ANALYSIS OF HERCULE POIROT'S NARCISSISTIC CHARACTER

IN SOPHIE HANNAH’S THE MONOGRAM MURDER

Ardi Rusdiyansyah

English Literature Department, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya

ardirusdiyansyah@gmail.com

Abstract: This research is about the narcissist character of Hercule Poirot from Sophie
Hannah. This study focuses on analyzing: (1) Why Hercule Poirot depicted as narcissist?
(2) How does Hercule Poirot narcissism portrayed in Sophie Hannah’s The Monogram
Murder? The psychoanalysis approach is applied to examine the characters'
characterization in the novel. This qualitative research uses descriptive analysis since the
primary data source is from the novel's text. The data analyzing technique is done by
closely reading the novel's text and then analyzing it using the psychoanalysis approach
from Sigmund Freud. This research finds that: (1) the cause of Hercule Poirot’s narcissist
character is because he is a detective as a detective Poirot’s need to be a. (2) the
narcissism of Hercule Poirot is portrayed as self-admiration that shapes his approach to
solving the case and his desire to be the center of attention.

Keywords: narcissistic, mystery, detective, psychoanalysis, characterization

INTRODUCTION

In the realm of the mystery fiction genre, there exists a very popular character known
as one of the best fictional detectives, if not the best. Hercule Poirot is a character that
respectable Agatha Christie created. Poirot is described as a high-class man with dignity and
genius yet a narcissistic character. Poirot is very clever in that he can trick his readers about
the methods he uses to solve a case during his investigation. Although his popularity came
from his knowledge and reputation in solving a case, remember to mention that he became
popular also because of his unique physical appearance. Poirot is described as a small
Belgian man with an egg-shaped head and a distinctive mustache. However, Agatha Christies
is not immortal, but Hercule Poirot does. After the death of Agatha Christie, there was no
longer a story about Hercule Poirot until someone named Sophie Hannah appeared. Hannah
continues the legacy of Agatha Christie in Hercule Poirot. She woke the sleeping dragon by
continuing the story of the "little grey cells."

Poirot has successfully entertained readers and audiences for decades (Eckert, 2021,
p. 187). He is known for his brilliant deductive skills, being very aware of every detail during
investigation in a mystery case, and his complex personality. However, with closer
examination, it is found throughout The Monogram Murder, a novel written by Sophie
Hannah that beneath his brilliant deductive skills and intellectual lays narcissist
characteristic.

The character of Hercule Poirot, created by Agatha Christie, has entertained readers
and audiences for decades. Poirot has become an iconic figure in the detective genre because
of his brilliant deductive skills, awareness of detail, and distinctive personality. Agatha
Christie's Poirot novels have set the standard for mystery writing and gained a loyal
worldwide following. In recent years, as the researcher explained, the torch of continuing the
Hercule Poirot legacy has been passed to contemporary author Sophie Hannah, who has
taken on the challenge of writing authorized Poirot novels.

Because of his big names and reputation for solving mystery cases, Poirot always had
various offers of cases to solve. However, Poirot is the type of detective concerned with his
cases and will consider many things before accepting an offer (Lee & Lee, 2016, p. 5). Poirot
does not care about the money; instead, he gladly accepts an offer if he thinks the case is
complicated or exciting. It can be shown throughout the novel by Sophie Hannah entitled The
Monogram Murder (Hannah, 2014). In this case, Poirot has yet to be officially assigned by
the authorities. Instead, he gladly wanted to help Edward Catchpool to solve this murder.
Poirot intends to solve this case because Poirot is interested in the girl named Jennie; he
thought Jennie had a connection with the murder only based on their conversation. Even
though during the investigation, Poirot is teaming up with Catchpool from Scotland Yard,
due to the inexperience of Catchpool, Poirot is doing the inquiry into his own, and he thinks
he knows it all. When Catchpool had many questions about the method Hercule Poirot used
during the investigation, with his arrogances, Poirot told Catchpool to listen and analyze how
he was working so that Catchpool would get the experience from the master. Therefore, the
novel The Monogram Murder is considered a contemporary work that is still growing and
rarely researched. In this case, the researcher hardly found any research related to the novel.
However, two types of research related to The Monogram Murder that the researcher found
are mentioned as follows.

The first previous study was written by Knura Barbara (2015). The title of the
research is In Agatha Christie’s Shoes. A Comparative Study of Sophie Hannah’s Monogram
Murders and Agatha Christie’s Works. In the research, Barbara conducted comparative
research. Barbara compared both authors' characters, plot, language, and style. The research
aims to prove Sophie Hannah's writing of the character Hercule Poirot that Agatha Christie
created. The second previous study came from Groenewald (2019). The thesis title is
Reconstructing the crime: the use of past tenses in The Monogram Murders and Meurtres en
Majuscules. In the thesis, Groenewald also conducts comparative research. However, the
comparison is different from Agatha Christie's works. The thesis analysis focuses on past
tenses in the detective novel The Monogram Murders and Meurtres en Majuscules. The
analysis emphasizes how the past tenses are used to reconstruct the crime in both novels.
However, this thesis is included in the linguistics scope of research.

