Ruth Rendell is celebrated as one of the best contemporary British crime novelist, sharing the nickname “Queen of Crime” with another New Age crime writer, P.D James. Rendell wrote captivating psychological mysteries that pushed the boundaries of the traditional mystery genre. Rendell is known primarily as a crime novelist with protagonists who are often deeply disturbed as a result of a childhood trauma. Although she is most well known as a novelist, her short fictions are also highly fascinating. “Thornapple” for example illustrates her abilities at psychoanalysis as she details the thought processes of a highly intelligent young man who enjoys experimenting with poisons.
Rendell’s short story “Thornapple”, is a tantalizing tale narrated …show more content…
The Fyfields, however, are a typical nuclear family that care for and support each other, something which Rendell did not have. Dysfunctional families are a reoccurring theme in Rendell’s stories, which is why it is not much of a surprise to know that Rendell’s own family was dysfunctional in its own way. As an only child, Ruth was exposed to her parent’s unhappiness. Her parents would fight constantly and threaten each other until eventually the unhappiness led to divorce. When asked what it was like to live with her parents during that time Rendell said, “It was horrible.” Her parents divorce proved to be extremely stressful for Rendell causing her to develop certain phobias. Her traumatic experience would also later be reflected in her writing with dysfunctional families playing an important role in the development of her characters. Rendell’s experience with her family sparked her interest in psychoanalysis, a tool in which she would also use in her …show more content…
Even James Fyfield, though mature for his age still overlooked the fact that Mirabel was capable of murdering Aunt Julie. In fact, James himself knew that he was capable of killing someone with his poison though that thought never really crossed his mind because he had no intention to do so. Rendell’s elaborate display of James’ thought process is how readers know that James would never do anything to harm
Rendell’s short story “Thornapple”, is a tantalizing tale narrated …show more content…
The Fyfields, however, are a typical nuclear family that care for and support each other, something which Rendell did not have. Dysfunctional families are a reoccurring theme in Rendell’s stories, which is why it is not much of a surprise to know that Rendell’s own family was dysfunctional in its own way. As an only child, Ruth was exposed to her parent’s unhappiness. Her parents would fight constantly and threaten each other until eventually the unhappiness led to divorce. When asked what it was like to live with her parents during that time Rendell said, “It was horrible.” Her parents divorce proved to be extremely stressful for Rendell causing her to develop certain phobias. Her traumatic experience would also later be reflected in her writing with dysfunctional families playing an important role in the development of her characters. Rendell’s experience with her family sparked her interest in psychoanalysis, a tool in which she would also use in her …show more content…
Even James Fyfield, though mature for his age still overlooked the fact that Mirabel was capable of murdering Aunt Julie. In fact, James himself knew that he was capable of killing someone with his poison though that thought never really crossed his mind because he had no intention to do so. Rendell’s elaborate display of James’ thought process is how readers know that James would never do anything to harm