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The Letter · 1940 — 第 9 / 15 章 · 5'00" · B2

Howard Refuses to Buy the Letter, Explained：save your neck

Howard tells Leslie the letter has changed everything: the prosecution can now prove Hammond came at her urgent invitation. Cornered, she asks him to buy the letter from Hammond's widow. He refuses—"You're asking me to do something which is no better than suborning a witness"—then agrees to do what he can.

あらすじ

Howard shows Leslie how much the letter changes the case: the prosecution can prove Hammond was invited, and a jury might doubt self-defence. Leslie faints. Once they are alone she admits she has made a mess of things and asks who holds the letter—Hammond's wife. Then she urges Howard to buy it.

Asking for helpPersuasionAskingSaying noLawyer & clientB2fastamericanClean
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注目の表現

cheer him upa different complexion onsave your neckYou must be insane

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このシーンの表現

save your neck

save someone from ruin

Howard says he wants only what is needed to save her neck, a phrase that raises the stakes to survival.

That deal could save your neck one day.

このシーンの他の表現

  • cheer him up

    make him feel happier

  • a different complexion on

    change how it all looks

  • You must be insane

    you are out of your mind

  • do away with

    get rid of

  • suborning a witness

    bribing a witness

このシーンのメモ一覧

68 行のセリフに 23 件のメモ

表現 · C1a verdict of acquittal

a not-guilty verdict

I told Robert just now that I was certain of your acquittal.
表現 · B1cheer someone up

make him feel happier

Howard says his reassurance to Robert was not just to cheer him up, a light phrase in a heavy talk.

I didn't say that just to cheer him up.
表現 · C1put a different complexion on something

change how it all looks

But this letter places an entirely different complexion on the whole case.
表現 · C1put someone on the track of something

set someone following

It'll put the prosecution on the track of... Suspicions which have entered nobody's mind.
表現 · B2in one's own mind

privately, inwardly

It's the duty of counsel to defend his client, not to convict her, even in his own mind.
文法 · C1not to convict her

parallel infinitives: Two parallel infinitives set the duty against its opposite: defend, not convict.

It's the duty of counsel to defend his client, not to convict her, even in his own mind.
表現 · B2save someone's neck

save someone from ruin

Howard says he wants only what is needed to save her neck, a phrase that raises the stakes to survival.

I don't want you to tell me anything but what is needed to save your neck.
発音save your

Link save your so it runs together as one sound.

I don't want you to tell me anything but what is needed to save your neck.
表現 · C1at someone's urgent invitation

at someone's pressing request

They can prove that Hammond came to your house at your urgent invitation.
表現 · B2kill in self-defense

in self-protection

but if the jury comes to the conclusion that you didn't kill Hammond in self-defense... Mrs. Cooper!
表現 · B1make a mess of something

bungle something

I'm afraid I've made rather a mess of things.
表現 · C1be neither here nor there

irrelevant

That's neither here nor there, Leslie.
表現 · B2do away with something

get rid of

Howard asks whether she thinks it is easy to do away with unwelcome evidence.

Do you think it's so easy to do away with unwelcome evidence?
表現 · B2look on someone as something

regard someone as

I don't know if you'll understand this, but I've always looked on myself as an honest man.
発音on myself

On reduces to a light syllable before the stressed myself.

I don't know if you'll understand this, but I've always looked on myself as an honest man.
表現 · B2be no better than something

just as bad as

You're asking me to do something which is no better than suborning a witness.
文法 · C1which is no better than suborning

relative clause: The which-clause defines the favour she asks as something close to a crime.

You're asking me to do something which is no better than suborning a witness.
表現 · C1be well rid of someone

better off without

Leslie bitterly imagines Howard thinks Bob would be well rid of her if she hangs.

You think Bob well rid of me if they do hang me.
文法 · B2what I feel about you

subject clause: The what-clause acts as the subject, with It isn't important as the verdict on it.

It isn't important what I feel about you, do you understand?
表現 · C1have a shrewd idea of something

a sharp sense of

I imagine the woman has a pretty shrewd idea of the letter's value.
表現 · B1prevent someone from doing something

stop someone doing it

I'll do everything possible to prevent him from seeing it.
表現 · C1not know the first thing about something

the least bit of knowledge

The scene ends with Howard musing that a man can live with a woman ten years and know nothing about her.

