Arthur Hastings
Encyclopedia
Captain Arthur Hastings, OBE
, is a fictional character
, the amateur sleuthing partner and best friend of Agatha Christie
's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot
. He is first introduced in her novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles
and appears in many subsequent Poirot stories and novels, generally as the narrator
.
" were adaptations of the short stories, in most of which he appeared, or were stories into which he had been introduced in the course of adaptation (e.g. Murder in the Mews
). In Christie's original writings, however, Hastings is far less prominent. He is not a character in either of the two best-known Poirot novels - Death on the Nile
and Murder on the Orient Express
- and of the fifteen Poirot novels published between 1920 and 1937, he appears in fewer than half. Moreover, when Christie expanded The Submarine Plans (1923) as The Incredible Theft (1937), she removed Hastings.
Hastings appears to have been introduced by Christie in accordance with the model of Sherlock Holmes
's associate
, Doctor Watson, to whom he bears a marked resemblance. Both narrate in the first person, both are slow to see the significance of clues, and both therefore stand as a form of surrogate for the reader. There are even similarities of role: Hastings is Poirot's only close friend, and the two share a flat briefly when Poirot sets up his detective agency. The presence of Chief Inspector Japp
, a close "literary descendant" of Holmes's Inspector Lestrade
, fleshed out Christie's adoption of the Holmes paradigm.
Christie's experiments with first-person narration, especially in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
, saw her attempt to expand the formal resources of the detective novel. In Ten Little Niggers
(1939), her most successful novel, and one in which none of her detectives appear, her third-person narrative moves fluidly between the perspectives of all of her characters. This need to see different events from alternative perspectives (especially from the perspectives of her suspects) meant that she increasingly favoured third-person narration throughout her career.
In Sad Cypress
, for example, the character of a woman on trial is made to think like a murderess when the narrative is written from her perspective: a significant red herring
that is only possible because of the method of narration.
Furthermore, Poirot's method changes in the novels. In the earlier phase of his career, Hastings is valued for his imaginative approach to cases, inevitably giving rise to fanciful hypotheses that Poirot can gently mock. This characterisation of Hastings is made by Poirot himself in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" (1932): "How my dear friend, Hastings, would have enjoyed this! What romantic flights of imagination he would have had. What ineptitudes he would have uttered! Ah ce cher Hastings, at this moment, today, I miss him ..."
Later in her career, Christie's apparatus is less fanciful, and the opportunity for wild speculation much diminished. When the need for a sidekick arises in the later novels and stories it is either:
Although Hastings remains the most popular of Poirot's sidekicks, his appearance in only eight of the thirty-three Poirot novels indicates that he no longer served Christie's literary purpose.
prior to the war.
Hastings meets Poirot in Belgium several years before their meeting on 16 July 1916, at Styles Court, Essex, which is their first encounter in literature. The two remain friends right up to Poirot's death, although there is little evidence regarding their possible meetings between 1937 and 1975, but we know that Hastings at least saw Poirot a year before the latter's death. Hastings, while being no great detective himself, serves Poirot in many ways. A former British Army officer in World War I
, he is extremely brave and often used by Poirot for physical duties such as catching and subduing a criminal. Poirot likes to tease Hastings about being dim-witted at times, but he clearly enjoys the Captain's company. In two of the books in which he appears — The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The ABC Murders — Hastings plays a prominent role in the resolution of the mystery, with a casual observation he makes at one point in the novel leading Poirot to realise the guilty party: By mentioning that Poirot had to straighten some spill holders and ornaments in "Styles," he prompts Poirot to realise that someone had moved them, thus allowing Poirot to discover a crucial piece of evidence, and when he suggests that an incorrectly addressed letter revealing the latest crime in The ABC Murders was addressed that way on purpose, Poirot realises that the letter had indeed been wrongly addressed deliberately so that it would not be received until after the murderer had committed his crime, revealing that the murderer had attached greater importance to that particular murder, and wanted to be certain that it was committed.
Hastings represents the traditional English gentleman — not too bright but absolutely scrupulous, a throwback to the Victorian-era gentleman who is always concerned about "fair play." Unlike Poirot, who is not above lying, surreptitiously reading other people's letters, eavesdropping, etc., in his quest to solve a case, Hastings is absolutely horrified by such things and usually refuses to do these things even when asked to do so by Poirot. Hastings' physical appearance is rarely described in the novels because he is often the narrator. However, it is mentioned in various novels that he, like Poirot, has a moustache which occasionally is a target of the detective's criticism: 'And your moustache. If you must have a moustache, let it be a real moustache, a thing of beauty such as mine.'
