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Idioms
Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Chapter Three
Explanation and Analysis—The Prehistoric Nile:
In Chapter 3, Poirot and the Otterbournes look out onto the Nile, and the imagery of the famous river is heightened with a simile:
Silence fell on the three of them. They looked down to the shining black rocks in the Nile. There was something fantastic about them in the moonlight. They were like vast prehistoric monsters lying half out of the water. A little breeze came up suddenly and as suddenly died away. There was a feeling in the air of hush—of expectancy.
This is one of the few descriptions of the novel's exotic setting, and it turns the Nile into an awe-inspiring, mysterious force. The simile, which compares the river rocks to "vast prehistoric monsters," lends a menacing tone to the scene. The book describes the black rocks with visual imagery, and it also incorporates sensory imagery by describing the wind as if the very air has mystery in it. The imagery and simile also add suspense—what will rise from the depths during Poirot's journey? Will it be something atavistic and evil like the prehistoric monsters that the rocks resemble?
Thanks to a long lineage of English-language painters and writers, including Thomas De Quincey and Lord Byron, it would not have been unusual for Britons of this time period to associate countries like Egypt with dormant, ancient urges and forces. Western Europeans thought of the East, which would have included Egypt, as less developed and therefore more connected to a murky past. While this scene plays with the idea of a dark and old East, no actual Egyptians play large roles in Death on the Nile. Instead of connecting the murder to foreign ideologies or degeneracy, Christie makes Linnet's murder the fault of two Britons who had already decided to kill her by the time they came to Egypt.
Related Themes:
Chapter Twenty-Four
Explanation and Analysis—Fickle Fame:
In Chapter 24, Mrs. Otterbourne insists she knows the identity of Linnet's murderer. With a simile and imagery, Christie paints a picture of a drunkard author past her prime:
Mrs. Otterbourne swept it to one side and entered like a tornado. Her face was suffused with colour, her gait slightly unsteady, her command of words not quite under her control. “Mr. Doyle,” she said dramatically, “I know who killed your wife! […] My theories are completely vindicated. The deep, primeval, primordial urges—it may appear impossible—fantastic—but it is the truth!”
A simile compares Mrs. Otterbourne's entrance to a tornado, and that description seems deserved given the visual imagery that suggests she is drunk: for instance, her flushed face and unsteady gait. Note as well the dramatic way Mrs. Otterbourne speaks, illustrated with em-dashes, exclamation marks, and grand claims about "primordial urges." Deviating from her usual matter-of-fact style, Christie writes Mrs. Otterbourne's thoughts with similar heightened language and punctuation:
Yes, she was very happy—no doubt of it! This was her moment, her triumph! What of it if her books were failing to sell, if the stupid public that once had bought them and devoured them voraciously now turned to newer favourites? Salome Otterbourne would once again be notorious.
One might expect Agatha Christie to portray a popular female writer in more favorable light, given that she was one herself. But Otterbourne's salacious books, passing popularity, and drunkenness all make her a ridiculous character. It's worth noting that many female writers in the early 20th century (especially those who wrote romances and popular fiction) were treated with derision by critics and academics. There are many possible analogues for Mrs. Otterbourne's personality, including prolific British writer Marie Corelli, who died just a decade before the publication of Death on the Nile. Corelli's last book, published a year after her death, was Open Confession to a Man from a Woman (1925), a series of confessional vignettes about her infatuation with a painter. Otterbourne's dramatic manner of speaking and thinking, down to the punctuation and word choice, is reminiscent of Victorian-era romances, including those of Corelli and Elinor Glyn.
