Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking." "An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.
Agatha ChristieRead
I have wanted . . . to commit a murder myself. I recognized this as the desire of the artist to express himself! . . . But-incongruous as it may seem to some-I was restrained and hampered by my innate sense of justice. The innocent must not suffer.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the conflict between an artist's desire for creative freedom and their moral obligations.
In this quote, Agatha Christie reveals the dual nature of artistic expression, where the passionate urge to create can sometimes clash with ethical considerations. She acknowledges a personal desire for extreme expression—symbolized by the thought of murder—but ultimately feels constrained by her own moral compass, emphasizing the responsibility artists bear to ensure their creations do not harm the innocent.
In practice
In a lecture about the responsibilities of artists, this quote could be used to illustrate the ethical boundaries artists may face.
Poirot," I said. "I have been thinking." "An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it.
Best of an island is once you get there - you can't go any farther...you've come to the end of things.
Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.
Sitting here with one's knitting, one just sees the facts. -"The Blood-Stained Pavement
No, my friend, I am not drunk. I have just been to the dentist, and need not return for another six months! Is it not the most beautiful thought? --Poirot
Words are such uncertain things, they so often sound well but mean the opposite of what one thinks they do.
With a book I am the writer and I am also the director and I'm all of the actors and I'm the special effects guy and the lighting technician: I'm all of that. So if it's good or bad, it's all up to me.
I saw a sunset in Queretaro that seemed to reflect the color of a rose in Bengal.
An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.
I'm a songwriter, and people will tell you the greatest stories about their lives, whether you want to hear it or not.
I hate vulgar realism in literature. The man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one.
It took me some years to clear my head of what Paris wanted me to admire about it, and to notice what I preferred instead. Not power-ridden monuments, but individual buildings which tell a quieter story: the artist's studio, or the Belle Epoque house built by a forgotten financier for a just-remembered courtesan.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.