Agatha Christie is one of the world’s most well-known authors. Over the course of her career, Christie wrote around 66 detective novels and 14 to 15 short-story collections, alongside many other works. She even published some works under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. The ‘Queen of Crime’ lived quite an interesting life and became one of the best-selling novelists in the world, with more than 2 billion copies sold. Over the past 90 years, almost all of her novels have also been made into films and TV shows in different languages. This includes ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1974 & 2017), ‘And Then There Were None’ (1945 & 2015), ‘A Haunting in Venice’ (2023), ‘Agatha Christie’s Marple’ (2004–2013), ‘Ordeal by Innocence’ (2018), and many others.Today’s quote of the day is from one of her famous novels and talks about understanding that there are moments in life where you need to prioritise yourself, rest, and recuperate, and that there is nothing wrong with taking a break.The quote of the day from the beloved author reads, “Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.”
What does the quote from the mystery and thriller novelist mean?
Over the years, many of her works were adapted into TV shows and movies, with Hercule Poirot becoming one of the most famous characters of all time. Many actors have portrayed him over the years, including David Suchet, Peter Ustinof, , Kenneth Branagh, John Malkovich and many others. (YouTube)
The author shared these words in her 1942 novel, specifically her Miss Marple mystery novel titled ‘The Moving Finger.’ The words are narrated by the protagonist of the book, Jerry Burton, an injured World War II pilot.Inherently, the quote addresses themes like human suffering, emotional processing, and the importance of self-preservation, since the line is used in the context of when Jerry moves to the countryside to rest and relax after he survives a plane crash. The quote compares wiseness to that of a dog, stating that when things get hard or if we are going through something, there are times when we can pretend that everything is normal. Rather than doing all of that, a dog will understand that it needs to rest and recover.The same can be said about humans, especially at a point in our lives where being productive 24/7, no matter the circumstances, is seen as empowering, and taking a step back is often valued on the same level as laziness. However, there is no personal gain in pretending that you are fine before you actually are. This quote is about understanding that sometimes it is okay to accept the fact that life is too hard, that you are suffering in some way, and that you need space and time to rest and recuperate before you can get back into the everyday ‘productive’ routine.It is about understanding that you don’t need to feel guilty about prioritising yourself, and about understanding that self-preservation is the most important factor when it comes to surviving life and the challenges it throws your way every day. Rather than denying yourself, your mind, and your body the chance to relax, it’s best to give in to that opportunity, especially before it’s too late.
About Agatha Christie’s life
Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon. Her parents were Frederick Alvah Miller and Clarissa “Clara” Margaret, and she was the youngest child of three siblings. She was homeschooled, while her elder sister was sent off to boarding school. From a young age, she was interested in studies and even defied the odds by starting to read by the time she turned four.
Murder on the Orient Express is one of her most famed works over the years, and has been adapted into films on two occasions. (Instagram)
She started writing around the time she served as a nurse during World War I. Her profession also helped her gain knowledge about the pharmaceutical world, specifically poisons, which she used as a theme for crimes in many of her novels and stories. In 1914, she married aviator Archibald Christie.
Worldwide acclaim for her, along with movie and series adaptations
Her first work, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles,’ was published in 1920 and introduced the famous character, Hercule Poirot. Her next major character, Miss Maple, came with her novel ‘The Murder at the Vicarage,’ which was published in 1930. Her books have been translated into over 100 languages and sold all over the world. The first film based on her work was released in 1928, titled ‘The Passing of Mr Quin.’ This was followed by ‘Die Abenteurer G.m.b.H.,’ the first foreign (German) adaptation, based on ‘The Secret Adversary.’ In 1931, ‘Alibi’ brought her famous detective Hercule Poirot to life for the first time, and the rest is history.