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Mollie Ralston, the protagonist of The Mousetrap, is the owner of Monkswell Manor. A young woman in her twenties, she recently inherited the manor from her aunt and has opened it as a guesthouse with her husband, Giles. Despite her inexperience with managing such a business, she earnestly strives to be a good host. She’s trusting of her guests and doesn’t withhold her hospitality from anyone, not even the ill-tempered Mrs. Boyle or the mysterious stranger Mr. Paravicini. She also bonds with Christopher Wren, another guest, whom she treats with compassion and understanding. When Monkswell Manor becomes the site of a murder investigation, Mollie begins to fear that she may not be able to trust anybody. She doubts her own husband’s truthfulness, worried that Giles could be lying and keeping secrets from her to conceal his identity as a killer. In reality, Mollie is keeping secrets from him. Years ago, she taught at the school that the Corrigan children attended. The youngest Corrigan child, Jimmy, sent her a letter begging for help because he and his siblings were being abused by their foster parents, Maureen and John Stanning, at Longridge Farm. But because she was sick, Mollie didn’t read the letter until weeks later. At that point, Jimmy was already dead. Since then, Mollie has felt guilty for not receiving the boy’s message in time. She has tried to move on and forget about her failure to help him. However, she now wonders if running away from the past is truly the right choice, or if she ought to face the past head-on instead. At the end of the play, Georgie Corrigan (disguised as Sergeant Trotter) attempts to murder Mollie, but she’s rescued by Miss Casewell’s intervention. Afterward, Mollie reconciles with Giles, once more secure in her loving marriage.
Mollie Ralston Quotes in The Mousetrap
The The Mousetrap quotes below are all either spoken by Mollie Ralston or refer to Mollie Ralston. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1, Scene 1 Quotes
But I do so like knowing all about people. I mean, I think people are so madly interesting […] They’re all interesting, because you never really know what anyone is like—or what they are really thinking.
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Yes—the unexpected guest. The guest that you did not invite. The guest who just arrived—from nowhere‚ out of the storm. It sounds quite dramatic, does it not? Who am I? You do not know. Where do I come from? You do not know. Me, I am the man of mystery.
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Act 1, Scene 2 Quotes
MOLLIE: But sometimes things happen—to make you remember…
CASEWELL: Don’t give in. Turn your back on them.
MOLLIE: Is that really the right way? I wonder. Perhaps that’s all wrong. Perhaps one ought really to…face them.
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Nothing from the past is going to affect me—except in the way I want it to.
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Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes
Listen, Christopher, you can’t go on—running away from things—all your life. […] You’ve got to grow up some time, Chris.
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Considering that I never saw you until yesterday, we seem to know each other rather well […] I suppose there’s a sort of—sympathy between us.
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That’s what happens in a nightmare. You’re somewhere in the middle of friends and then you suddenly look at their faces and they’re not your friends any longer—they’re different people—just pretending. Perhaps you can’t trust anybody—perhaps everybody’s a stranger.
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GILES: You’ve only got to look at him to see he’s barmy.
MOLLIE: He isn’t. He’s just unhappy. I tell you, Giles, he isn’t dangerous.
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GILES: Mollie, what’s come over you? You’re different all of a sudden. I feel as though I don’t know you any more.
MOLLIE: Perhaps you never did know me. We’ve been married how long—a year? But you don’t really know anything about me. What I’d done or thought or felt or suffered before you knew me.
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But such a gay little tune? Don’t you think? She cut off their tails with a carving knife—snick, snick, snick—delicious. Just what a child would adore. Cruel little things, children. (Leaning forward) Some of them never grow up.
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That nasty, cruel woman killed him. They put her in prison. Prison wasn’t bad enough for her. I said I’d kill her one day . . . I did, too, in the fog. It was great fun. I hope Jimmy knows. “I’ll kill them all when I’ve grown up.” That’s what I said to myself.
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It’s all right, Georgie. I’m taking you somewhere where they will look after you, and see that you won’t do any more harm.
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It wasn’t my fault—but he thought I could have saved that child.
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GILES: Darling, you should have told me.
MOLLIE: I wanted to forget.
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Mollie Ralston Character Timeline in The Mousetrap
The timeline below shows where the character Mollie Ralston appears in The Mousetrap. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
Mollie Ralston enters the house, turns off the radio, takes off her coat and gloves, and...
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Sitting on the sofa, Mollie and Giles confirm with one another that all their preparations are finished. Mollie has inherited...
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Mollie sends Giles out to fix the central heating. In the meantime, she turns the radio...
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The doorbell rings, and Mollie lets in their first guest, a young man named Christopher Wren, who says he’s an...
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While Mollie takes Christopher up to his room, the doorbell rings impatiently several times. Giles admits their...
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...him, speculating that the person who strangled Maureen Lyon to death was a “sex maniac.” Mollie greets Miss Casewell and leads her to her room, and Giles follows them with Miss...
