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Five Little Pigs

 Five Little Pigs
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TVTItem
 Five Little Pigs
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Five Little Pigs
 Five Little Pigs
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FiveLittlePigs
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Five Little Pigs is a 1942 mystery novel by Agatha Christie. (For many years, American editions were published under the title Murder in Retrospect.)Sixteen years ago, Caroline Crale was convicted of the murder of her husband, the painter Amyas Crale. Their daughter approaches Hercule Poirot to investigate the case. Poirot visits the five people present at the time of the murder, and each of them gives a slightly different story.In 1960, Christie adapted the story for the stage, under the title Go Back for Murder. The story was also featured in the ninth series of Poirot in 2003. Tropes concerning the TV adaptation are listed on the series page.
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2024-01-26T15:44:48Z
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2024-01-26T15:44:48Z
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DBTropes
 Five Little Pigs / int_10dcbe05
type
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other
 Five Little Pigs / int_10dcbe05
comment
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Amyas has frequent flings with the models he painted, but never takes his relationship with them seriously, and is actually devoted to his wife.
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Five Little Pigs / int_10dcbe05
 Five Little Pigs / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 Five Little Pigs / int_1869b4b1
comment
Unreliable Narrator: Each guest's account of the events leading up to the death of Amyas Crale is tainted by their own prejudices, things they want to keep hidden, or things they have simply forgotten or don't realize the significance of. For example, one guest casually remarks to Poirot about a minor prank that was once played on Amyas, only to later realize in shock that it was actually something that has occurred on the day of his death and which holds greater significance than anyone could have thought.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_1dfbbf31
type
Heterosexual Life-Partners
 Five Little Pigs / int_1dfbbf31
comment
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Philip Blake is Amyas's steadfast companion, to whom Amyas would confide in whenever he has rows with his wife.
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Five Little Pigs / int_1dfbbf31
 Five Little Pigs / int_20989d05
type
Parents as People
 Five Little Pigs / int_20989d05
comment
Parents as People: Lampshaded by Poirot when he finds it strange that every witness seems to forget that the murder victim has a little daughter: Miss Williams as the governess discusses it when she explains that middle class children know that their parents love them but are too busy providing for them to pay attention; the love between the affluent murder victim and his wife was so intense that the baby could never have been their first concern.
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Five Little Pigs / int_20989d05
 Five Little Pigs / int_23ff95fb
type
Brutal Honesty
 Five Little Pigs / int_23ff95fb
comment
Brutal Honesty: Caroline Crale believed in this, at least according to her daughter. The reason that Carla believes her mother is innocent is that Caroline sent her a letter saying so, and Caroline never told her daughter comforting lies.
 Five Little Pigs / int_23ff95fb
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Five Little Pigs / int_23ff95fb
 Five Little Pigs / int_25c7875f
type
Practically Different Generations
 Five Little Pigs / int_25c7875f
comment
Practically Different Generations: Caroline was old enough to be her younger half-sister Angela's guardian.
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Five Little Pigs / int_25c7875f
 Five Little Pigs / int_2661be23
type
Am I Just a Toy to You?
 Five Little Pigs / int_2661be23
comment
Am I Just a Toy to You?: Thought to be part of Caroline's motive. Actually Elsa's.
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Five Little Pigs / int_2661be23
 Five Little Pigs / int_2cbaa888
type
Empty Shell
 Five Little Pigs / int_2cbaa888
comment
Empty Shell: The killer is described as this in the end, having felt nothing ever since killing the love of her life after realizing she was just another fling to him and he'd never leave his wife for her. Even getting the wife accused of the crime didn't bring the killer any satisfaction- Caroline was screening her sister who she thought was the murderer, and so was able to Face Death with Dignity.
