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The Hollow

 The Hollow
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TVTItem
 The Hollow
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The Hollow
 The Hollow
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TheHollow
 The Hollow
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The Hollow is a 1946 mystery novel by Agatha Christie.Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell host some guests at their mansion, The Hollow, for a weekend. Among their guests are Dr. John Christow, a friend of the family, and Christow's meek, submissive wife Gerda. Also coming for the weekend is Henrietta Savernake, a cousin to the Angkatells, and mistress to Dr. Christow.Inviting a husband, wife, and husband's girlfriend on the same weekend might be uncomfortable, but everybody seems to have turned a blind eye to the situation. However, a complication arises in the person of Veronica Cray, yet another lover of John's. It seems that fifteen years ago, John Christow and Veronica Cray met in an exotic tropical location and had a passionate fling. Veronica, a famous Hollywood actress, still carries a torch for John and has rented a cottage next door to The Hollow so that she can see him again. John goes over to Veronica's place and they have sex, but the next morning he tells her that he won't leave his wife.Later that day John is shot and killed by the Angkatell swimming pool. The murder is investigated by the last guest to arrive at The Hollow that weekend — Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective.A theatrical adaptation by Christie (minus Poirot) premiered in 1951.
 The Hollow
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2024-03-17T14:32:00Z
 The Hollow
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2024-03-17T14:32:00Z
 The Hollow
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Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Hollow
processingComment
Dropped link to Yandere: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Hollow
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Hollow / int_15b09af9
type
Heel–Face Door-Slam
 The Hollow / int_15b09af9
comment
Heel–Face Door-Slam: John has finally gotten closure on the love affair he fled years before, and has an epiphany about how much of a jerk he's been to the women in his life. He resolves to atone for his past behavior—and is promptly shot to death.
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The Hollow / int_15b09af9
 The Hollow / int_188802c0
type
Spurned into Suicide
 The Hollow / int_188802c0
comment
Spurned into Suicide: A fortunately subverted example. Edward attempts suicide after Midge rejects his marriage proposal. She only rejected him because she believed he was still in love with Henrietta, but she saves him, and they are united.
 The Hollow / int_188802c0
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 The Hollow / int_188802c0
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The Hollow / int_188802c0
 The Hollow / int_1c445e86
type
Poor Communication Kills
 The Hollow / int_1c445e86
comment
Poor Communication Kills: Midge calls off her engagement to Edward because she thinks he's still in love with Henrietta. He misunderstands her reasons for breaking up with him, and believing that neither she nor anyone else wants him, attempts suicide - but fortunately she saves him.
 The Hollow / int_1c445e86
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 The Hollow / int_1c445e86
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The Hollow / int_1c445e86
 The Hollow / int_234bd900
type
For Science!
 The Hollow / int_234bd900
comment
For Science!: John Christow is trying to find a cure for Ridgeway's Disease not because he wants to help the suffering but because he finds it an interesting medical problem. This exchange with Henrietta illustrates his attitude:
 The Hollow / int_234bd900
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 The Hollow / int_234bd900
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The Hollow / int_234bd900
 The Hollow / int_38c2f34d
type
Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis
 The Hollow / int_38c2f34d
comment
Hollywood Midlife Crisis: John Christow is going through this. Bored with his practice, bored with the hypochondriac ladies who come to his office, bored by his mousy wife, frustrated by his mistress's refusal to focus all her attention on him. The appearance of an Old Flame nearly causes him to bail on his life completely.
 The Hollow / int_38c2f34d
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 The Hollow / int_38c2f34d
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The Hollow / int_38c2f34d
 The Hollow / int_3cb6468e
type
Bad Liar
 The Hollow / int_3cb6468e
comment
Bad Liar: Veronica inverts the anecdote of her last meeting with John Christow, claiming that he was still desperately in love with her and begged her to divorce her husband and marry him, but she turned him down. Poirot sees through her immediately.
