Comments on: Agatha Christie Muses on Euthanasia in “Curtain” http://jeejeebhoy.ca/2009/02/02/agatha-christie-muses-on-euthanasia-in-curtain/ Reading is just as important as taking care of yourself Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:54:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Shireen http://jeejeebhoy.ca/2009/02/02/agatha-christie-muses-on-euthanasia-in-curtain/comment-page-1/#comment-992 Shireen Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:05:32 +0000 http://jeejeebhoy.ca/2009/02/02/agatha-christie-muses-on-euthanasia-in-curtain/#comment-992 Thanks for the info. I did not know that. I think many feel that euthanasia offers a "gentle and easy" death, yet the obvious abuse that happens when people play god, when those slated for death don't want to die but feel obligated to, belies that as we see in the Netherlands. I am a late fan of Poirot's. Before my brain injury, I was a Marple fan, only liking Poirot when played by David Suchet; after, I became a huge Poirot fan. I agree, I liked the fact he used his "little grey cells" to resolve the dilemma but that he also experienced great doubt about the decision that very intellect -- that had served him so well -- had led him to. Doctor Who will be right! Thanks for the info. I did not know that. I think many feel that euthanasia offers a “gentle and easy” death, yet the obvious abuse that happens when people play god, when those slated for death don’t want to die but feel obligated to, belies that as we see in the Netherlands.

I am a late fan of Poirot’s. Before my brain injury, I was a Marple fan, only liking Poirot when played by David Suchet; after, I became a huge Poirot fan. I agree, I liked the fact he used his “little grey cells” to resolve the dilemma but that he also experienced great doubt about the decision that very intellect — that had served him so well — had led him to. Doctor Who will be right!

]]> By: Ben Babcock http://jeejeebhoy.ca/2009/02/02/agatha-christie-muses-on-euthanasia-in-curtain/comment-page-1/#comment-989 Ben Babcock Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:13:38 +0000 http://jeejeebhoy.ca/2009/02/02/agatha-christie-muses-on-euthanasia-in-curtain/#comment-989 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "euthanasia" first came into usage in the seventeenth century, when it meant merely "a gentle and easy death" without necessarily denoting the means of that death. That happened about a hundred years later, with the current meaning becoming common in the late nineteenth century. Curtain is by far my favourite Poirot mystery and probably the most memorable. Christie managed to bring Poirot's life, and thus his story, to a dramatic and tender conclusion. The death of Poirot was apparently such a big deal that real newspapers ran obituaries about him. I greatly respect that she turned Poirot into a murderer--and not a "it's you or me" life-or-death struggle over Reichenbach Falls, but a calculated decision to murder a murderer before he can commit another crime. This final act confirms Poirot as a three dimensional, complex character and not just a stock detective. No wonder she's still being published five billion years from now (according to Doctor Who). :O According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “euthanasia” first came into usage in the seventeenth century, when it meant merely “a gentle and easy death” without necessarily denoting the means of that death. That happened about a hundred years later, with the current meaning becoming common in the late nineteenth century.

Curtain is by far my favourite Poirot mystery and probably the most memorable. Christie managed to bring Poirot’s life, and thus his story, to a dramatic and tender conclusion. The death of Poirot was apparently such a big deal that real newspapers ran obituaries about him. I greatly respect that she turned Poirot into a murderer–and not a “it’s you or me” life-or-death struggle over Reichenbach Falls, but a calculated decision to murder a murderer before he can commit another crime. This final act confirms Poirot as a three dimensional, complex character and not just a stock detective. No wonder she’s still being published five billion years from now (according to Doctor Who). :O

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