Studia Humanitatis (Jul 2024)
“Forms” of folly in “Dead Man’s Folly” by Agatha Christie
Abstract
The novel “Dead Man’s Folly” by Agatha Christie takes us far beyond the crime genre to philosophical questions. Its main character is stupidity which takes on different guises. It can be seen, heard, performed, all people are susceptible to it, regardless of social status, gender or occupation. Mrs. Folliat, who lives in the locality of Nassecombe, becomes a kind of personification of stupidity and her example shows the vanity and emptiness of the whole world. From the height of her years, Christie returns to the “follies” of her youth, analyses the causes and consequences of the collapse of family life which she herself experienced. There is clearly a motive for replacing the “real” wife with an “imaginary” one (mistress) in the novel. Christie concludes that both parties are at fault in a divorce, both the husband and the wife. However, as we were able to establish, the writer criticises female representatives most of all, which is similar to internal misogyny. She is also no stranger to self-criticism, which sometimes reaches the point of self-deprecation. Demonstrating a sceptical attitude towards science and education the novelist doubts that folly can somehow be overcome because this property is inherent in human nature.