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Five Little Pigs / int_2cbaa888
 Five Little Pigs / int_2dc0d2bf
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Hidden Depths
 Five Little Pigs / int_2dc0d2bf
comment
Hidden Depths: Meredith Blake discusses this trope in his personal recollection of the Crale Case by saying that people usually have hidden sides that no-one knows about. This is the reason why he believes that Amyas could have committed suicide, even though it would seem very out-of-character for him to do so. Of course, it also foreshadows Meredith's own deep secret, which is that he grew to like Elsa much more than everyone else and proposed to her after the court hearing that convicted Caroline.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_2e5e04c0
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Must Make Amends
 Five Little Pigs / int_2e5e04c0
comment
Must Make Amends: Caroline never stops trying to make up for her sister's injury, but as a result spoils her rotten.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_33d5b7f2
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Adapted Out
 Five Little Pigs / int_33d5b7f2
comment
Adapted Out: Typical of Christie's adaptation of Poirot novels, he is written out and replaced by the solicitor Justin Fogg.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_38bb862f
type
Don't You Dare Pity Me!
 Five Little Pigs / int_38bb862f
comment
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Elsa made Caroline the scapegoat for the murder not only out of jealousy but also because she was furious when she heard Caroline calling out Amyas for the cruel treatment of her (Elsa).
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 Five Little Pigs / int_396e1c2a
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Face Death with Dignity
 Five Little Pigs / int_396e1c2a
comment
Face Death with Dignity: It is often remarked even by those who have reason to think the worst of Caroline that the way she met her death was incredibly brave and dignified. And ironically, this serves to thwart the true killer's spiteful desire for vengeance, since the noble way Caroline meets her fate simply serves to remind Elsa of how truly pathetic and inadequate she ultimately is.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_3bebfcc0
type
Living Lie Detector
 Five Little Pigs / int_3bebfcc0
comment
Living Lie Detector: Miss Williams to a degree. When she was a governess, none of the kids even tried to lie to her, feeling that it would be pointless. Poirot, at first, tells to other people that he is writing a book about the case, but he tells the truth to Miss Williams right away.
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Five Little Pigs / int_3bebfcc0
 Five Little Pigs / int_3cbb451b
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Unrequited Love Lasts Forever
 Five Little Pigs / int_3cbb451b
comment
Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: Both the Blake brothers were in love with Caroline, and neither ever marries, even after her death. And Meredith has grown to harbour the same feelings for Elsa. Another possible example is Elsa, who still seems to be in love with Amyas Crale even after he rejected her and she murdered him.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_3ed23024
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Surprisingly Realistic Outcome
 Five Little Pigs / int_3ed23024
comment
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Due to amount of time since the murder and the culprit having married into high society, all Poirot could really do was ask the authorities to re-examine the case and have Caroline posthumously exonerated.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_3f11ef74
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Parental Substitute
 Five Little Pigs / int_3f11ef74
comment
Parental Substitute: Shortly after Caroline maimed her half-sister their parents died and Caroline spent the rest of her life as her mother and trying to make amends for her mistake.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_4063acfd
type
Woman Scorned
 Five Little Pigs / int_4063acfd
comment
Woman Scorned: Gender-flipped with Philip Blake, who wanted to make Caroline look as black as possible at least partially because she rejected him when they were young. Played straight with Elsa Greer, who not only murders Amyas when she learns he never planned to leave his wife for her and was only using her; she also frames the woman he really loves, Caroline.
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Five Little Pigs / int_4063acfd
 Five Little Pigs / int_434d893c
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Funny Foreigner
 Five Little Pigs / int_434d893c
comment
Funny Foreigner: One of several Poirot books where he's said to play up his Belgian-ness in order to get people to underestimate him. When he's talking to Philip Blake the narration says "He was at his most foreign today."
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 Five Little Pigs / int_4b39c18
type
Taking the Heat
 Five Little Pigs / int_4b39c18
comment
Taking the Heat: Caroline believes that Angela poisoned Amyas (perhaps by accident, just meaning to make him sick). Since she believes that she still owes Angela for injuring her when they were kids, she lets suspicion fall on herself instead and ends up being jailed for Amyas' murder.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_4de0ca68
type
Eccentric Artist
 Five Little Pigs / int_4de0ca68
comment
Eccentric Artist: The justification a lot of people give in-universe for Amyas Crale not only being a serial adulterer who screws all his models, but for at the time of his death keeping his mistress in the home with his wife. He's an artist, darn it, and it's just what he does.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_4e7c4536
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Wham Line
 Five Little Pigs / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: From Poirot: "We have taken it for granted that Amyas Crale proposed to leave his wife for the other woman. But I suggest to you now that he never intended to do anything of the kind."
