Agatha Christie Gender Roles

Superior Essays
Agatha Christie 's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Patricia Cornwell’s Postmortem contain interesting representations of women. The male characters in both texts have very poor views on women. The problem with the male character’s views is that the qualities they dislike in the women they also possess. The men in Christie text and the men in the Cornwell text all have problems containing their emotions. The texts as a whole highlight how the women are just as, if not more, capable than the males in the text. The texts as a whole have a different option of the in female characters than the male characters in their texts. The texts have a positive representation of women while the male characters in the text patronize and hinder the women. The …show more content…
When Dr. Sheppard is about to speak privately with Ackroyd, Ackroyd lies to keep the real reason behind Dr. Sheppard’s visit a mystery to Parker, “No, don 't bother with those damn tablets. I only said that for Parker. Servants are so curious” (Christie 37). While Parker’s curiosity comes as an annoyance it is not treated as bad as Caroline’s curiosity. His curiosity, Ackroyd believes, is due to the fact that he is a servant. Servants are treated in a more positive manner than the females in the text. There are many moments in the text that Parker displays his curiosity. Dr. Sheppard does get annoyed with Parker for this but not to the same extent as his annoyance with Caroline. Therefore, the male characters have a negative view of women which is hypocritical because Parker possesses the same qualities Caroline with only a fraction of the same distaste received by Dr. …show more content…
Ferras was competent enough to commit murder but was hindered by Dr. Sheppard. In Christie’s texts her villains do no always have to be male, “In Christie’s representation the women are created as equally bad as the male villains, neither more nor less wicked” (Makinen 156). It did not matter that one murderer in this text was a woman.The text had a positive representation of women which is why, out of equality, Mrs. Ferras was capable of killing her husband. She had reason and means to commit murder and was not hindered by her sex of committing such a crime. Therefore, the text has a positive representation of women because Mrs. Ferras was just as capable as Dr. Sheppard of committing

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