 The Hollow / int_3cb6468e
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 The Hollow / int_3cb6468e
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The Hollow / int_3cb6468e
 The Hollow / int_3fe2b13f
type
Ungrateful Bastard
 The Hollow / int_3fe2b13f
comment
Ungrateful Bastard: Gerda tries unsuccessfully to poison Henrietta, despite the latter having done her utmost to cover for and protect her.
 The Hollow / int_3fe2b13f
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_3fe2b13f
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The Hollow / int_3fe2b13f
 The Hollow / int_42215dce
type
Ambiguous Ending
 The Hollow / int_42215dce
comment
Ambiguous Ending: Did Gerda drink the poisoned tea accidentally, or did she believe that Poirot's appearance meant that he had figured out her scheme, and so intentionally killed herself rather than face justice?
 The Hollow / int_42215dce
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 The Hollow / int_42215dce
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The Hollow / int_42215dce
 The Hollow / int_438e94fa
type
Never the Obvious Suspect
 The Hollow / int_438e94fa
comment
Never the Obvious Suspect: Played with. Gerda, John Christow's long-suffering wife, is suspected of having killed her serial adulterer husband. If that isn't enough, Gerda is seen standing over Christow's body with a gun! It turns out however that the gun Gerda was carrying wasn't the one that killed John, so she's apparently cleared. The ending reveals that Gerda did kill her husband after all. She intentionally carried two guns to kill her husband, shot him with one and threw it in the bushes, so that when the gun she was found with was tested, she'd appear to be innocent.
 The Hollow / int_438e94fa
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_438e94fa
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The Hollow / int_438e94fa
 The Hollow / int_4523420b
type
Love Dodecahedron
 The Hollow / int_4523420b
comment
Love Dodecahedron: There's John Christow, his wife Gerda, his mistress Henrietta, and his Old Flame Veronica. It so happens that Henrietta is also adored by her distant cousin Edward Angkatell, heir to the family estate. And Edward is in turn adored by Midge Hardcastle, Lucy's working-class cousin.
 The Hollow / int_4523420b
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 The Hollow / int_4523420b
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The Hollow / int_4523420b
 The Hollow / int_4604fd4d
type
Worthy Opponent
 The Hollow / int_4604fd4d
comment
Worthy Opponent: Poirot tells this to Henrietta, congratulating her for having led the police on a merry chase, and for almost doing the same to him... almost.
 The Hollow / int_4604fd4d
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_4604fd4d
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The Hollow / int_4604fd4d
 The Hollow / int_4a3e547f
type
Leaning on the Fourth Wall
 The Hollow / int_4a3e547f
comment
Leaning on the Fourth Wall Midge regards the scene with John Christow lying mortally wounded by the pool as "like the jacket of a detective story." In fact early paperback printings of The Hollow used just that scene on the cover. David Angkatell, a bookworm with a rather superior attitude to everyone, describes their situation as having "all the cliches that one thought existed only in the pages of detective fiction."
 The Hollow / int_4a3e547f
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 The Hollow / int_4a3e547f
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The Hollow / int_4a3e547f
 The Hollow / int_516f986d
type
Loving a Shadow
 The Hollow / int_516f986d
comment
Loving a Shadow: Edward is in love with Henrietta...or rather, he's in love with a previous version of Henrietta, who no longer exists and is not in love with him. Midge breaks off the engagement thinking that Edward will never get over this obsession, but by the end he comes to realize that he was in love with a person who never really existed, and finds happiness in Midge.
 The Hollow / int_516f986d
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_516f986d
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The Hollow / int_516f986d
 The Hollow / int_5f54a67b
type
Enter Stage Window
 The Hollow / int_5f54a67b
comment
Enter Stage Window: Veronica Cray makes a dramatic entrance into The Hollow through the French windows, supposedly to borrow matches, but really to find John.
 The Hollow / int_5f54a67b
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_5f54a67b
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The Hollow / int_5f54a67b
 The Hollow / int_60547993
type
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 The Hollow / int_60547993
comment
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: An example that almost backfires disastrously. Midge calls off her engagement to Edward because she thinks he still loves Henrietta. Misunderstanding her and despairing at having been rejected by both women, he attempts suicide. Fortunately Midge saves him and they are reunited.