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 Five Little Pigs / int_4ef92d0b
type
The Atoner
 Five Little Pigs / int_4ef92d0b
comment
The Atoner: Caroline Crale is continually haunted by the injury she inflicted on Angela, and in her attempts to make up for it, spoils her rotten. Caroline sees her opportunity for redemption by taking the blame for what she thought was Angela's crime.
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Five Little Pigs / int_4ef92d0b
 Five Little Pigs / int_5466745d
type
Clear Their Name
 Five Little Pigs / int_5466745d
comment
Clear Their Name: The daughter wants to prove that her mother was innocent.
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Five Little Pigs / int_5466745d
 Five Little Pigs / int_54c6b2b6
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Revisiting the Cold Case
 Five Little Pigs / int_54c6b2b6
comment
Revisiting the Cold Case: Poirot is asked to investigate a case from sixteen years prior.
 Five Little Pigs / int_54c6b2b6
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 Five Little Pigs / int_599f943f
type
Karma Houdini Warranty
 Five Little Pigs / int_599f943f
comment
Karma Houdini Warranty: Downplayed. Poirot admits to the killer he has no physical evidence to prove their guilt and they won't publicly confess to it. He says even if the inspectors want to take the case, they will get off without any charges due to their connections. However, they don't get away consequence-free: Elsa Greer has never been able to move on from the day she murdered the only man she ever loved. She lives a wealthy but utterly joyless and miserable life. As she puts it "She and Amyas both escaped — they went somewhere where I couldn’t get at them. But they didn’t die. I died."
 Five Little Pigs / int_599f943f
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 Five Little Pigs / int_5fa5c4ac
type
Jealous Parent
 Five Little Pigs / int_5fa5c4ac
comment
Jealous Parent: Amyas Crale often expresses jealousy over his wife Caroline frequently favouring her sister more than him. They do have a child, but their daughter barely registers in anyone's attention.
 Five Little Pigs / int_5fa5c4ac
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Five Little Pigs / int_5fa5c4ac
 Five Little Pigs / int_643618e5
type
Replacement Goldfish
 Five Little Pigs / int_643618e5
comment
Replacement Goldfish: Justin fell for Caroline in the past, and ends up falling for her daughter Carla in the present. Carla is the splitting image of her mother, and is played by the same actress.
 Five Little Pigs / int_643618e5
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 Five Little Pigs / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 Five Little Pigs / int_6439de78
comment
Heroic Sacrifice: Played with: Caroline Crale thinks that she's doing this to spare Angela from prosecution for murder and to atone for blinding her as a child, but as it turns out Angela is completely innocent and Caroline's sacrifice is needless. However, the peace and courage Caroline derives from what she thinks is this trope ironically serves to thwart Elsa by depriving her of any satisfaction she might have received from seeing her romantic rival be punished for her crime.
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Five Little Pigs / int_6439de78
 Five Little Pigs / int_6774150c
type
If I Can't Have You…
 Five Little Pigs / int_6774150c
comment
If I Can't Have You…: Amyas is constantly having flings with numerous girls, and was apparently about to leave his wife and marry his latest model, Elsa Greer. This incident eventually leads to his being murdered. In actual fact he wasn't going to leave Caroline at all but dump Elsa, since Caroline's the only one he really loves. Elsa overhears this, and she's the one who adopts this trope.
 Five Little Pigs / int_6774150c
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Five Little Pigs / int_6774150c
 Five Little Pigs / int_72bafff5
type
Doomed Moral Victor
 Five Little Pigs / int_72bafff5
comment
Doomed Moral Victor: While no one really believes that Caroline was innocent except for her daughter and her sister, many of the onlookers note that the way she accepted her fate was really quite impressive. And she turns out to actually be this for Elsa, the real murderer; while Caroline ended up taking the fall for Elsa's crime, and Elsa herself goes on to marry into wealth and fame, the brave and dignified way she meets her fate serves to rob Elsa of any satisfaction she might have gained from seeing Caroline go down, and all the wealth and fame in the world don't end up making Elsa happy in the slightest.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_72ce3f54
type
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul
 Five Little Pigs / int_72ce3f54
comment
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: After the case has been solved, Carla ends up breaking off her engagement to Jeff, and gets together with Justin Fogg instead.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_736d791f
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Adaptational Badass
 Five Little Pigs / int_736d791f
comment
Adaptational Badass: Carla is even more active and determined in the play than in the original story; she goes herself to visit the five suspects, and ends up figuring out part of the mystery on her own.
