Time is the best killer

Time is the best killer

by marlies|dekkers

It was 11 o’ clock on a December evening and her finger was on the trigger. Silently stalking the streets, summoning the shadows, she was about to commit her 16th murder. A faint smile appeared on her face as she remembered her first time. At only 10 years old, she had coolly washed the blood off the kitchen knife afterwards. A natural born killer. And now, death had become her living. She took a deep breath, and with a movement both swift and serene, the Assassin aimed…

If you want to get an idea of how extremely rare a fictional female killer was in Agatha Christie’s time, just look at the cover art of crime novels from that era. You see mostly beautiful female victims in tight dresses, a bit of blood trickling elegantly down the chin, right? The idea of a woman murderer was taboo: women were supposed to be ‘better’ than men; after all, they were natural caregivers who brought life into this world. Well, not only did Agatha feature female killers prominently throughout her work, she also made them just as calculating and (physically) strong as her male villains. And, just like the men, Agatha’s masterful women Assassins were perfectly willing to be corrupted for money, love or any other benefit. “Time is the best killer,” Agatha once wrote. Well, iron-willed and ninja-fit, her smooth female criminals sure come a close second.

“Surely if a woman committed a crime like murder, she’d be sufficiently cold-blooded to enjoy the fruits of of it without any weak-minded sentimentality such as repentance.” (from ‘The Murder of Roger Akroyd’)

 

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