Justice and Vengeance in Golden Age Detective Fiction
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People‘s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages Department of Foreign Languages English Division Justice and Vengeance in Golden Age Detective Fiction the case of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master Degree in Literature and Civilization Submitted by: Supervised by: Fekih Ines Mrs. Haddad Meymouna BOARD OF EXAMINERS Chairperson: Dr. Boulgroun Adel Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Supervisor: Mrs. Haddad Meymouna Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Examiner: Ms. Hamed Halima Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra Examiner: Mr. Yasser Sadrati Mohamed Kheider University of Biskra 2019/2020 Dedications To my beloved family and friends… Yours, Fekih Ines I Acknowledgments First of all, all praise is due to Allah who gave me the courage and the will to accomplish this work. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mrs. Haddad Meymouna for her guidance and support during the elaboration of this research. I would acknowledge, with great respect, the jury members: Mr. Boulegroune Adel, Mr. Sedrati Yasser and Mrs. Hamed Halima for their constructive feedback and suggestions. I am profoundly thankful to my teachers in the English Department at the University of Biskra. II Abstract Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is undoubtedly one of her greatest mystery novels. This novel has successfully blurred the line between justice and revenge. Therefore, this research investigates the motive behind the twelve passengers’ murder of Cassetti. It aims at exploring the themes of justice and vengeance as instigated by Christie in the novel as well as examining how the author manipulated the reader into sympathizing with the murderers. It aspires to demonstrate that detective Hercule Poirot has no right to decide who should be convicted and who should not. Freud’s Psychoanalytic approach was applied to analyze whether the twelve passengers’ act of killing Cassetti is id-dominated (an act of self- retribution) or superego-dominated (an act of justice). The analysis showed that the motive behind the murder of Cassetti at the hands of the Armstrong’s family and relatives is a combination of vengeance and justice; it is id and superego oriented and that morality as another aspect of justice was one of the drives behind the crime and was the reason why Poirot condone legal justice. Based on these results, it appears that the twelve murderers’ execution of Cassetti is an act of justified revenge. Key words: Detective Fiction, Golden Age, Murder on the Orient Express, Revenge, Justice, Psychoanalytic approach. III Table of Contents Dedications .................................................................................................................................. I Acknowlegments ....................................................................................................................... II Abstract .................................................................................................................................... III Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... IV General Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Detective Fiction of the Golden Age Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.1. Mystery and Detective Fiction ............................................................................................ 8 1.1.1. Sub-types of Detective Fiction .................................................................................. 10 1.1.1.1. Classical Detective Fiction ................................................................................. 10 1.1.1.2. Hard-boiled Fiction ............................................................................................ 10 1.1.2. Elements of Detective Fiction ................................................................................... 11 1.1.2.1. The setting .......................................................................................................... 11 1.1.2.2. The victim .......................................................................................................... 11 1.1.2.3. The murderer ...................................................................................................... 11 1.1.2.4. The suspects ....................................................................................................... 12 1.1.2.5. The detective ...................................................................................................... 12 1.1.3. The emergence of Detective Fiction ......................................................................... 12 1.1.3.1. Early Crime Narratives ....................................................................................... 12 1.1.3.2. Modern Detective Fiction ................................................................................... 14 1.2. British Detective Fiction of the Golden Age .................................................................... 17 1.2.1. Figures of Famous Detectives ................................................................................... 19 IV 1.2.1.1. Sherlock Holmes ................................................................................................ 19 1.2.1.2. Hercule Poirot .................................................................................................... 20 1.3. Themes of Justice and Vengeance in Detective Fiction ................................................... 21 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 25 Chapter Two: Psychoanalysis: A Literary Theory Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 27 2.1. Psychoanalytic Approach .................................................................................................. 27 2.1.1. Psychoanalysis from Practice to Theory ................................................................... 28 2.1.2. Freud’s Theories on the Unconscious ....................................................................... 30 2.2. Basic Concepts of Psychoanalysis .................................................................................... 31 2.2.1. The Three Psychic Zones .......................................................................................... 32 2.2.1.1. The Id ................................................................................................................. 32 2.2.1.2. The Ego.............................................................................................................. 33 2.2.1.3. The Superego ..................................................................................................... 35 2.2.2. The Concept of Anxiety ............................................................................................ 37 2.2.1.1. Realistic Anxiety ............................................................................................... 37 2.2.2.2. Neurotic Anxiety ............................................................................................... 37 2.2.2.3. Moral Axiety...................................................................................................... 38 2.2.3. Life and Death Instincts ............................................................................................. 38 2.3. The Ego Defense Mechanisms .......................................................................................... 39 2.3.1. Repression ................................................................................................................. 40 2.3.2. Denial ......................................................................................................................... 41 2.3.3. Projection ................................................................................................................... 42 2.3.4. Identification .............................................................................................................. 42 V 2.3.5. Displacement ............................................................................................................. 42 2.3.6. Regression ................................................................................................................. 43 2.3.7. Reaction Formation ................................................................................................... 43 2.3.8. Rationalization ........................................................................................................... 43 2.3.9. Sublimation ................................................................................................................ 44 2.3.10. Undoing ................................................................................................................... 44 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter Three: Analysis of the Novel Introduction .............................................................................................................................