“What hypocrites you are in this country.”
Why it's great
A single flat accusation cuts through a room full of politeness and lands hard.
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Informal
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What hypocrites they are in this office.
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Christine and the Green Socks, Explained
Witness for the Prosecution · 1957
Chapter 9 of 27 · 2'31"
Questioned about her husband's friendship with Mrs French, Christine offers the green socks: he hated the colour and they were two sizes too big, but he wore them anyway to please her. A man with "a way with women" — and then she turns on the room, "What hypocrites you are in this country."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:08–0:39
Christine Explains the Green Socks
30s
Christine and the Green Socks, explained
What happens
Christine Vole is questioned about how close her husband was to Mrs French. She recalls the green socks Mrs French knitted for him: Leonard disliked the colour and the socks were two sizes too large, yet he wore them to give her pleasure. "Leonard has a way with women," runs the remark. When Sir Wilfrid takes over, he warns that Leonard's whole defence rests on their word alone.
What's really going on
Christine is being tested, and she knows it. Asked whether her husband knew about the bequest, she refuses to play the innocent wife: "Is that what he told you?" she fires back, then "Surely you're not suggesting different?" — daring the questioner to accuse her of lying. Her most telling move is the green socks. She turns a damning fact into a charming one: a poor man courting a rich widow becomes a sweet young man wearing an ugly pair of socks out of kindness. It is the same instinct when she snaps, "What hypocrites you are in this country." The scene ends with Wilfrid spelling out the case's real weakness — that Leonard's defence "rests on his word and yours" — and Christine answering, calmly, "I realise that."
Key lines & what they mean
- “What hypocrites you are in this country.”
- A blunt attack on English double standards: the room acts scandalised by a young man's attentions to a rich widow, yet uses that very charm as evidence against him.
- “We accept the evidence of deaf-mutes who cannot speak at all, as long as they tell the truth.”
- Wilfrid reassures Christine that her accent will not cost her credibility: a witness's manner does not matter, only whether the testimony is true.
- “You realise your husband's entire defence rests on his word and yours?”
- He is warning her that there is no other evidence. If she and Leonard contradict each other, the case collapses.
- “I only hope he has an all-woman jury. They will carry him from court in triumph.”
- A wry line about Leonard's charm: women are so taken with him that a female jury would acquit him, which is also the prosecution's fear.
Theme
- Deception — Christine reshapes each accusation into a warmer story, and the trial will later hinge on whether her words can be trusted.
- Trust — The whole defence depends on the jury believing a wife's word; Wilfrid says it plainly: it rests on her testimony alone.
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“We accept the evidence of deaf-mutes who cannot speak at all, as long as they tell the truth.”
Why it's great
By naming deaf-mutes who cannot speak, the line says truth is all a court requires.
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Formal
Use it yourself
We welcome your ideas, as long as they are honest.
“You realise your husband's entire defence rests on his word and yours?”
Why it's great
It quietly puts the whole defence on two people's words and lets the risk speak for itself.
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Formal
Use it yourself
You realise the plan rests on one fragile promise?
“I only hope he has an all-woman jury. They will carry him from court in triumph.”
Why it's great
A wry prediction exaggerates charm into a courtroom victory.
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Informal
Use it yourself
I only hope the interviewer likes jokes. He'll be hired on the spot.
Up next · 10worships the ground I walk onThe scene: Christine Denies She's His WifeTakeaways
What you walk away with- A small green sock can say everything about a man.
- Endearing is a lawyer's word for a weakness.
- A wife's word is weighed, not trusted.
- Politeness in court is often a probe.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy do the green socks matter in the trial?
They show Leonard wore clothes he disliked just to please Mrs French. The defence uses the anecdote to make him look kind, while it also proves how close he had become to a rich woman.
Why does Christine say "What hypocrites you are in this country"?
She resents the English double standard: the court treats a young man's affection for an older widow as shameful, even while it uses that same charm as evidence against him.
Does the outcome of the case depend on Christine?
Yes. Sir Wilfrid tells her plainly that the whole defence rests on her word and Leonard's, and that the jury will be sceptical of a wife supporting a husband accused of murder.
Why is Christine worried about her accent?
She fears the police did not believe her because of how she spoke. Sir Wilfrid answers that English courts accept any witness, even one who needs an interpreter, as long as the evidence is true.
What does "a way with women" mean?
A natural gift for charming women — Leonard seems to win them over effortlessly, which is both why Mrs French trusted him and why the case against him looks so dangerous.