“Mary Meredith was the finest human being I ever knew.”
Why it's great
The superlative plus I ever knew makes it a lifetime verdict, not idle praise.
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literary
Use it yourself
My grandmother was the finest human being I ever knew.
00:00 / 03:26
00:00 / 03:26
Holloway Tells the Cliff Murder Story, Explained
The Uninvited · 1944
Chapter 23 of 28 · 3'26"
Roderick and Pamela come asking what Mary and Carmel were really like, and Holloway gives them the whole ugly story: an affair, a baby carried to the edge, a struggle on the cliff. "Mary Meredith was the finest human being I ever knew," she says — then admits she fought to save the woman who killed her.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:15–1:44
❝ Monologue · 8 lines Carmel Carries the Baby to the Cliff
30s
Holloway Tells the Cliff Murder Story, explained
What happens
At Miss Holloway's home, Roderick and Pamela Fitzgerald ask about Mary Meredith and Carmel, the Spanish gypsy who once lived at Windward. Holloway recalls Mary as the finest person she knew, and Carmel as cruel and cunning. Pressed for the truth, she finally describes the night Carmel carried the baby to the cliff and struck Mary down.
What's really going on
Holloway tells this story as a monument to Mary, and every sentence keeps the monument polished: "Mary Meredith was the finest human being I ever knew." Yet the details she lets slip point elsewhere. Carmel is the outsider she calls crafty and cruel; the husband, Meredith, gets almost nothing but contempt. When asked who ordered Carmel out that last night, she answers "Mary" before catching herself: "I should say Meredith." That slip, and her pride in calling his decision "the one decent thing I ever knew him to do," show how much she needs Mary to be blameless and how little she grants anyone else. Her grief for Mary has hardened into something close to worship, and the visitors must weigh the story she tells against the story she cannot stop revealing.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Mary Meredith was the finest human being I ever knew.”
- Holloway's highest praise for Mary, and the standard against which she judges everyone else in the story — including Meredith, whom she clearly despises.
- “A better plan flashed into her wicked little brain.”
- Said of Carmel: instead of simply killing Mary and her husband, she seized the baby to lure Mary out. The wording is almost admiring, which is what makes it unsettling.
- “It's the one decent thing I ever knew him to do.”
- Holloway on Meredith finally sending Carmel away. Even his one right act is grudgingly granted, showing how she blames both husband and mistress.
- “I never saw such intensity of evil.”
- Holloway's description of Carmel. After calling Mary the finest person she knew, she frames Carmel as pure evil — the outsider she needs to blame.
Theme
- Secrets — The real story of Mary and Carmel has been hidden for years; only the Fitzgeralds' questions force Holloway to tell it, and she still edits as she goes.
- Death & grief — Holloway's memory of Mary has been polished by grief until it looks like worship, and it shapes every line of her account.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
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Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“A better plan flashed into her wicked little brain.”
Why it's great
The mocking phrase wicked little brain makes the scheme feel both childish and cold.
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literary
Use it yourself
A better plan flashed into his mischievous brain.
“It's the one decent thing I ever knew him to do.”
Why it's great
The faint praise buries a lifetime of contempt inside a single compliment.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
That was the one decent thing he ever did for us.
“I never saw such intensity of evil.”
Why it's great
A seasoned witness's verdict that brands a person as pure evil, and it carries weight.
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literary
Use it yourself
I never saw such intensity of focus.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ the cliff confession
That night, the girl Carmel had been told she must leave Windward. If she could've killed both Mary and her husband, she'd have done so. A better plan flashed into her wicked little brain. She went into the nursery, picked up their baby, and raced to the cliff. - Good heavens! - Mary was after her in a second... Meredith and I close behind. Carmel reached the cliff by the dead tree. For a moment I saw them struggling... then Carmel raised her arm and struck Mary down.
The account tightens sentence by sentence until the blow lands, and Holloway's calm becomes chilling.
Up next · 24plaster saintThe scene: Stella Trapped at the RetreatTakeaways
What you walk away with- Calm narration can make a murder feel colder, not softer.
- Faint praise like the one decent thing hides contempt.
- The third conditional admits what never actually happened.
- The will to do something names a standing intention.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy did Mrs. Meredith put up with Carmel for so long?
She believed Meredith should be the one to end the affair. She left it to her husband instead of sending Carmel away herself, which let things drag on until it was too late.
Who actually told Carmel she had to leave Windward?
Meredith did. Holloway first says "Mary" — the person she reveres — then corrects herself to Meredith, the man who gave the order and whom she clearly dislikes.
Does Holloway think Carmel murdered Mary?
She describes the struggle on the cliff and says Carmel's will to kill had always been there. Then she admits she fought day and night to save Carmel's life, while hating her the whole time.
Why does Holloway call sending Carmel away "the one decent thing"?
It is her backhanded verdict on Meredith: the only good act she will credit him with. The line also shows how much she resents him and how completely she sides with Mary.