 The Hollow / int_60547993
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 The Hollow / int_60547993
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The Hollow / int_60547993
 The Hollow / int_61356a74
type
Almost Dead Guy
 The Hollow / int_61356a74
comment
Almost Dead Guy: Poirot comes strolling into the mansion no more than a minute or two after Christow gets shot. He bends over Christow by the pool, and John has time enough to gasp "Henrietta" before he expires. What Dr. Christow meant by this is one of the points of the mystery.
 The Hollow / int_61356a74
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 The Hollow / int_61356a74
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The Hollow / int_61356a74
 The Hollow / int_65acf9db
type
He Knows Too Much
 The Hollow / int_65acf9db
comment
He Knows Too Much: Gerda's reason for trying to poison Henrietta, who had been trying to protect her.
 The Hollow / int_65acf9db
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_65acf9db
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The Hollow / int_65acf9db
 The Hollow / int_6b576a8f
type
Proof Dare
 The Hollow / int_6b576a8f
comment
Proof Dare: When Poirot all but accuses Henrietta of having killed John Christow, she spits at him "You will never prove it!" It turns out she's right, but she did help cover up for the real murderer.
 The Hollow / int_6b576a8f
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The Hollow / int_6b576a8f
 The Hollow / int_6e65655f
type
Rejected Marriage Proposal
 The Hollow / int_6e65655f
comment
Rejected Marriage Proposal: Edward asked Henrietta to marry him four times, and she rejected him each time. At the fourth time, she said: "I wish I wasn’t so dreadfully fond of you, Edward. It makes it so very much harder to go on saying No."
 The Hollow / int_6e65655f
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The Hollow / int_6e65655f
 The Hollow / int_7464705c
type
Arc Words
 The Hollow / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: John, Edward, Gerda, Henrietta and Midge exclaim or think "I'm so tired", an expression of their weariness with the personal drama in their lives.
 The Hollow / int_7464705c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_7464705c
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The Hollow / int_7464705c
 The Hollow / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 The Hollow / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Gerda serving as Henrietta's model for The Worshipper. Lucy mentions reading The News of the World, a tabloid telling exactly how many housewives kill themselves via gas oven. Edward later attempts suicide with this method. Sir Henry is a collector of firearms, and his houseguests take turns shooting with a revolver. This allows Gerda to know how to load and fire a revolver, and the large number of guns around the house makes it easy for her to obfuscate which gun actually killed John.
 The Hollow / int_9d12bbc1
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The Hollow / int_9d12bbc1
 The Hollow / int_a7aef9ff
type
Obfuscating Stupidity
 The Hollow / int_a7aef9ff
comment
Obfuscating Stupidity: Near the beginning of the book, there is an internal monologue of how Gerda has found it easier to act slow and stupid at times, both to get out of having to do things, and to lower the expectations of people around her so that they underestimate her. This includes deflecting suspicion that she'd planned her husband's murder.
 The Hollow / int_a7aef9ff
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_a7aef9ff
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The Hollow / int_a7aef9ff
 The Hollow / int_b0a529cb
type
Extreme Doormat
 The Hollow / int_b0a529cb
comment
Extreme Doormat: Gerda is described as "meek and submissive" by Dr. Christow's nurse, Beryl. She is also described as worshipping John, and in one scene John remembers asking Gerda to marry him with the explicit condition that he wanted her to let him have his way in all things.
 The Hollow / int_b0a529cb
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 The Hollow / int_b0a529cb
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The Hollow / int_b0a529cb
 The Hollow / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 The Hollow / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: Veronica Cray is a truly massive egoist, having expected John Christow to completely abandon his medical career and follow her off to Hollywood. Her recounting to Poirot of her last meeting with John is the complete opposite of how their conversation really went, and Poirot surmises that she is simply incapable of comprehending that she cannot simply possess John as she wishes.