Meanwhile, this research analyzes the narcissistic characterization of Hercule Poirot

in the novel by Sophie Hannah entitled The Monogram Murder. This novel is selected as a
source of the study because the novel is proof of the journey continuity from Hercule Poirot
after a long sleep. The research focuses on two problems: First, why Hercule Poirot depicted
as narcissist? Second, how does Hercule Poirot narcissism portrayed in Sophie Hannah’s The
Monogram Murder? This research will make another step closer and can be a bridge to the
research analysis on the portrayal of Hercule Poirot by Sophie Hannah as the continuity of
the journey from Hercule Poirot in the contemporary era. Therefore, this researcher hopes
that this research can be used and be a reference in order to aware of narcissism character and
aware of what is the factor that builds the narcissist personality. This study aims to get a
more comprehensive analysis of literary adaptations and character development in the
mystery genre.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In this article, the researcher used the Psychoanalysis theory from (Freud, 1914).
Characters play an essential role in literary works, especially in novels. Every character has
unique development related to attitude, manner, and skills. In terms of personalities and
emotions, every character has its differences from one to another, which could lead them to
be what role in the plot; they can be the antagonist, protagonist, or supporting characters.
Their dialogue and action play pivotal roles in the story; exploring the conflicts and
relationships related to the characters will guide the understanding of the whole plot of the
novel. However, to get what the novel is about, it is necessary to understand the characters
that appear in the story. The researcher decided to use (Freud, 1914) psychoanalysis theory.
In his psychoanalysis theory, Sigmund Freud conducted five concepts they are Unconscious
and conscious, Structure of personality, Drives and instinct, Anxiety, and Ego defence
mechanism. Those concepts play an essential role in characterizing characters by analyzing
the psychological part.

However, in this study, the researcher only used Freud's idea of Drives and Instinct.
Freud’s theory of drives and instincts provides a framework for understanding the
complexities of human behavior and personality. Freud develop a key components of drives
and instincts, it is divided into two; they are Life instinct (Eros) and Death instinct Thanatos),
however, in this research life instinct (Eros) is more suitable to discuss. Inside Eros there is
Libido. Libido drives individuals to seek pleasure, on the other hand, Eros drives behaviors
related to creativity and love.

In order to support Freud’s theory, the researcher provided another theory related to
drives and instinct by Heinz Kohut. In 1970 Heinz Kohut began to formulating a different
view of narcissism. Contrary from Sigmund Freud, Kohut saw narcissism completely
different from what Freud sees. Kohut saw narcissism as a self-love that crucial in the part of
development. Although, Kohut have different views of narcissism from the classical Freudian
theory, Kohut believe that the cause that influences narcissism is called “drives” aggression
and libido (Kohut, 1978).

METHOD

The data of this research are divided into primary and secondary data sources.
Primary data source are come from the novel written by Sophie Hannah entitled The
Monogram Murder. Then, the secondary data sources are come from books, journal article,
and websites in order to gather more data required. The researcher uses descriptive qualitative
methods to analyze the data in this research. Descriptive qualitative methods are employed in
order to analyze, describe, interpret, and explains what is the literary works about. The
researcher uses Psychoanalysis theory in this research.

In order to get the data required, the researcher uses following methods to collect the
data required. Download the novel The Monogram Murder by Sophie Hannah. Then the
researcher read The Monogram Murder novel to understand the narratives, conversations, and
quotations in the novel and nail down the issue to be analyzed. The researcher doing close
reading and selected the narrative, conversations, and quotation which shows the narcissist
character of Hercule Poirot. The researcher classified the data such as narratives,
conversations, and quotations on the table data. Lastly, the researcher collecting other
supporting data from secondary data source such as books, journal articles, and websites.

After collecting the data the researcher analyzed the data by following the methods as
follows. The researcher divided the discussion into two parts. The first part will focus on
findings what are the factors that Hercule Poirot is depicted as narcissistic character. Then the
the second part will focus on explain how the narcissism of Hercule Poirot is portrayed. The
researcher will explains the factors that caused the narcissistic character of Hercule Poirot
along with the supporting data from the secondary data source. The researcher will explains
how the narcissism of Hercule Poirot is portrayed along with the quotations that support the
arguments, and adding secondary data source as another supporting data. The researcher
begins to interprets, writes, and analyzes the data. The researcher concludes the results of
analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Hercule Poirot is a character that quickly becomes one of the most famous detective
characters, if not the most. He is very clever in trickling his readers with the methods he uses
to investigate a case. Based on the story of The Monogram Murder novel, it is found that
Hercule Poirot’s narcissist character is caused by his professions as a detective. Detectives
are dealing with various risky and dangerous situations which requiring Poirot’s to act
arrogance in order to take control the case. Hercule Poirot narcissist character is portrayed as
form of self-admiration that shapes his approach to solving the case and his desire to be the
center of attention. Maharaj and April, (2013, p. 122) stated that, self-admiration refers to
appreciative view of one point of views; it includes recognizing the values of an individual’s
qualities and achievements. On the other hand, Allahverdi, (2022, p. 2) stated that, center of
attention refers to person, thing, or idea that became the main focus in particular context.
Those two elements are the cause of Hercule Poirot narcissism, the portrayal of Hercule
Poirot is explained in the discussion as follows.