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...the entrance hall, Christopher wanders around, singing another nursery rhyme and laughing to himself. As Mollie and Giles come back downstairs, he hides behind a curtain. The couple is discussing what...
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Giles calls Christopher an idiot and a “twerp,” but Mollie thinks he’s kind and considerate. Yet no matter how strongly Mollie insists that she likes...
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Surprisingly, the doorbell rings once more, even though Mollie and Giles aren’t anticipating any more guests. To Mollie’s indignation, Giles jokes that the Culver...
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...inside the manor is now cut off from the world—a situation he finds most “admirable.” Mollie and Giles stare at Mr. Paravicini nervously.
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Act 1, Scene 2
...Manor’s main hall. Mrs. Boyle bemoans the lack of amenities, while the major pleasantly compliments Mollie’s cooking. Mrs. Boyle claims she won’t be staying at the guesthouse for much longer. Laughing,...
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Mollie carries a vacuum cleaner upstairs and bumps into Miss Casewell, who is coming downstairs. Mrs....
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The telephone rings. Mollie answers it and speaks to the Berkshire Police, who say they’re sending a sergeant to...
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...the drawing room, Christopher loudly sings another nursery rhyme. When Mrs. Boyle reproaches his manners, Mollie defends him by saying he’s a brilliant architect. However, Mrs. Boyle is suspicious of who...
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...She leaves in a huff to write her letters in the drawing room. Leering at Mollie, Mr. Paravicini suggests that she and Giles are too trusting of their guests. After all,...
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...complaining of the cold in the drawing room, and Major Metcalf enters as well, informing Mollie that some of the pipes are frozen. Mollie laments that so many things are going...
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...asks everyone if they had any connection to the Longridge Farm case. Giles answers no; Mollie uneasily does the same and excuses herself to the kitchen. The guests all deny knowing...
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...people, and leaves the room. In his absence, Miss Casewell notes that he’s wearing makeup. Mollie has also noticed that Mr. Paravicini appears old but moves like a much younger man....
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Mollie comments on how “horrid” she finds the tune of “Three Blind Mice,” and Miss Casewell...
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...Sergeant Trotter return. Trotter tries to call the police superintendent to make a report, but Mollie reminds him that the phone is dead. Alarmed, Trotter suggests that the line may have...
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Mollie excuses herself to the kitchen again. Meanwhile, Giles picks up her gloves, which she left...
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...go out, there is a brief struggle, and Mrs. Boyle falls to the ground. Oblivious, Mollie walks into the room and turns on the light. She sees Mrs. Boyle’s dead body...
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Act 2, Scene 1
Ten minutes later, everyone assembles in the entrance hall. At Sergeant Trotter’s insistence, Mollie tries to remember what she heard and saw when she found Mrs. Boyle’s corpse. But...
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...extension telephone worked. Trotter observes that Giles took a long time to come downstairs once Mollie began screaming, and Giles says that he was busy “thinking about something.” Christopher was in...
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...the time to fold up the letter and bring it with her when she heard Mollie scream, rather than leaving it behind at once to find out what was wrong. Finally,...
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...Christopher desperately defends himself, upset that he’s facing such “persecution.” Major Metcalf comforts him, and Mollie implores Sergeant Trotter not to arrest Christopher. Giles calls Mollie crazy for taking Christopher’s side...
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Mollie asks to speak with Sergeant Trotter alone. She doesn’t believe Christopher is the murderer, so...
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Sergeant Trotter counters Mollie’s suggestions with the idea that the murderer may be a woman, perhaps the surviving sister...
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Sergeant Trotter leaves, and Christopher returns to the hall, asking Mollie if there’s any place in the house where he can hide from Trotter. He’s scared...
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Mollie says she underwent a horrible experience in her own past, years before she met Giles....
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Abruptly, Mollie cries out that she despises Sergeant Trotter. She doesn’t want to believe that Giles lied...
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Giles enters the hall, interrupting Mollie and Christopher’s intimate conversation. Convinced that Christopher is the murderer, Giles warns him to stay...
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Giles accuses Mollie of going to London in secret to meet Christopher. Mollie sternly denies this, but he...
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Sergeant Trotter interrupts Mollie and Giles to inform them that his skis have gone missing. He intended to ski...
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Mollie heads to the kitchen to prepare food. Mr. Paravicini takes her arm and offers to...
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...the murder so he can trace everyone’s movements throughout the house and expose the liar. Mollie says it’s a trap, but Trotter reassures her that he wants only for people to...
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After turning off the lights in the entrance hall, Sergeant Trotter calls Mollie in. He asks her why she never disclosed her connection to the Longridge Farm case....
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Sergeant Trotter takes a revolver from his pocket and aims it at Mollie. He reveals to her that he’s not a policeman at all. In fact, he’s Georgie,...
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Giles runs into the hall and embraces Mollie. He wishes she had told him about her connection to the Corrigan children before, but...
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Mollie asks Giles what he was doing in London yesterday. The truth is that he was...
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