51 because Inspector Slack is thought to be a failure by his Colonel.
At the end of the novel, all of the credit for solving the crime was reflected upon Inspector Slack, whose zeal and intelligence had resulted in the criminals being brought to justice (281). Miss Marple, whether purposely or indirectly saves Slack’s reputation. Although, the fact that nothing was said about Miss Marple may just point to the misogyny of the Victorian period in England.
Nonetheless, when the two have to work together again in
The Body in the Library, the Colonel and Slack respect her abilities to solve crime, even if it does not come off as such at first. In fact, other inspectors in that novel refer
to her as an expert and say, shes very sharp…Nothing much gets past her
(624). According to Robert Barnard, Marple has decent relationships with police figures she encounters, describing them as her entourage that consists mainly of policemen and Chief Constables – professionals whom Miss Marple
has acquired over the years, mere names whose function in the story is to express admiration and affection, nothing more (107). As a female detective, having what society would deem powerful men ready to sing her praises, Miss Marple has truly established herself as a detective. However, none of these men are in the least bit threatened by Miss Marple and there are notable amounts of male detectives
in her novels to aide her, whereas Poirot is sometimes the only police figure in his novels.
Share with your friends: