Linda Marshall: The Worst Possible Stepmother

To Linda Marshall, Arlena was the worst possible stepmother anyone could have. Out loud, she didn’t say or do anything horrible to Linda directly but it was her effect on people that irked Linda, so when a book on witchcraft gave instructions on how to kill Arlena, Linda decided to give it a try. Following the book word for word, she went into town and bought a parcel full of candles. On her way back, she met Christine Redfern and claimed she had been bathing then they arranged to meet later at Gull Cove so Christine could sketch and she could sunbathe. Upon her arrival back in her room, she hurriedly continued her casting her ‘spell’ by first, melting the newly purchased candles and shaping them into her stepmother Arlena, then piercing the …show more content…
Furthermore, Arlena’s presence made her father become reserved and closed off. Having to deal with this for four whole years, Linda reached her breaking point and decided to try something new, even if it seemed silly and childish. By stabbing the figure of Arlena, Linda found an outlet for her hatred so she could move on without harming the real Arlena, however Arlena’s real life death sent her into a panic, happening just hours after she cast her ‘spell’. Still a naive child, she blamed herself and consequently became nervous and jumpy; not wanting to spend her life in jail, she lied to the detectives which ultimately, proved to be a bad decision. When Rosamund, the only other adult she liked apart from her father, told her to forget what happened, it scared her so she left to think. And Poirot’s confrontation made her feel even worse. So she hid in her room but her guilt only festered and before Poirot could unveil the true killers, she had taken six sleeping pills. The guilt overwhelmed her and seeing as how she was only a teenager, she thought the only way to rid herself of the feeling without persecution was to attempt