28 October 2013
An enduring debate among writers, teachers and readers of
crime fiction is how much character development should a detective undergo, not
only within one novel but from one novel to the next?
Some are adamant that no character development is allowed.
The detective is seen as a ‘catalyst hero’ who affects others but is unaffected
by them or by their experiences, no
matter how fraught. Traditional examples would be Sherlock Holmes, Philip
Marlowe and Miss Marple while more recent examples include Detective Colombo
and Phryne Fisher.
The detective, while possessing a fine moral compass that
leads them to fight evil, remains untouched by even the hardest of villains or
the roughest of deals, and never changes from one story to the next.
Yet this is perhaps a false perception. Even Sherlock Holmes
was moved and disturbed by Irene Adler. Philip Marlowe, the quintessential
hard-boiled private eye, was deeply and negatively affected by the events in The Big Sleep (See http://www.shmoop.com/big-sleep/quest-plot.html).
I recently read an article in which the author claims that
Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s best known character, becomes worn-down over
time by the horrors he witnesses, the writer says of David Suchet, the epitome
of Poirot on TV:
Suchet has subtly aged the investigator, with greying
moustaches and increasing stiffness in the skippy little walk he gave the
detective. More importantly, there is an increasing sense of the accumulated
weight of the cases on him. Although the plots are generally preposterous, the
actor provides a centre of gravity, never letting go of the fact that, from the
war to his work, Poirot has had too much connection with death. (See http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/oct/23/david-suchet-poirot-tv-great-casting
).
While there are plenty of examples of unchanging detectives
in modern times, there are also others who have a definite character arc involving
change and personal development.
In Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series, Lynley is
tortured by the murder of his wife Helen, to the point where he is incapable of
working and takes off on a long walk by himself. His sidekick Barbra Havers
undergoes character development when, after initially succumbing, she is refuses to be pressured into changing
her image and dress code by her superior officer.
The underlying personality of these characters does not change
but, like all of us, they have experiences which affect them and lead to personal
growth and development.
Which is why I am tiring of Phryne Fisher and her faithful
detective Jack Robinson – one more longing gaze and I’m switching off! Just get
on with it.
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