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Five Little Pigs / int_736d791f
 Five Little Pigs / int_767f84ea
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Does Not Like Men
 Five Little Pigs / int_767f84ea
comment
Does Not Like Men: Miss Williams. Years of observing the womanizing Amyas probably didn't help.
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Five Little Pigs / int_767f84ea
 Five Little Pigs / int_7bb1296b
type
"Rashomon"-Style
 Five Little Pigs / int_7bb1296b
comment
"Rashomon"-Style: Poirot pieces together what actually happened by hearing the differing accounts of the five main witnesses to the crime. These accounts differ due to the tellers both not having the full perspective on what happened and due to them frequently concealing information for their own purposes.
 Five Little Pigs / int_7bb1296b
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 Five Little Pigs / int_7fbb2a3
type
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
 Five Little Pigs / int_7fbb2a3
comment
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Both Caroline and Miss Williams tried to protect someone in the name of what they thought was justice, but their lies caused the actual murderer, whom neither of them would want to shield, to get away with what they had done.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_85cefc44
type
Sympathetic Adulterer
 Five Little Pigs / int_85cefc44
comment
Sympathetic Adulterer: Amyas seems to be portrayed in that way by the narration and in the end it's confirmed, though not all of the characters see him that way.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_8cb66c2f
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Who Murdered the Asshole
 Five Little Pigs / int_8cb66c2f
comment
Who Murdered the Asshole: Poirot encounters this problem; it seems most of the people he talked to had reasons to dislike Amyas. It's revealed that Elsa did it discreetly on learning he wouldn't leave Caroline for her.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_8ed5c6e4
type
Asshole Victim
 Five Little Pigs / int_8ed5c6e4
comment
Asshole Victim: Zigzagged. Several characters sided with Caroline Crale when she was convicted of murdering her husband Amyas, since he was having an affair with his model - one of many. It turns out he never intended to leave Caroline, and he was murdered by said model. It depends on the reader whether you think that the fact that he never intended to leave Caroline is enough to get Amyas out of the "Asshole" category, or if you think he was still an asshole for having an affair and letting Elsa think he loved her enough to leave his wife.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_916c72b3
type
Rule of Symbolism
 Five Little Pigs / int_916c72b3
comment
Rule of Symbolism: The five suspects match the Five Little Pigs nursery rhyme as such: Philip Blake's job as a stockbroker meant he "went to market", Meredith Blake being a stay-at-home herbalist meant he "stayed at home", Elsa Greer marrying into high society meant she "had roast beef", Cecilia Williams not being known for much else meant she "had none", and Angela Warren having been injured as a child and spirited away to relatives meant she "cried all the way home".
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 Five Little Pigs / int_94e4c8ab
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Betty and Veronica
 Five Little Pigs / int_94e4c8ab
comment
Betty and Veronica: Amyas Crale stands in the middle between his long-suffering wife, Caroline, and his young but glamorous new model, Elsa. It's the fact that he ultimately chooses Caroline that gets him killed.
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 Five Little Pigs / int_99c36bb5
type
Ironic Nursery Tune
 Five Little Pigs / int_99c36bb5
comment
Ironic Nursery Tune: The five suspects matches the five little pigs in the nursery rhyme ‘This Little Piggy’:
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 Five Little Pigs / int_99ddfcec
type
Unwitting Instigator of Doom
 Five Little Pigs / int_99ddfcec
comment
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Numerous characters fall into this at some point: Meredith reading an evocative account of poisoning to everyone while in the presence of deadly poisons in his collection, Caroline stealing the coniine, Amyas failing to check that Elsa was out of earshot before confessing the truth to Caroline, Angela preparing to spike Amyas' drink with valerian (causing Caroline to jump to conclusions), Miss Williams misinterpreting Caroline's actions with the beer bottle and withholding her evidence...
 Five Little Pigs / int_99ddfcec
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1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_99ddfcec
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_99ddfcec
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ccb5f39
type
Summation Gathering
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ccb5f39
comment
Summation Gathering: Poirot assembles all the suspects and names the killer in his usual way.
