Once again I started by watching a Father Brown video, and subsequently read the original story from 'The incredulity of Father Brown'. I really liked the story. As with 'The oracle of the dog', the video and text differed somewhat, and not only in the amount of 'direct action' versus conversation.
In the video, the vicar was behaving in a rather conspicuous way, which perhaps gave too much away at too soon a time. On the other hand, the clue about the crucifix was not foreseeable in the original text, which might have impaired the reader's ability to guess as to the cause of the falling lid (it is difficult for me to say, because I saw the video first and knew what the crux was). The dramatization at the end of the video, with a direct confrontation between Father Brown and the criminal, was, in my opinion, unnecessary.
This bundle of Father Brown stories seem to have a common theme (as indicated by the title): there are usually suspicions of something supernatural going on. A quick overview of the titles of the stories gives a 'resurrection', an 'oracle', a 'miracle', a 'curse', a 'doom' and a 'ghost'. So far, Father Brown's explanations are simply natural. As he says in 'The miracle of moon crescent': "By the way, don't think I blame you for jumping to preternatural conclusions. The reason's very simple, really. You all swore you were hard-shelled materialists; and as a matter of fact you were all balanced on the very edge of belief - of belief in almost anything." I have encountered this theme of the credulity of people who do not believe in the supernatural before, I hope to discuss it in more depth one time.
I don't understand the story at all, it seems pointless. A madman stalks the professor, thinks he has killed him, and goes away(no proof he's dead, just a pile of clothes at the top of a cliff). That seems to be all of it. What is the "meaning" the professor talks about at the end? Can anyone explain to me? Did I read an incomplete copy or something? WHO WAS THE VILLAIN?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think we are supposed to know who the villain is. He has escaped. On p 135 Father Brown says, “That is the one thing we may never know”. What the professor discovers is that he shouldn’t be afraid of “one madmen among a million of sane men” p. 137. In other words he was unnecessarily suspecting all of his acquaintances of being his murderers. He should have been more afraid of a man above ground which I think means a totalitarian dictator rather than a man who hides underground.
ReplyDeleteWhoever you are, thank you! I was so confused.
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