It's strange that a man can live with a woman for 10 years and not know the first thing about her.
発音with a

Link with a, letting the th slip past quickly.

It's strange that a man can live with a woman for 10 years and not know the first thing about her.

「Howard Refuses to Buy the Letter」を読み解く

What's really going on

The letter turns a comfortable acquittal into a threat, and Leslie's response is to reach for money. Howard first sets a boundary—"I don't want you to tell me anything but what is needed to save your neck"—then draws his own: buying the letter is "no better than suborning a witness." Leslie presses exactly where she knows it will hurt, asking whether he could save her and simply won't. Howard calls the idea insane, yet the scene ends with him agreeing to "do what I can," planning to keep Robert from ever seeing the letter. The last line is the coldest: "It's strange that a man can live with a woman for 10 years and not know the first thing about her."

Theme

CorruptionBuying the letter would be "no better than suborning a witness," so Howard's refusal pits professional honesty against saving his client.
TrustLeslie begs Howard to keep the letter from Robert, insisting that if Robert loses trust in her he loses everything.

このチャプターで学べること

  • The favour she asks is named as a crime.
  • His honesty is exactly what makes the refusal hurt.
  • A sick woman's collapse breaks the argument open.
  • Ten years of marriage end in a stranger.

発音のポイント

  • save your — Link save your so it runs together as one sound.
  • on myself — On reduces to a light syllable before the stressed myself.
  • with a — Link with a, letting the th slip past quickly.
It's the duty of counsel to defend his client, not to convict her, even in his own mind.

Howard says a defence lawyer must argue for his client, even when his private doubts point the other way.

I don't want you to tell me anything but what is needed to save your neck.

He asks only for what can help her, deliberately leaving the rest of the truth untouched.

That's neither here nor there, Leslie.

When she accuses him of distrusting her from the start, Howard waves the point aside as irrelevant.

Are you going to let them hang me?

Leslie puts the choice in the starkest terms, pressing Howard to act as if her life were his to save or lose.

Do you think it's so easy to do away with unwelcome evidence?

Howard warns that getting rid of the letter is not a simple errand, even if the owner would sell.

I don't know if you'll understand this, but I've always looked on myself as an honest man.

He grounds his refusal in self-image: buying the letter would make him something he does not want to be.

You're asking me to do something which is no better than suborning a witness.

Howard names the act plainly—paying to remove evidence is, to him, the same as bribing a witness.

It's strange that a man can live with a woman for 10 years and not know the first thing about her.

The scene ends on the gap between Robert's trust and the woman Leslie actually is.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Howard refuse to buy the letter?

He says paying to remove evidence would be no better than suborning a witness, and he wants to keep seeing himself as an honest man.

Why does Leslie ask about the money?

She assumes the only obstacle is cost and offers Robert's savings, not realizing Howard's objection is to the act itself.

What does Howard eventually agree to do?

He agrees to "do what I can": he will try to buy the letter and keep Robert from ever seeing it, while still defending her at trial.

Why does Leslie worry about Robert's trust?

She says that if Robert loses his trust in her he loses everything, so she needs the letter hidden to protect him as much as herself.

What does the final line mean?

It points to the distance between Robert's faith in Leslie and the truth about her, which Howard has now seen for himself.

The Letter · 全 15 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 10 章go to the devilOng Chi Seng Names His Price
第 1 章riddled with bulletsLeslie Confesses After the Shooting第 2 章put my back upLeslie Recounts the Night Hammond Died第 3 章the last strawLeslie Describes Shooting Hammond第 4 章like grim deathJoyce Questions Leslie About the Body第 5 章go to blazesOng Brings Joyce a Delicate Matter第 6 章put a different complexion onOng Brings Joyce the Letter第 7 章a hairsbreadthHoward Confronts Leslie Over a Letter第 8 章talk very plainlyHoward Confronts Leslie About the Letter再生中 · 第 9 章save your neckHoward Refuses to Buy the Letter第 10 章go to the devilOng Chi Seng Names His Price第 11 章get hold ofHoward Tells Bob to Buy the Letter第 12 章put all your eggs in one basketRobert Announces the Move to Sumatra第 13 章throw cold water onRobert Learns What the Letter Cost第 14 章in love withLeslie Confesses Loving Hammond第 15 章good sportLeslie's Party After the Trial
第 9 / 15 章 · 残り約 21 分