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ccb5f39
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ccb5f39
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_9ccb5f39
 Five Little Pigs / int_9dab0a6e
type
Continuity Nod
 Five Little Pigs / int_9dab0a6e
comment
Continuity Nod: When he meets Meredith Blake, Poirot bears a letter of introduction from Lady Mary Lytton-Gore, a character from Three Act Tragedy.
 Five Little Pigs / int_9dab0a6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_9dab0a6e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_9dab0a6e
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ed6761e
type
Death by Woman Scorned
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ed6761e
comment
Death by Woman Scorned: Amyas' womanizing ways eventually got him murdered. Elsa, one of his lovers, genuinely believed his claims when he told her that he would leave his wife for her. Then she overheard the truth, got her heart broken, and killed Amyas in revenge.
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ed6761e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_9ed6761e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_9ed6761e
 Five Little Pigs / int_a0390164
type
It's for a Book
 Five Little Pigs / int_a0390164
comment
It's for a Book: When speaking with some of the witnesses, Poirot claims he is writing a book about famous murders.
 Five Little Pigs / int_a0390164
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a0390164
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a0390164
 Five Little Pigs / int_a1d753b6
type
Featureless Plane of Disembodied Dialogue
 Five Little Pigs / int_a1d753b6
comment
Featureless Plane of Disembodied Dialogue: Most of the book, which is really a long stretch of conversations and letters with little action.
 Five Little Pigs / int_a1d753b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a1d753b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a1d753b6
 Five Little Pigs / int_a2492aff
type
Dogged Nice Guy
 Five Little Pigs / int_a2492aff
comment
Dogged Nice Guy: Meredith Blake towards Caroline Crale back in the day. Poirot's diagnosis was that Meredith "would serve his lady faithfully and without hope of reward," and it's suggested that Meredith couldn't have been the killer because he could have just waited to "comfort" Caroline after her divorce. Poirot subverts this in the end by figuring out that in fact Meredith had transferred his affections to the younger, prettier Elsa.
 Five Little Pigs / int_a2492aff
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a2492aff
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a2492aff
 Five Little Pigs / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 Five Little Pigs / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: As Poirot himself admits at the end, he has no evidence, so Elsa will get away with murder. However...
 Five Little Pigs / int_a70223
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a70223
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a70223
 Five Little Pigs / int_a7c91a10
type
Meaningless Villain Victory
 Five Little Pigs / int_a7c91a10
comment
Meaningless Villain Victory: Elsa succeeded in killing her lover Amyas and framing his wife Caroline for the murder. Even when Poirot deduces that she was the culprit instead of Caroline sixteen years after the murder, he admits that he doesn't have the concrete evidence to get her convicted. However, Elsa still feels like she ultimately lost because not only did Caroline's serene acceptance of her fate deprive her of any satisfaction she might have gained from watching her love rival get punished in her place, but her own life has been empty and devoid of joy after Amyas's death with her being unable to love any other man.
 Five Little Pigs / int_a7c91a10
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a7c91a10
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a7c91a10
 Five Little Pigs / int_a91078ea
type
Adaptational Jerkass
 Five Little Pigs / int_a91078ea
comment
Adaptational Jerkass: Carla's fiance Jeff is more boorish and unpleasant than John Rattery was in the original. Carla realises she doesn't want to be with him after all.
 Five Little Pigs / int_a91078ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_a91078ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_a91078ea
 Five Little Pigs / int_acf33d00
type
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain
 Five Little Pigs / int_acf33d00
comment
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Jeff is not a villain, but he does try to obstruct Carla's investigations by pressing Justin Fogg to turn her down. Ironically, Justin had already done so, but Jeff's interference persuades him to change his mind and accept Carla's request after all.
 Five Little Pigs / int_acf33d00
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_acf33d00
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_acf33d00
 Five Little Pigs / int_ad9fbc1e
type
Pyrrhic Victory
 Five Little Pigs / int_ad9fbc1e
comment
Pyrrhic Victory: Elsa murders Amyas, lets Caroline take the fall for it, and gets away with everything scot-free. However, by killing her one true love, she condemned herself to a miserable, joyless existence; as she puts it: "I didn’t understand that I was killing myself — not him." And the brave and noble way Caroline meets her death even serves to thwart any satisfaction Elsa might have otherwise gained from setting her up.
