We're getting closer

I have reached another interesting break in the story in which the reader (and Miss Vane) discovers that teacher Miss Hillyard has been walking about on the grounds at night. This makes her appear very suspicious in my eyes, but then again, this may be what Sayers wants me to think. In mysteries, authors deliberately make some characters seem suspicious in order to take suspicious off of other characters and in the process, trick the reader by the time the story is over.

To continue the discussion about academic settings involving intelligent conversation, I am further convinced of this truth because the section I just read involved intelligent discussion between Wimsey and members of the S.C.R. Although there seems to be no further advances in the case, I think there actually is because by Wimsey talking to these women, he may be able to discover the true culprit, especially since many of them are defensive and nervous when speaking with him because he is the “centre of consciousness” because is a “spy.” When their discussion moves to murderers and their punishments, I knew Sayers included this for a reason. Not only is it a chance for Wimsey to “interrogate” the women, but the subject of murderers could foreshadow a possible murder in the future or at the very least suggest the type of punishment the culprit will receive once caught and evaluate the women based on the responses they gave. Many of the women did not “agree that they [murderers] should be comfortably fed and housed” after committing crimes, which is understandable and leads me to believe that the poltergeist will pay for this mayhem that she has caused.

At the same time, these discussions more or less always revert back to the subject of schooling for women, thus reflecting the time period. During this era, many believed, even in Oxford, that “womanliness unfits [a person] from learning.” Obviously, the women in this college are outraged by this line of thought. However, the repetitiveness of this topic leads me to believe that perhaps Miss Vane is correct in believing that the Pen Poisoner is acting out to make a statement about women and perhaps their incompetency to learn at higher institutions of education.

To go back to the novel’s historical significance, this could perhaps be another aspect of academic mystery—it’s academic because it teaches either about a historical time period or perhaps something else. Either way, it’s something to think about.