He is chivalrous as well, possessing a pronounced weakness for pretty women with auburn hair (a fact that gets him and Poirot into trouble more than once). Despite his preference for auburn hair, and his Victorian ideas about not marrying outside one's class, he eventually falls in love with a dark-haired music-hall actress, singer, and acrobat, Dulcie Duveen. They meet in the story Murder on the Links
, the second full-length Poirot novel. Poirot plays a rather significant part in uniting the couple. Hastings then acquires a ranch in Argentina
and settles down to a life as a ranchholder.
Hastings's appearances in Poirot's later novels are restricted to a few cases in which he participates on his periodic returns to England from Argentina; Poirot comments in The ABC Murders that he enjoys Hastings's visits because he always has his most interesting cases when Hastings is with him. In the course of The Big Four
, Dulcie's life is threatened by members of an international conspiracy, and Hastings is forced to risk Poirot's life in return for her promised safety. In other respects there is very little personal detail regarding him in these novels, until Curtain: Poirot's Last Case
, which is presumed to take place a great many years later; with his wife now dead, Hastings rejoins Poirot at Styles to help Poirot tackle one last case, Poirot dying of a heart attack at the conclusion but leaving Hastings a confession explaining his role in events.
In Curtain, we learn that he and 'Cinders' or 'Cinderella' as he calls Dulcie, have four children: two sons and two daughters. One son joins the Royal Navy, while the other one and his wife manage the ranch after Dulcie's death. His daughter Grace is married to a British officer stationed in India, and his youngest child, Judith, who is also his favourite — albeit while also being the one he understands least — appears as a character in Curtain. Judith marries Dr. John Franklin, a medical researcher, and moves to Africa with him. It is possible that Hastings himself also takes a second wife: Elizabeth Litchfield, the younger sister of a woman who was manipulated into killing her abusive father by the killer that Poirot was tracking. Poirot certainly suggests that he should become involved with Elizabeth in the Postscript to Curtain, noting that Elizabeth must be reassured that she is not tainted by her sister's actions and that Hastings is still not unattractive to women, but there is no further evidence either way.
in The Alphabet Murders (1965); Jonathan Cecil
in Thirteen at Dinner (1985), Dead Man's Folly (1986), and Murder in Three Acts (1986); and most notably, Hugh Fraser
, who has portrayed Hastings alongside David Suchet
's Poirot in 41 of the 49 episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot
broadcast up until 2003. He is also a main character in the anime Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple.
). These are as follows:
Hastings is also present in both the play and novelisation of Christie's Black Coffee alongside Poirot.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, the amateur sleuthing partner and best friend of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975 and set in the same era.Poirot has been portrayed on...
. He is first introduced in her novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It was written in 1916 and was first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on January 21, 1921. The U.S...
and appears in many subsequent Poirot stories and novels, generally as the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
.
Literary function
Hastings is today strongly associated with Poirot, partly because many of the early TV episodes "Agatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
" were adaptations of the short stories, in most of which he appeared, or were stories into which he had been introduced in the course of adaptation (e.g. Murder in the Mews
Murder in the Mews
Murder in the Mews and Other Stories is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club on March 15, 1937...
). In Christie's original writings, however, Hastings is far less prominent. He is not a character in either of the two best-known Poirot novels - Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 1, 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.00.The book...
and Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on January 1, 1934 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of...
- and of the fifteen Poirot novels published between 1920 and 1937, he appears in fewer than half. Moreover, when Christie expanded The Submarine Plans (1923) as The Incredible Theft (1937), she removed Hastings.
Hastings appears to have been introduced by Christie in accordance with the model of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
's associate
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
, Doctor Watson, to whom he bears a marked resemblance. Both narrate in the first person, both are slow to see the significance of clues, and both therefore stand as a form of surrogate for the reader. There are even similarities of role: Hastings is Poirot's only close friend, and the two share a flat briefly when Poirot sets up his detective agency. The presence of Chief Inspector Japp
Chief Inspector Japp
Detective Chief Inspector James Japp is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot.-Japp in Christie's work:...