The Cause of the Narcissist Character of Hercule Poirot

Cowan et al. (2019, p. 6) state that narcissism is one of arrogance-related

personalities. Throughout the story in Sophie Hannah The Monogram Murder Hercule Poirot
is portrayed as a detective that are arrogance by always admire his intelligence by not having
a attention to others opinion. However, Westera et al., (2014, p. 3) argue that detective
dealing with serious and risky decisions which make them must choose the correct decision.
That exactly what Hercule Poirot do throughout the story in The Monogram Murders he is so
careful that he can trust stranger’s opinions, he is respected everyone, but if its related with
the investigation of his case, then he will be very careful person and only believe his
teammates.

“Naturally, you will now tell me that Jennie was distressed and was
therefore not careful about her speech,” Poirot went on. “However, she
spoke with perfect correctness apart from this one instance—unless I am
right and you are wrong, in which case Jennie said nothing that was
grammatically incorrect at all!” (Hannah, 2014, p. 29)
The quotation above shows the arrogance of Hercule Poirot; he is a person who cannot easily
accept other people's opinions or ideas. It is because he has dignity and is very proud of
himself as an intelligence detective. Poirot always positioned himself superior above anyone
when investigating a mystery case.

How the Narcissism of Hercule Poirot Portrayed

Hercule Poirot is very clever with the methods he used to investigate a murder case.
His popularity came from his knowledge and reputation in solving a case, thanks to the
intelligences or is well-known as Poirot’s ‘little grey cells’. He is very proud of it, Poirot’s
always admire his ‘little grey cells’ because it’s always works perfectly and never done
anything wrong during solving a murder case, because of the helps of his intelligence or his
‘little grey cells’ Poirot’s can see the plan of the suspect from the cases he faced.

The self-admiration of Hercule Poirot is shown with the quotation from The
Monogram Murders novel below.

“The two women who loved Patrick Ive unconditionally

and beyond reason are the ones who formulated a plan nearly clever enough
to fool me, Hercule Poirot—but not quite clever enough!” (Hannah, 2014, p. 255)

The quotation above shows the self-admiration of Hercule Poirot by admire his intelligence
or known as ‘little grey cells’.

Interestingly, Poirot’s desire to be the center of attention can be easily seen in the way
how he gathers all of the people that related to the murders in a room to investigate them and
shows them his brilliant deductive skills. Poirot’s always places himself at the center, having
the dominance above all and become the only person that allowed asking a question. Poirot’s
desire to be the center of attention is shown in the following quotation throughout The
Monogram Murders written by Sophie Hannah.

The quotation about Hercule Poirot desire to be the center of attention is mentioned as
follows.

“Non. But there is a point in making sure that it happened in the way that
we have heard. Monsieur Lazzari, I have no doubt that your hotel contains
at least one very large room. Please assemble in that room everybody who
works here, and I will speak to them all at their—and your—earliest
convenience. While you do this, Mr. Catchpool and I will begin the
inspection of the three victims” rooms.” (Hannah, 2014, p. 36)

The quotation above shows that, Poirot’s methods during investigation is a form of his desire
to take controls over every situation that related to the case, forcing them to gather in a room
and listen to his dominance speech and deduction skills is a key indicator that shows his
desire to be the center of attention. Based on the structure of personality by Sigmund Freud
this quotation shows that it is his ego that causes his desire to be the center of attention
because Poirot feels that he is the cleverest person on the entire story.

CONCLUSION
Based on the discussion above, Hercule Poirot depicted as a narcissist because the
influence that he is a detective. Detectives dealing with various dangerous and tricky
situations which make Poirot needs to take control every detail related to the case.
Meanwhile, the narcissism of Hercule Poirot are portrayed by Poirot’s demands to be able to
take control of what he encounters shows his self-admiration as a detective that has serious
ambitious to be the one whose solved the case by always admire his intelligence or known as
his “little grey cells”. While his demands to be the center of attention is portrayed by his
method during solving a case that required a people to gather in one big room. Poirot’s
narcissism personality are not a negative things, because it’s not affecting at his work as a
detective instead, that personality makes Poirot’s nowadays is known as one of the best
fictional detective around the globe.

REFERENCES