 Five Little Pigs / int_ad9fbc1e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_ad9fbc1e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_ad9fbc1e
 Five Little Pigs / int_add931af
type
I Choose to Stay
 Five Little Pigs / int_add931af
comment
I Choose to Stay: Carla decides at the end of the play not to return to Canada, but instead to stay in England and marry Justin Fogg.
 Five Little Pigs / int_add931af
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_add931af
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_add931af
 Five Little Pigs / int_b9c673a6
type
Market-Based Title
 Five Little Pigs / int_b9c673a6
comment
Market-Based Title: It was originally published in the US as Murder in Retrospect. Later publications restored the original British title.
 Five Little Pigs / int_b9c673a6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_b9c673a6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_b9c673a6
 Five Little Pigs / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 Five Little Pigs / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: By everyone's account, Amyas was a raging egomaniac. Elsa has shades of this as well, and is quite open about it.
 Five Little Pigs / int_bb18a227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_bb18a227
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_bb18a227
 Five Little Pigs / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Five Little Pigs / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: The narration mentions "that picture once described by a child as a 'blind girl sitting on an orange and called, I don't know why, "Hope"'". The child in question is Oswald Bastable.
 Five Little Pigs / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_c75df49a
 Five Little Pigs / int_ca69cb4d
type
Adaptational Karma
 Five Little Pigs / int_ca69cb4d
comment
Adaptational Karma: Possibly, depending on whether Philip Blake's promise to "get his fellow on the case in the morning" has any substance.
 Five Little Pigs / int_ca69cb4d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_ca69cb4d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_ca69cb4d
 Five Little Pigs / int_cfc52d52
type
Spoiled Brat
 Five Little Pigs / int_cfc52d52
comment
Spoiled Brat: Caroline inadvertently turns Angela into this due to her desperation to atone for the accident that left Angela blind in one eye. Following the the deaths of Amyas and Caroline, Angela eventually grows out of it into a mature, pleasant woman.
 Five Little Pigs / int_cfc52d52
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_cfc52d52
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_cfc52d52
 Five Little Pigs / int_d1cedb73
type
Slap-Slap-Kiss
 Five Little Pigs / int_d1cedb73
comment
Slap-Slap-Kiss: Amyas and Caroline, constantly. Amyas had affairs and he had very nasty fights with Caroline, but despite this, they were very much in love. According to Angela, they actually enjoyed fighting, and would have found life boring without it. Amyas never considered leaving Caroline, and she always forgave him.
 Five Little Pigs / int_d1cedb73
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_d1cedb73
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_d1cedb73
 Five Little Pigs / int_d3beb0de
type
Precocious Crush
 Five Little Pigs / int_d3beb0de
comment
Precocious Crush: Downplayed. During the events of the past, a teenaged Justin Fogg fell in love with thirty-something Caroline.
 Five Little Pigs / int_d3beb0de
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_d3beb0de
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_d3beb0de
 Five Little Pigs / int_dc335a04
type
Ear Worm
 Five Little Pigs / int_dc335a04
comment
Ear Worm: Poirot just can't get the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme out of his head - which in the end structures the whole book, both In-Universe and on meta-level, including the title of the novel (the latter being quite a typical Christie feat).
 Five Little Pigs / int_dc335a04
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_dc335a04
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_dc335a04
 Five Little Pigs / int_e21cfc56
type
Newhart Phonecall
 Five Little Pigs / int_e21cfc56
comment
Newhart Phonecall: Carla has an argument with Jeff on the phone, but only she can be heard.
 Five Little Pigs / int_e21cfc56
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_e21cfc56
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_e21cfc56
 Five Little Pigs / int_e34400ab
type
Ambiguously Gay
 Five Little Pigs / int_e34400ab
comment
Ambiguously Gay: Miss Williams is an old maid who takes Does Not Like Men to the hardcore and sees Caroline as a saintly martyr to one of that filthy kind. To the more modern reader, it may look like she had been attracted to Caroline.