, a close "literary descendant" of Holmes's Inspector Lestrade
Inspector Lestrade
Inspector G. Lestrade is a fictional character, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle used the name of a friend from his days at the University of Edinburgh, a Saint Lucian medical student by the name of Joseph Alexandre Lestrade....
, fleshed out Christie's adoption of the Holmes paradigm.
Christie's experiments with first-person narration, especially in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
, saw her attempt to expand the formal resources of the detective novel. In Ten Little Niggers
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
(1939), her most successful novel, and one in which none of her detectives appear, her third-person narrative moves fluidly between the perspectives of all of her characters. This need to see different events from alternative perspectives (especially from the perspectives of her suspects) meant that she increasingly favoured third-person narration throughout her career.
In Sad Cypress
Sad Cypress
Sad Cypress is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March 1940 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year...
, for example, the character of a woman on trial is made to think like a murderess when the narrative is written from her perspective: a significant red herring
Red herring (plot device)
Red herring is an idiomatic expression referring to the rhetorical or literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance...
that is only possible because of the method of narration.
Furthermore, Poirot's method changes in the novels. In the earlier phase of his career, Hastings is valued for his imaginative approach to cases, inevitably giving rise to fanciful hypotheses that Poirot can gently mock. This characterisation of Hastings is made by Poirot himself in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest" (1932): "How my dear friend, Hastings, would have enjoyed this! What romantic flights of imagination he would have had. What ineptitudes he would have uttered! Ah ce cher Hastings, at this moment, today, I miss him ..."
Later in her career, Christie's apparatus is less fanciful, and the opportunity for wild speculation much diminished. When the need for a sidekick arises in the later novels and stories it is either:
- A suspect
- Miss Lemon (who, in direct contrast with Hastings, is completely unimaginative)
- Mr. Satterthwaite (a great observer of human nature who avoids passing judgments)
- Ariadne OliverAriadne OliverAriadne Oliver is a fictional character in the novels of Agatha Christie. She is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot.-Profile:Mrs. Oliver often assists Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She often claims to be endowed with particular "feminine intuition,"...
(a crime novelist who opened to Christie the opportunity for self-satire)
Although Hastings remains the most popular of Poirot's sidekicks, his appearance in only eight of the thirty-three Poirot novels indicates that he no longer served Christie's literary purpose.
Career
Similarly to his friend Poirot, Hastings' life and background before 1916 are pure estimation though the reader is able to pinpoint Hastings' approximate birth year as 1886 as he mentions that John Cavendish was 'a good fifteen years [his] senior' though hardly looking 'his forty-five years' in the first chapter of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. This thus makes Hastings thirty years old at the start of the novel. It is also mentioned later on that he was employed at Lloyd'sLloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
prior to the war.
Hastings meets Poirot in Belgium several years before their meeting on 16 July 1916, at Styles Court, Essex, which is their first encounter in literature. The two remain friends right up to Poirot's death, although there is little evidence regarding their possible meetings between 1937 and 1975, but we know that Hastings at least saw Poirot a year before the latter's death. Hastings, while being no great detective himself, serves Poirot in many ways. A former British Army officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he is extremely brave and often used by Poirot for physical duties such as catching and subduing a criminal. Poirot likes to tease Hastings about being dim-witted at times, but he clearly enjoys the Captain's company. In two of the books in which he appears — The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The ABC Murders — Hastings plays a prominent role in the resolution of the mystery, with a casual observation he makes at one point in the novel leading Poirot to realise the guilty party: By mentioning that Poirot had to straighten some spill holders and ornaments in "Styles," he prompts Poirot to realise that someone had moved them, thus allowing Poirot to discover a crucial piece of evidence, and when he suggests that an incorrectly addressed letter revealing the latest crime in The ABC Murders was addressed that way on purpose, Poirot realises that the letter had indeed been wrongly addressed deliberately so that it would not be received until after the murderer had committed his crime, revealing that the murderer had attached greater importance to that particular murder, and wanted to be certain that it was committed.
Hastings represents the traditional English gentleman — not too bright but absolutely scrupulous, a throwback to the Victorian-era gentleman who is always concerned about "fair play." Unlike Poirot, who is not above lying, surreptitiously reading other people's letters, eavesdropping, etc., in his quest to solve a case, Hastings is absolutely horrified by such things and usually refuses to do these things even when asked to do so by Poirot. Hastings' physical appearance is rarely described in the novels because he is often the narrator. However, it is mentioned in various novels that he, like Poirot, has a moustache which occasionally is a target of the detective's criticism: 'And your moustache. If you must have a moustache, let it be a real moustache, a thing of beauty such as mine.'
