Guardians of the Truth: The Elderly in Agatha Christie’s Detective Fiction
Guardians of the Truth: The Elderly in Agatha Christie’s Detective Fiction

Summary/Abstract: In detective fiction written by Agatha Christie, the elderly characters are portrayed as being closely tied to the truth and consequently hold a crucial position in the narrative. As depicted in works centred on Miss Marple, old age represents a stage where one reaches the ability to understand human nature. The experience of the past enables the characters to recognize recurring patterns in human behaviour and use them in the search for the truth. Knowledge of this kind is subsequently elevated above rationality and deduction in the investigation process. The analysis conducted in the paper thus suggests that the elderly are the guardians and protectors of the truth that was purposefully hidden, twisted, or long forgotten, which is the case in Christie’s non-Marple works such as Elephants Can Remember (1971). Despite their inconspicuousness, the elderly become the decisive piece needed to solve the puzzle. It is the ultimate realization of old age that although the world keeps changing, human nature remains the same.

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