 Five Little Pigs / int_e34400ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_e34400ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_e34400ab
 Five Little Pigs / int_e9e35e8f
type
Exact Words
 Five Little Pigs / int_e9e35e8f
comment
Exact Words: Caroline is overheard fuming about the unfairness of the situation. She is not mad that her husband has fallen for yet another model, but that he is going to break the model's heart. The key phrase is, "You and your women!" In the Summation Poirot notes the plural, implying there is nothing special to Amyas about this latest woman, Elsa, after all.
 Five Little Pigs / int_e9e35e8f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_e9e35e8f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_e9e35e8f
 Five Little Pigs / int_eb5b71fe
type
Clingy Jealous Girl
 Five Little Pigs / int_eb5b71fe
comment
Clingy Jealous Girl: Gender-inverted with Amyas. The infamous rows between the couple were not caused by Amyas' frequent flings with other women, but because he was jealous that Caroline seemed to prioritise her sister Angela over him.
 Five Little Pigs / int_eb5b71fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_eb5b71fe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_eb5b71fe
 Five Little Pigs / int_eea921b7
type
Late to the Punchline
 Five Little Pigs / int_eea921b7
comment
Late to the Punchline: Angela mentions having one of these moments, where she actually said aloud "Oh! Now I get the point of that story about the plum pudding." This led her to recount a similar incident where she realized the significance of something she observed the weekend of the murder.
 Five Little Pigs / int_eea921b7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_eea921b7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_eea921b7
 Five Little Pigs / int_f0508c08
type
Decomposite Character
 Five Little Pigs / int_f0508c08
comment
Decomposite Character: Hercule Poirot's role in the original story is split between Justin Fogg and Carla herself. John Rattery is divided into Jeff Rogers (Carla's original fiance with whom she breaks things off) and Justin Fogg (with whom she falls in love at the end).
 Five Little Pigs / int_f0508c08
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f0508c08
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f0508c08
 Five Little Pigs / int_f12d9d83
type
Promotion to Parent
 Five Little Pigs / int_f12d9d83
comment
Promotion to Parent; Caroline Crale was the guardian of her younger half-sister Angela.
 Five Little Pigs / int_f12d9d83
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f12d9d83
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f12d9d83
 Five Little Pigs / int_f36c4f98
type
Easily Forgiven
 Five Little Pigs / int_f36c4f98
comment
Easily Forgiven: Amyas has had several affairs, but since he truly loves (or claims he loves) only Caroline, she accepts them and feels more sorry for the 'other woman' in the equation.
 Five Little Pigs / int_f36c4f98
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f36c4f98
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f36c4f98
 Five Little Pigs / int_f6624c30
type
Together in Death
 Five Little Pigs / int_f6624c30
comment
Together in Death: Amyas and Caroline, who remained devoted to each other right to the end, despite initial appearances. In her final letter to Angela, Caroline writes: "I'm going to Amyas. I haven't the least doubt that we shall be together." Part of Elsa's psychological punishment for her crime is that she feels as if the husband and wife have escaped together to a place beyond her reach, and that they have not died at all, but she has.
 Five Little Pigs / int_f6624c30
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f6624c30
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f6624c30
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8d24fbb
type
BigSisterInstinct
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8d24fbb
comment
Big Sister Instinct: Caroline did everything she could to take care of Angela, including erasing Angela's fingerprints from a beer bottle to keep her from being charged for murder.
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8d24fbb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8d24fbb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f8d24fbb
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8e010ce
type
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8e010ce
comment
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Elsa snorts when Poirot says that he is going to ask the courts to pardon Caroline posthumously. She doesn't understand that exonerating an innocent woman would bring peace of mind to her descendants, and restore honor to her memory.
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8e010ce
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_f8e010ce
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_f8e010ce
 Five Little Pigs / int_name
type
ItemName
 Five Little Pigs / int_name
comment
 Five Little Pigs / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Five Little Pigs / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Five Little Pigs / int_name
 Five Little Pigs / int_name
itemName
Five Little Pigs

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Clear Their Name / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Died Happily Ever After / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Doomed Moral Victor / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Empty Shell / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
English Literature / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
seeAlso
Five Little Pigs
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
It's for a Book / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Meaningless Villain Victory / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Our Love Is Different / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Pyrrhic Villainy / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred! / int_547d645a
 Five Little Pigs
hasFeature
Taking the Heat / int_547d645a