figure things out that others couldn’t, who is just pushy enough to get her point across. Never underestimate a woman… no matter what age…

My new motto is simply going to be:

What would Miss Marple do?

For now though, I just have to figure out how to morph Miss Marple and Nora Charles into one character…I guess I have two fictional heroines now…

51 thoughts on “Parallels”

  2. I so agree with you! Nobody does it better than Ms Marple! She is brilliant at deductive reasoning. And she goes under the radar because people underestimate her talent because of her age. But the truth is, a woman over 60 is ALWAYS the smartest person in the room!

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  3. Thanks for reminding me of this character. LA. I, too, have tended towards the Poirot side of Agatha’s writings! Perhaps it’s time for a re-direct – your simple points are well taken on the age-gender side of things. Never thought that was an issue for me personally, but maybe subliminally????
    🙂

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  4. I prefer Miss Marple as well. No one ever thinks young children and mature women could possibly figure things out. Bravo to Agatha Christie for creating a character that defied convention and always got it right.

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  7. I’ve never been a Poirot fan. He’s both too fussy and way too pleased with himself. Whereas Jane is neither. I love the fact that she’s always underestimated, and that people probably do & say all kinds of stuff to or in front of her ‘cos she’s perceived as safe & cozy. A great role model indeed.

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  9. I’m not about to suggest that you resemble Miss Marple in any fashion, excepting for being smart and life affirming. I enjoy both of Dame Agatha’s characters, but root for Marple.

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  11. Other than his love of hot chocolate, Poirot, while a wonderful character, takes second place in my book to Miss Marple. She would want no accolades, but she is a great sleuth!

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  14. I’ve read that Dame Agatha intensely disliked Hercule Poirot, but felt she had to keep “churning out” Poirot books because he was so popular—and her agent and editors insisted. She told friends that she couldn’t wait to kill off the “detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep,” which she finally did in in 1945 in a story called “Curtain.” It wasn’t published until 1975, shortly before her death. Miss Marple is infinitely better!

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    1. I read that, too, and I understand that, but I still like the egocentric little fellow, who, for his time, was quite progressive.

      At the same time I completely agree with the sentiment LA highlights: Miss Marple was constantly and consistently underestimated and talked down to. There was one particular story that comes to mind, where she and a friend go on a train and witness a murder in a passing train. Of course the authorities dismiss/completely ignore their testimony and they have to take matters into their own hands. Guess what? It was a murder…

      GREAT motto!

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  18. I often wonder why older women are underestimated when they are generally more reliable, experienced, knowledgeable and wise. I often hear women in my age category say they feel invisible. I think it’s because society places more value on youth and beauty. Of course the media perpetuates this. Sad.
    I love ALL the Miss Marples. ☺️

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    1. I’ve been thinking about the aging thing and expect a blog about it this week. I told another blog friend that it’s up to us to change the perception

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