Agatha Christie's Detectives/Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple/Conclusion

Taking into consideration their characteristics, it is obvious that Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple are different types of characters. The main factor causing this distinction is that Hercule Poirot is a flat character and Miss Marple undergoes a change from a nosy parker into an old lady interested in the local affairs in her village.

Another difference is that Hercule Poirot is a semi-official, and that is why he works with the police and has the full access to the evidence and testimonies of the witnesses. Miss Marple, being an amateur, can count only on the good will of people in charge of the investigation. Without patronage of her friends among the detectives she has to rely on the information which she collects from the people by means of gossip or just a friendly talk by the cup of coffee.

In consequence, their investigations are also different. Poirot comes up with his solutions on the basis of the substantial evidence and he always can turn back to it and analyse it calmly. Miss Marple has no opportunity to act in the same way because she does not have access to the evidence collected by the police. That is why she has to remember the information gathered from the witnesses in informal conversations or to recall other cases that she was working on to find some elements in common in order to solve the mysteries more easily.

The characters of both detectives are also different. Monsieur Poirot is extremely self-confident and he himself admits that he is vain. He loves praising himself and underlining his skill in solving crimes. Jane Marple in comparison to him is modest and timid. She does not boast about what a talented detective she is, but she expresses her uncertainty about how big her successes are.

However, there are also some similarities between Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. First of all, they are both solitaries. None of them has married, but Poirot admits that he was once in love with an English girl. Secondly, they use similar techniques of solving crimes. They both talk with witnesses and examine the place of the crime. They also use some unconventional methods such as a ruse used by Poirot, or imitation of the victim`s voice as Miss Marple did. Finally, both Poirot and Marple encounter people who do not have sympathy for them.

What makes those two characters memorable are their characteristic features. Hercule Poirot is such a successful literary construct owing to his moustache, foreign origin and speech patterns full of French sayings. Miss Jane Marple imprints herself in the reader`s memory thanks to her eccentricity. It is rare to encounter an old lady who would be as much fascinated in solving crimes and mysteries as she is.