Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile

by

Agatha Christie

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Death on the Nile: Chapter Twenty-Eight  Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Outside the cabin from Tim and Rosalie, Poirot asks Race if he’s okay with the arrangement he made with them. “It is irregular—I know it is irregular, yes—but I have a high regard for human happiness,” Poirot says. Race jokes that Poirot isn’t considering Race’s happiness and that they’re aiding a felony, but ultimately Race says, “I’m not a damned policeman, thank God!” Race’s real concern is that he thinks Poirot knows who the murderer is but hasn’t told him yet. Poirot is about to tell him when there’s a knock on the door.
Race, as a more traditional representative of the justice system than Poirot, is not as happy as Poirot about letting Tim off the hook. Still, as he himself notes, he’s not a policeman, and this gives him the freedom to indulge Poirot’s whims.
Themes
Justice Theme Icon
Romantic Love Theme Icon
Selfishness and Generosity Theme Icon
Dr. Bessner and Cornelia come in, with Cornelia apologetic about her cousin Miss Van Schuyler’s kleptomania. Race assures her they have no interest in creating scandal: “This is Hush Hush House,” he says. Poirot asks if Cornelia has seen Ferguson again, at which point Dr. Bessner mentions that Ferguson is actually “highly-born,” even though he doesn’t look it.
This scene ties up some loose ends, confirming that Miss Van Schuyler is a kleptomaniac but that Race and Poirot won’t do anything about it—again showing more flexibility than a traditional justice system.
Themes
Justice Theme Icon
Class Theme Icon
Romantic Love Theme Icon
Selfishness and Generosity Theme Icon
National Identity and International Connections Theme Icon
Dr. Bessner then tells Poirot that Simon is doing well, despite his fever earlier (which Jacqueline had been panicking about). Race says if Simon’s feeling well, they should find him and finish their conversation about Richetti’s telegram. Dr. Bessner says that Simon told him about the telegram: that it was funny because it was full of writing about vegetables. Race exclaims that this is a code used in a rebellion in South Africa, meaning that Richetti is the agitator Race has been after. Poirot admits Richetti may be Race’s man but contends that he wasn’t Linnet’s murderer. Now Cornelia asks if Poirot will ever actually tell them the murderer.
Though the telegram Linnet intercepted is clearly important, the book drew attention away from it with the dramatic shooting of Mrs. Otterbourne and all that entailed. The telegram ties up another loose end, proving that Richetti was acting suspicious for a very good reason—he is the man that Race has been chasing the whole time.
Themes
Justice Theme Icon
Class Theme Icon
Romantic Love Theme Icon
Selfishness and Generosity Theme Icon
National Identity and International Connections Theme Icon
Poirot admits he likes an audience of people telling him how clever he is. He begins telling them what happened. His main “stumbling block” was Jacqueline’s pistol and why it hadn’t been left at the scene of the crime. Ultimately, Poirot realized there was a simple solution: the murderer took the gun away because “he had no other choice in the matter.”
Perhaps Poirot indulged Mrs. Otterbourne earlier because he, too, enjoys being the center of a drama (though he’s a little less flamboyant than she was). His pride is one of his most notable flaws, though it seldom impedes his detective work for long.
Themes
Justice Theme Icon
Deception and Genre Expectations Theme Icon
Romantic Love Theme Icon
Selfishness and Generosity Theme Icon
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