The Mysterious Affair at Styles Essay Questions

What are some of the effects of the novel being set in the midst of WWI? Give at least three examples.

Hastings returns to England a veteran of WWI, with injuries from the war. He also notes that Poirot has gained a limp since he last saw him, and since Poirot is a refugee of the war from Belgium, one easy conclusion is that he sustained an injury from some battle in his home country. The war is also a regular topic of conversation at Styles Court, which is described by Emily Inglethorp as a "war household" (11). The war affects how people eat and expend resources; it causes people to ration food, gas, paper, and stamps. One of the first things John mentions when he picks up Hastings from the station is how little gas is in his tank. The war also affects the way Hastings views the idyllic landscape of Styles St. Mary; he romanticizes its tranquil meadows, because he has seen the carnage of war not so far from the tea and tennis courts of the landed gentry of Essex.

How does Christie's portrayal of Dorcas reinforce the hegemonic nostalgia of "Merrie Olde England"? How does the novel portray class in Styles St. Mary?

Dorcas is described, and adored, by Hastings in terms of her loyalty to Emily Inglethorp and the Cavendish brothers. To Dorcas, they can do no wrong; even when the family whom she serves is pitted against each other, Dorcas sees them all as being in the right, or at the very worst, worthy of forgiveness. Hastings celebrates Dorcas as a "good old-fashioned servant" (136) because she reinforces the idea that hierarchy is a positive thing—something for which to be nostalgic. Christie also writes Dorcas as xenophobic, naturally suspicious of foreigners, meaning anyone who is not from England. Dorcas's uncritical portrayal suggests a latent conservatism about the novel with regard to class. The other portrayals of working-class people and farmers, few though they are, at Raikes farm, also lean heavily into stereotype. Hastings encounters a man by Raikes farm whom he describes as "an aged rustic, who leered at me cunningly" (94). There is an inherent mistrust of poor people who are not servile to the wealthy people around them.

What does Poirot mean when he says that most serious of all things is "a woman's happiness"? How does he supposedly protect "a woman's happiness"?

In the end, we learn that Poirot is suggesting that he needs to allow John to stay in jail so that the adversity of the situation drives Mary back into his arms. When Poirot refers to a woman's happiness, he is referring to Mary's happiness. He sees that John and Mary's relationship is in shambles after they are both exposed as carrying on affairs with Mrs. Raikes and Dr. Bauerstein, respectively. Though, unlike Hastings and John, Poirot does not believe that Mary ever loved Bauerstein; he believes that she acts out of jealousy, because she can't stand the thought of John being with another woman. Poirot believes that if John is in jail for several months—which Poirot could avoid by intervening and presenting his theories to Scotland Yard—both John and Mary will gain a renewed appreciation of each other and their marriage.

Inglethorp is far from the only plausible suspect in the murder of Emily Inglethorp. Give at least three examples of other possible culprits, and explain how they could have been plausibly suspected of the crime.

Poirot suspects Cynthia because of her knowledge of poisons and her easy access to Emily's medicines. Cynthia is the one who prepared Emily's bromide powders in the first place, and the preparation was clearly unauthorized based on the lack of documentation. Lawrence Cavendish is a suspect because his fingerprints are found on a bottle of strychnine in the hospital dispensary. Mary Cavendish is a suspect because she literally spiked Emily's drink on the same night that Emily was fatally poisoned, but her motive was to knock Emily out, not to kill her. John has motive—his financial situation is not good, and the only thing keeping him from rectifying it is Emily's fortune, which she is liable to deny him after she finds out about his affair with Mrs. Raikes.

A red herring is a false clue, or a clue that seems to clearly point to a conclusion that is later revealed to be false. Give an example of a red herring in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

The whole situation with the strychnine purchased from the chemist's and the false signature of Alfred Inglethorp on the poisons sign-out sheet is an example of an intentionally misleading clue. Of course, the first logical hypothesis is that the killer impersonated Alfred Inglethorp to obtain the strychnine to poison the victim, but the strychnine that was purchased wasn't even used to kill Emily. Another example of a red herring is the piece of blotting paper Poirot and Hastings find, in Emily's hand, that says "I am possessed" (61). On the surface, it looks like Mrs. Inglethorp was disturbed and might have thought she was possessed by some evil spirit, but later Poirot explains that she was clearly just trying to figure out how to spell the word possessed.