 The Hollow / int_bb18a227
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_bb18a227
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The Hollow / int_bb18a227
 The Hollow / int_c0d32460
type
Sexy Secretary
 The Hollow / int_c0d32460
comment
Sexy Secretary: Christow deliberately avoided this, hiring "a plain secretary with no nonsense about her" instead.
 The Hollow / int_c0d32460
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_c0d32460
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The Hollow / int_c0d32460
 The Hollow / int_c2d6fc5e
type
Murder by Inaction
 The Hollow / int_c2d6fc5e
comment
Murder by Inaction: Hercule Poirot himself skirts the edge of this. He is suspicious enough that he tells Henrietta not to drink the tea that Gerda just prepared for her. He then does nothing else, letting her put the tea back on the tray and letting Gerda drink it. Gerda dies of the poison she meant for Henrietta.
 The Hollow / int_c2d6fc5e
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_c2d6fc5e
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The Hollow / int_c2d6fc5e
 The Hollow / int_c3e4a2f0
type
Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo
 The Hollow / int_c3e4a2f0
comment
Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo: Accidentally. Poirot thinks Henrietta's cup of tea may be poisoned, so he makes her put it down on the tray. Gerda returns, picks up the wrong cup of tea, drinks it, and dies.
 The Hollow / int_c3e4a2f0
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 The Hollow / int_c3e4a2f0
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The Hollow / int_c3e4a2f0
 The Hollow / int_caa28b82
type
Cloudcuckoolander
 The Hollow / int_caa28b82
comment
Cloudcuckoolander: Lucy Angkatell is quite special. The butler remembers her putting a live lobster on the card tray, and she sees nothing wrong with Midge barging into her room at six in the morning to explain how she stopped Edward from committing suicide.
 The Hollow / int_caa28b82
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 The Hollow / int_caa28b82
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The Hollow / int_caa28b82
 The Hollow / int_d397657d
type
Hoist by His Own Petard
 The Hollow / int_d397657d
comment
Hoist by His Own Petard: Due to Poirot's intervention, Gerda drinks the poison that she had intended for Henrietta.
 The Hollow / int_d397657d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_d397657d
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1.0
 The Hollow
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The Hollow / int_d397657d
 The Hollow / int_d6618014
type
Last Request
 The Hollow / int_d6618014
comment
Last Request: It turns out that John's last word was one. He was asking Henrietta to protect and cover for Gerda.
 The Hollow / int_d6618014
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_d6618014
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The Hollow / int_d6618014
 The Hollow / int_d9587b39
type
Happily Failed Suicide
 The Hollow / int_d9587b39
comment
Happily Failed Suicide: After Midge rejects Edward's marriage proposal, because she thinks he really loves Henrietta, he tries to kill himself via gas oven. Midge comes in to the kitchen and saves Edward, and they are united at last.
 The Hollow / int_d9587b39
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 The Hollow / int_d9587b39
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The Hollow / int_d9587b39
 The Hollow / int_dc3d9a68
type
Orgy of Evidence
 The Hollow / int_dc3d9a68
comment
Orgy of Evidence: The victim's last words serve as a trigger for someone to gather up everyone else and obfuscate the investigation by planting deliberately contradicting clues.
 The Hollow / int_dc3d9a68
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_dc3d9a68
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The Hollow / int_dc3d9a68
 The Hollow / int_dc579c91
type
Contrived Coincidence
 The Hollow / int_dc579c91
comment
Contrived Coincidence: Henrietta just happens to take the gun from Gerda, and then just happens to drop it into a swimming pool and thus wash off any fingerprints or powder residue. Exactly as she intended.
 The Hollow / int_dc579c91
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_dc579c91
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 The Hollow
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The Hollow / int_dc579c91
 The Hollow / int_dcbe8a6e
type
Chekhov's Gunman
 The Hollow / int_dcbe8a6e
comment
Chekhov's Gunman: There's an off-hand mention of a blind man who sells matches on the street near Henrietta's studio. That's how she got a random set of prints on the gun, by asking the blind man to hold it.
