Date of Award

4-2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

English

First Advisor

Christopher Nagle, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Jil Larson, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Meghann Meeusen, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Kristin Denslow, Ph.D.

Keywords

Adaptation, Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile, gender, Murder on the Orient Express, women

Abstract

Agatha Christie, despite historically having had little scholarly interest paid to her, has received more critical attention over the last thirty years, most frequently when addressing her entire oeuvre in the context of broader critical studies of Golden Age detective fiction or detective fiction in general. Unfortunately, these references or brief case studies often lack the depth that focused, close readings of individual texts would yield. In addition, despite her mysteries having been adapted continually since 1928, Christie’s works are frequently not a part of academic conversations regarding adaptation studies. Therefore, broadly speaking, this dissertation provides a model for potential critical engagement with Christie’s works, specifically within the context of adaptation studies. In order to do so, this project analyzes the portrayal of female domestic gender roles in Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and Death on the Nile (1937) and their feature film adaptations of the 1970s and 2000s. By juxtaposing these texts, I reveal that there is no such thing as a typical Agatha Christie woman. While their portrayals are indeed problematic, I argue that their variety and complexity demonstrate a continued desire by Christie and her adapters to query women’s prescribed gender roles and reinforce their humanity.

The first part of the dissertation focuses exclusively on Murder on the Orient Express. Chapter one discusses the connection women, particularly mothers, have with conceptions of monstrosity. I demonstrate that Linda Arden and her alter ego Mrs. Hubbard embrace a variety of historical and literary monstrous paradigms for women. Chapter two argues that while Linda Arden in each text under discussion underscores women’s monstrosity, they also ultimately question the apparently immutable conceptions of the roles of women and suggest that monsters can also be menders.

The second part of the dissertation adds Death on the Nile to the discussion and further analyzes women as mothers, wives, and lovers. In chapter three I use a psychoanalytic theoretical framework for understanding the mother/child relationship, arguing that those presented in the texts under discussion depict models that both affirm psychoanalytic theory and challenge it. Those that challenge it propose a new mode—a co-existent yet abject mother/child relationship that I call the “I/You/We” model. The final chapter of the dissertation focuses on wives and lovers in Death on the Nile. Both Linnet Doyle and Jacqueline de Bellefort internalize a fairytale narrative framework that motivates their actions as they attempt to manage their romantic relationships. Unfortunately, these women’s efforts undermine their very objectives and ultimately make their romantic decisions matters of life and death. But once again, several of the texts provide alternative and more fulfilling examples of women seeking to manage their love lives. Overall, the representation of women as mothers, wives, and lovers reveals a clear tension between patriarchal paradigms and positive potentialities.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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