Change and Decay

Abstract

“Take what you want and pay for it”, Christie often says. Still more often she comments that “Old sins have long shadows.” In a sense the two sayings convey the same vision; that life is continuous, and that we cannot escape responsibility. There is however a major difference of emphasis; if the first is a Nietzschean affirmation of the future, the second is a Freudian resignation to the rule of the past. Between them, the two views formulate a major preoccupation of the novels, which is the nature of change. How deep does change go, historically or personally? What aspects of our social life or of our personal being resist change? Is change always change for the worse?