 The Hollow / int_dcbe8a6e
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_dcbe8a6e
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 The Hollow
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The Hollow / int_dcbe8a6e
 The Hollow / int_e3109dae
type
Switching P.O.V.
 The Hollow / int_e3109dae
comment
Switching P.O.V.: The POV alters between all of the main characters, on a chapter-by-chapter basis.
 The Hollow / int_e3109dae
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 The Hollow / int_e3109dae
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The Hollow / int_e3109dae
 The Hollow / int_e6132e31
type
Old Flame
 The Hollow / int_e6132e31
comment
Old Flame: Veronica Cray, with whom John Christow had a brief passionate fling with fifteen years prior, shows back up in his life, wanting to start things again.
 The Hollow / int_e6132e31
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_e6132e31
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The Hollow / int_e6132e31
 The Hollow / int_e8cb930f
type
Accidental Suicide
 The Hollow / int_e8cb930f
comment
Accidental Suicide: Gerda dies from a poisoned drink that she had prepared for Henrietta, due to Poirot's intervention.
 The Hollow / int_e8cb930f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hollow / int_e8cb930f
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The Hollow / int_e8cb930f
 The Hollow / int_ea7e3be8
type
Dramatic Gun Cock
 The Hollow / int_ea7e3be8
comment
Dramatic Gun Cock: John Christow is out by the pool when he hears "a very faint businesslike click". He turns, and gets fatally shot.
 The Hollow / int_ea7e3be8
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1.0
 The Hollow / int_ea7e3be8
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The Hollow / int_ea7e3be8
 The Hollow / int_f2bb1fb4
type
Let Off by the Detective
 The Hollow / int_f2bb1fb4
comment
Let Off by the Detective: Henrietta is clearly an accessory after-the-fact to John's murder, but Poirot takes no action about it. It's likely that he knows she is terribly distressed by being involved.
 The Hollow / int_f2bb1fb4
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 The Hollow / int_f2bb1fb4
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The Hollow / int_f2bb1fb4
 The Hollow / int_faf4a043
type
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery
 The Hollow / int_faf4a043
comment
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: The narrative treats Henrietta very sympathetically, while Veronica is very blatantly portrayed as an egoist who sees John as little more than a possession. It remains though that Henrietta still befriended the wife of the man she was having an affair with, which would have been an extra dagger to the heart of Gerda had she found out, and not even their friendship and Henrietta's protectiveness of Gerda was enough to make her stop her and John's affair. Deep down, Henrietta is deeply selfish too.
 The Hollow / int_faf4a043
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 The Hollow / int_faf4a043
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The Hollow / int_faf4a043
 The Hollow / int_fb3576b2
type
The Dog Bites Back
 The Hollow / int_fb3576b2
comment
The Dog Bites Back: Gerda Christow, the "meek and submissive" wife who is often belittled by her arrogant husband, snaps when she sees him going off with still another woman. She concocts a plan, and shoots him to death.
 The Hollow / int_fb3576b2
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 The Hollow / int_fb3576b2
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The Hollow / int_fb3576b2
 The Hollow / int_ff17ccf1
type
Innocently Insensitive
 The Hollow / int_ff17ccf1
comment
Innocently Insensitive: Lady Lucy comes across as The Ditz at times, and this includes when she doesn't seem to be all that disturbed by John's murder, but rather that she finds it an interesting diversion. Similarly, her reaction to Edward's attempted suicide is not any outward concern, but to tell Sir Henry that they ought to start cooking with electricity.
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The Hollow / int_ff17ccf1
 The Hollow / int_name
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ItemName
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The Hollow / int_name
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The Hollow

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

 The Hollow
hasFeature
Accidental Suicide / int_fd56953
 The Hollow
hasFeature
Never the Obvious Suspect / int_fd56953
 The Hollow
hasFeature
Orgy of Evidence / int_fd56953