Emily Brent (possible spoilers)
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ccoutroulos — 16 years ago(August 05, 2009 02:43 PM)
Indirectly, maybe, but not directly. She did not kill them with her own hand. I think she was perfectly sincere when she said that Beatrice (or her nephew) "compounded [her/his] many sins" by taking her/his own life. She was pretty loathsome, I'll grant. (I already said so.) I think the real Lombard and the book's Vera are way up there too. But the judge (expecially the movie's judge) is the worst in my book.
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marcus_stokes2000 — 16 years ago(August 06, 2009 12:37 PM)
She basically set the stage. The general never actually killed his wife's lover either, but still he sent him off to war, where there were high probabilities he would die.
Emily basically knowingly closed the door in the face of a desperate woman or an equally desperate young boy, KNOWINGLY, all because of her rigid 'beliefs'.
She was something akin to a sociopath, and basically the one I'd have murdered myself if I had the choice. I basically think she's the worse (but she has some runner-ups) because of her twisted idea of 'Faith'.
Doug Roberts: What do they call it when you kill people?
The Towering Inferno -
ccoutroulos — 16 years ago(August 07, 2009 03:08 PM)
The general knowingly sent his rival into a situation that was DIRECTLY life-threatening. This was not the case with that in which Emily placed her nephew/servant. He/she could have lived, as many in his/her situation did. By the way, in the book's version, the girl's parents also rejected her and were therefore just as guilty as Emily.
I don't know that Emily was "akin to a sociopath." A sociopath is amoral. Emily's morals may have been twisted, but she had them. In a way, she was herself the victim of her upbringing.
However, perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about the fate of a fictional character. (I know she has her real-life counterpartsand worseand I do loathe them.) -
marcus_stokes2000 — 16 years ago(August 08, 2009 12:16 PM)
I thought that both in the book and the movie it was clear that Emily's victims looked up at her as their last hope - that is made clear in the book - and she knowingly turned them down, and what do the truly desperate do? She realizes this in the book, when she writes the name of who she thinks is the killer in her book. 'Your guilt will reveal you', indeed.
She came off as the most loathsome character in the books and movie to me. Because it's like she has no soul.
Doug Roberts: What do they call it when you kill people?
The Towering Inferno -
potsi-1 — 16 years ago(January 17, 2010 09:36 PM)
I remember Miss Brent was my favourite character tooI think Armstrong though was still in danger to others since there were hints of him drinking if I remember correctly, and it was his choice to opperate while being drunk. What I find interesting is that from all the deaths (apart from the two final) the only death that is acutally described is Miss Brent's.We witness her taking her last breath
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Sofistali — 13 years ago(May 05, 2012 08:56 PM)
I didn't think firing a pregnant girl should be reason to die either. I mean, people lose their jobs nowdays and if they commit suicide, is it their former employer's fault? I don't think so. She wasn't a likable character, but to blame her for the girl's suicide was a bit much.
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Jimmy-128 — 13 years ago(May 09, 2012 09:05 PM)
You have to understand the relationship between gentry and servant in pre-WW2 Britain. Servants were part of their employer's household, so not only did Beatrice lose her job, she lost the roof over her head as well.
Also, don't forget that it's a woman of Emily's age and class who tells Mr. Owen about her and Beatrice, and Mr. Owen describes her as indignantin other words, Emily's actions were enough to raise at least SOME comment in whatever part of England she lives in. -
CalvinJarrett — 11 years ago(August 31, 2014 01:00 AM)
So are we to assume that Emily Brent was a 50-55 year old virgin? In the book, I felt it was much more obvious because of her contempt for Beatrice's pregnancy outside of wedlock. Since she was always "Miss" Brent, and had no compassion for the accident that can occur from premarital sex, I figured she must be a virgin.
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Jimmy-128 — 11 years ago(September 02, 2014 09:28 AM)
Yep, she's definitely an old maid, with all that implies. In the book, after Emily tells Vera her story, and Vera in turn tells the others, Blore says, "Hearts as hard as flints, these righteous spinsters! Envy, mostly!"
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Cranfar6 — 3 years ago(January 13, 2023 07:57 PM)
Here I am in 2023, but I've just seen the movie/reread the book, and I need to get this off my chest. People have always been dismissed from their positions. Does it leave them in a bad way to leave a position without references? Yes. Does it always lead to suicide? No. The same goes for the niece in the movie. There have been houses for babies and unwed mothers since the 19th century that would have taken her in. Miss Brent could have easily assumed that she would go there, not that those places were great, but they existed.
Miss Brent is, at best, the fourth or fifth most "responsible" person for the girl's actions. Her parents didn't help her, and they are certainly more responsible. The person who got her pregnant. (presuming it wasn't rape, but since neither text/script mention that, I'm going to say it didn't happen.) Where was he? He's the most responsible for leaving her in this position without support. And finally, the girl herself. She knew Miss Brent. She had to know Miss Brent wouldn't let her stay in her house; if she wanted to stay, she should have lived by the rules/morals in place. A woman with such firm beliefs was never going to be swayed.
If a grown family member or employee with a stealing habit got kicked out/fired and then committed suicide, would those people be guilty of murder? No. Well, for Miss Brent stealing and having a child out of wedlock would have been the same level of "sinfulness." So, in the words of the AITA subreddit, NTA.
I feel Emily Brent must have been a caricature of a person Christie knew and hated for being "self-righteous." All the other people committed real crimes that, if discovered or hadn't been committed by well-connected/rich people/Europeans vs. "natives," would have put them away. As for MacArthur's crime, it's based on David and Bathsheba in the bible, so it is considered a classic "sin."