Subject: Dying
Quote: “It’s not what I say to my patients…but a man may as well wear out as rust out…. Invalids clinging to life, terrified of overexerting themselves, terrified of a breath of drafty air, a stray germ, of an injudicious meal.”
Character: Doctor Metcalf
Chapter/Story: 15
Book Title/Copyright: The Body in the Library, 1942Subject: Death
Quote: “I always hoped that when my time came, it would come quickly—that I should meet Death face to face—not feel him creeping along beside me, always at my shoulder—gradually forcing me to sink to one indignity after another of illness. Increased helplessness—increasing dependence on other people!”
Character: Lady Tressilian
Chapter/Story: “Snow White and Rose Red—VI”
Book Title/Copyright: Towards Zero, 1944Subject: Assumptions
Quote: “Madre…would have wished me to go on with my work.”
Hercule Poirot had heard many people say much the same thing. It was one of the most convenient assumptions, this knowledge of what the dead would wish. The bereaved had never any doubt about their dear ones’ wishes and those wishes usually squared with their own inclinations.
Character: Omniscient Narrator
Chapter/Story: 22
Book Title/Copyright: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, 1952
