Agatha Christie's lesbian characters

[james_davis_nicoll]

In a recent discussion about the new adaptations of the Miss Marple stories, I commented that I didn't recall the original stories having as many lesbians as the TV movies do, where "as many" = "any"*. The person I was chatting to suggested that perhaps they were there but as a young lad of 10 or so, I did not understand the significance of, eg, two spinster ladies living together. Can anyone who has actually read the books recently tell me if the movies have introduced a new element or if I just missed something when i read them 30 years ago?


* Or as many sword fights as the Margaret Rutherford version of Miss Marple.

Comments

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

Can't think of any specific examples, but yes, I think the spinsters and "old maids" were there, just not named as "lesbian" as such by AC. I think it's been more quietly accepted in some ways in Britain, if for no other reason than they've got a much less nosey society than we, and "mind your own business" is a guiding principle.

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

I could have sworn there was at least one lesbian couple, though for the life of me I can't remember in what book. Maybe in one of the short story collections.

spoilers below

[asteriskhere.livejournal.com]

Funny that I should randomly stumble across this journal entry...I just finished reading Agatha Christie's Nemesis last night (a later Miss Marple book) and there seems to be at least strong hints towards lesbianism...the general gist of the novel is that a girl is killed by an older woman when the girl decides she wants 'normal' love-- to marry a man and have children. There are some mentions that the older woman 'loved the girl like a daughter' etc...but they're brief. Also there is an overt mention of 'crushes' that girls have on other 'attractive' girls or even on their female teachers that they eventually grow out of. I was surprised to find this in an Agatha Christie novel, having already read many of them. There was a couple comprised of two elderly spinsters in this novel as well, but they were revealed to have been hired bodyguards for Miss Marple. Anyway, if you are interested in looking for lesbian references, check out Nemesis.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Yes, Agatha Christie does have gay characters, most frequently two "spinsters" living together whom the reader is fairly clearly supposed to read as lesbians. See also A Murder is Announced.

Agatha Christie's lesbian characters

[(Anonymous)]

A Murder is Announced has lesbian characters. Mr. Satterthwaite in many books is most probably gay; there are other possibly gay characters, Mr. Pye in The Moving Finger, and Christopher Wren in the short story Three Blind Mice. There are others as well.