43 people. If her investigative identity is even the least bit different from how she normally acts, she would never be able to have the conversations she does. In theory, Miss Marple has to become an actress in order to elicit information out of people. One example of this comes from
A Caribbean Mystery where Miss Marple has to play into her gender stereotypes and insert herself into the lives of complete strangers. It is said that She had one weapon and one weapon only, and that was conversation. Old ladies were given to a good deal of rambling conversation. People were bored by this, but certainly did not suspect them of ulterior motives (
A Caribbean Mystery 172).
While it can be debated as to whether or not this is Miss Marple’s only weapon, solving this mystery will take the most masterful acting performance.
In one scene, right after the murder has occurred and she decides she is going to investigate, she even says to herself, What a fool I sound (176). She knows how ridiculous she has to act to come off as the old spinster. Especially in
A Caribbean Mystery, she fulfills this role exceedingly well.
It depicts, Miss Marple, intent on her knitting – or so it seemed – stretch out afoot, then hastily she apologized and As Miss Marple resettled herself, she went on talking in a childish and garrulous manner (176). Again, all of her actions are completely expected from a woman of her age. No one would think twice about a womanlike Miss Marple, sitting by herself knitting. In
The Body in the Library, gossiping with the people in her town gives Miss Marple an insight that the police do not have. Upon arriving at the scene of
the crime at Gossington Hall, the inspectors assigned to the case have no idea whereto start. Miss Marple, however, arrives with intel from a neighbor about a young man in the village, Basil Blake. He had just had a party and Marple recounts of it, Shouting and singing – the most terrible noise – everyone very drunk,
I’m afraid – and the mess and the broken glass next morning simply unbelievable – so old Mrs.
44 Berry told me – and a young woman asleep in the bath with practically nothing on (566). While Basil Blake does
not end up being the culprit, the initial investigation of him as the prime suspect leads Miss Marple to uncover that the real criminals intended to frame Blake for at least one of the murders. Miss Marple nearly always has a place to start when she begins investigating a murder because of the gossip she hears from others.
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