He is chivalrous as well, possessing a pronounced weakness for pretty women with auburn hair (a fact that gets him and Poirot into trouble more than once). Despite his preference for auburn hair, and his Victorian ideas about not marrying outside one's class, he eventually falls in love with a dark-haired music-hall actress, singer, and acrobat, Dulcie Duveen. They meet in the story Murder on the Links
Murder on the Links
The Murder on the Links is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in May 1923 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in of the same year.It features Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings...
, the second full-length Poirot novel. Poirot plays a rather significant part in uniting the couple. Hastings then acquires a ranch in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and settles down to a life as a ranchholder.
Hastings's appearances in Poirot's later novels are restricted to a few cases in which he participates on his periodic returns to England from Argentina; Poirot comments in The ABC Murders that he enjoys Hastings's visits because he always has his most interesting cases when Hastings is with him. In the course of The Big Four
The Big Four (novel)
The Big Four is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on January 27, 1927 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It features Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp...
, Dulcie's life is threatened by members of an international conspiracy, and Hastings is forced to risk Poirot's life in return for her promised safety. In other respects there is very little personal detail regarding him in these novels, until Curtain: Poirot's Last Case
Curtain (novel)
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1975 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year....
, which is presumed to take place a great many years later; with his wife now dead, Hastings rejoins Poirot at Styles to help Poirot tackle one last case, Poirot dying of a heart attack at the conclusion but leaving Hastings a confession explaining his role in events.
In Curtain, we learn that he and 'Cinders' or 'Cinderella' as he calls Dulcie, have four children: two sons and two daughters. One son joins the Royal Navy, while the other one and his wife manage the ranch after Dulcie's death. His daughter Grace is married to a British officer stationed in India, and his youngest child, Judith, who is also his favourite — albeit while also being the one he understands least — appears as a character in Curtain. Judith marries Dr. John Franklin, a medical researcher, and moves to Africa with him. It is possible that Hastings himself also takes a second wife: Elizabeth Litchfield, the younger sister of a woman who was manipulated into killing her abusive father by the killer that Poirot was tracking. Poirot certainly suggests that he should become involved with Elizabeth in the Postscript to Curtain, noting that Elizabeth must be reassured that she is not tainted by her sister's actions and that Hastings is still not unattractive to women, but there is no further evidence either way.
Portrayals of Hastings on screen
Hastings has been portrayed on film and television by several actors, including Robert MorleyRobert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
in The Alphabet Murders (1965); Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil , more commonly known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film and television actor.-Early life:...
in Thirteen at Dinner (1985), Dead Man's Folly (1986), and Murder in Three Acts (1986); and most notably, Hugh Fraser
Hugh Fraser (actor)
Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
, who has portrayed Hastings alongside David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
's Poirot in 41 of the 49 episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
broadcast up until 2003. He is also a main character in the anime Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple.
The Hastings novels
Hastings narrates the majority of the short stories featuring Poirot, but appears in only eight of the novels, all of which were written before 1940 (except Curtain: Poirot's Last CaseCurtain (novel)
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1975 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year....
). These are as follows:
- The Mysterious Affair at StylesThe Mysterious Affair at StylesThe Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. It was written in 1916 and was first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head on January 21, 1921. The U.S...
- Murder on the LinksMurder on the LinksThe Murder on the Links is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in May 1923 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in of the same year.It features Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings...
- The Big FourThe Big Four (novel)The Big Four is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on January 27, 1927 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It features Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp...
- Peril at End HousePeril at End HousePeril at End House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year...
- The A.B.C. MurdersThe A.B.C. MurdersThe A.B.C. Murders is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on January 6, 1936 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on February 14 of the same year...
- Lord Edgware DiesLord Edgware DiesLord Edgware Dies is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Thirteen at Dinner. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence...
(published in the U.S. as Thirteen at Dinner) - Dumb WitnessDumb WitnessDumb Witness is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on July 5 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of Poirot Loses a Client...
- Curtain: Poirot's Last CaseCurtain (novel)Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1975 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year....
Hastings is also present in both the play and novelisation of Christie's Black Coffee alongside Poirot.
External links
- Hastings at the official Agatha Christie website
- Biography of Captain Hastings