Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas
explored in a literary work.
The Administration of Justice
Most murder mysteries examine justice—its violation,
through the act of murder, and its restoration, through the work
of a detective who solves the crime and ensures that the murderer pays
for his or her deed. And Then There Were None examines justice,
but it bends the formula by making the victims of murder people
who committed murder themselves. Thus, the killings on Indian Island
are arguably acts of justice. Judge Wargrave does the work of detective
and murderer by picking out those who are guilty and punishing them.
Whether we accept the justice of the events on Indian
Island depends on both whether we accept Wargrave’s belief that
all the murder victims deserve their deaths and whether we accept
that Wargrave has the moral authority to pronounce and carry out
the sentences. At least some of the murders are unjust if we do
not consider all of Wargrave’s victims murderers. Emily Brent, for
example, did not actually kill her servant, Beatrice Taylor. Thus,
one could argue that she deserves a lesser punishment for her sin.
Christie explores the line that divides those who act
unjustly from those who seek to restore justice. She suggests that
unjust behavior does not necessarily make someone bad and enforcing
justice does not necessarily make someone good . Wargrave’s victims, although
they have violated the rules of moral behavior in the past, are,
for the most part, far more likable and decent human beings than
Wargrave. Although Wargrave serves justice in a technical sense,
he is a cruel and unsympathetic man, and likely insane.
The Effects of Guilt on One’s Conscience
By creating a story in which every character has committed
a crime, Christie explores different human responses to the burden
of a guilty conscience. Beginning with the first moments after the recorded
voice reveals the guests’ crimes, each character takes a different
approach to dealing with his or her guilt.
The characters who publicly and self-righteously deny
their crimes are tormented by guilt in private. General Macarthur,
for instance, brusquely dismisses the claim that he killed his wife’s
lover. By the following day, however, guilt so overwhelms him that
he resignedly waits to die. Dr. Armstrong is equally dismissive
of the charges against him, but he soon starts dreaming about the
woman who died on his operating table.
On the other hand, the people who own up to their crimes
are less likely to feel pangs of guilt. Lombard willingly admits
to leaving tribesmen to die in the African bush, insisting that
he did it to save his own life and would willingly do it again.
Tony Marston readily owns up to running down the two children, and
he displays no sense of having done anything wrong. Neither of the
two men gives a moment’s private thought to his crime.
