Swear by Almighty links so that by almost runs into the next word.
I swear by Almighty God that the evidence...Witness for the Prosecution · 1957 — 第 17 / 27 章 · 4'18" · B2
Janet McKenzie Takes the Stand, Explained：hither and thither
The housekeeper comes to sink Leonard, not save him: she insists she is a housekeeper, not a 'companion,' and admits slipping back to the house that Friday. Then she lands the blow the prosecution needs — Leonard was already married, and a new will left his elderly employer everything. 'He was to have all her money.' Motive, delivered as gossip.
あらすじ
Janet McKenzie, Mrs French's housekeeper of ten years, takes the witness box at the Central Criminal Court and swears the oath. She describes the Friday she went to her niece's, realised she had left a dress pattern behind, and slipped back — only to hear the prisoner talking and laughing with Mrs French. The next day she returned and found her mistress dead, the room ransacked.
注目の表現
fecklessmany's the timehither and thitherpure conjecture
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このシーンの表現
hither and thither
in all directions
Janet describes the room after the murder, with everything tossed hither and thither.
Papers were scattered hither and thither across the desk.
このシーンの他の表現
- feckless
useless and irresponsible
- many's the time
many times
- pure conjecture
nothing but a guess
- put it this way
to phrase it differently
- draw up
write up formally
このシーンのメモ一覧
52 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ
the deceased
You were companion-housekeeper to the late Mrs Emily French?don't think much of
I was her housekeeper! I've no opinion of companions, poor feckless bodies, afraid of a bit of honest domestic work.get along well
I meant you were on friendly terms, not altogether those of mistress and servant.take care of
Aye. Ten years I was with her and looked after her.yes — Scottish and northern English for yes; keep it out of formal talk.
Aye. Ten years I was with her and looked after her.many times
Janet stresses her long service by saying she stopped her mistress from foolish acts many times.
Many's the time I prevented her doing a foolish thing.fronted emphasis: The inverted opening Many's the time puts the emphasis on how often it happened.
Many's the time I prevented her doing a foolish thing.oh, ach — A Scottish exclamation used among familiar people.
- Och, is this thing necessary? - An excellent question.make use of
However, it has been installed at considerable expense to the taxpayers, so let us take advantage of it. Please continue.The d in I'd is often dropped, so it sounds almost like I left.
Well, when I got to my niece's, I found I'd left the pattern behind.go back quietly
So after supper I slipped back to get it as it was no distance.not my concern
But it was no business of mine, so I went upstairs to fetch my pattern.Next to my runs together, with the t linking into to.
Aye. The pattern was on a shelf in my room next to my clock so I saw the time.in all directions
Janet describes the room after the murder, with everything tossed hither and thither.
And there she was, dead. And everything tossed hither and thither.did you know
Miss McKenzie, were you aware that Leonard Vole was a married man?nothing but a guess
Myers cuts in to say that what Mrs French thought is pure conjecture on the housekeeper's part.
What Mrs French knew or did not know is pure conjecture on Janet McKenzie's part.subject clause: The whole What ... clause is the subject, joined to the main verb is.
What Mrs French knew or did not know is pure conjecture on Janet McKenzie's part.to phrase it differently
Myers rephrases his point with let me put it this way to pin the housekeeper down.
Let me put it this way. You formed the opinion that Mrs French thought Leonard Vole was a single man?evidence for
- Have you any facts to support this? - The books that she ordered.deal with
Were you aware of the arrangements Mrs French made to dispose of her money?write up formally
Janet says her mistress revoked the old will and had a new one drawn up by a lawyer.
She had her old will revoked and a new one drawn up.was to have: Was to have marks a future arrangement seen from the past, here set by the will.
Yes. He was to have all her money, she told him, as she had no near relations nor anybody that meant to her what he did.ends my questioning
Thank you. That concludes my examination.「Janet McKenzie Takes the Stand」を読み解く
What's really going on
Janet is not a neutral witness. She bristles at the word 'companion', snapping that companions are 'poor feckless bodies, afraid of a bit of honest domestic work', and she wants the court to know she 'prevented her doing a foolish thing' for ten years. But her testimony cuts both ways: it puts Leonard in the house the night of the murder, and it also hands the prosecution its motive. Leonard was married already, she says, and Mrs French had a new will drawn up leaving him everything a week before she died — 'He was to have all her money.' Even her grudging admission that she heard the two talking and laughing makes the relationship look intimate, then gives the Crown a reason: money, and a secret wife.
Theme
SecretsThe housekeeper reveals Leonard's hidden marriage and the will that made him heir a week before the killing.
JusticeTestimony meant to define her role as servant quietly supplies the motive the prosecution needs.
このチャプターで学べること
- A housekeeper's pride can shape how a jury hears her.
- Small domestic details often carry the strongest evidence.
- The new will turns affection into a clear motive.
- Careful timing claims are the lawyer's real target here.
発音のポイント
- swear by — Swear by Almighty links so that by almost runs into the next word.
- I'd left — The d in I'd is often dropped, so it sounds almost like I left.
- next to my — Next to my runs together, with the t linking into to.
I was her housekeeper! I've no opinion of companions, poor feckless bodies, afraid of a bit of honest domestic work.Janet defends her position and sneers at the softer label 'companion', showing pride in hard domestic work.
Many's the time I prevented her doing a foolish thing.She presents herself as her mistress's practical guardian, claiming ten years of steering her away from foolish decisions.
Yes. He was to have all her money, she told him, as she had no near relations nor anybody that meant to her what he did.Janet confirms the new will left Leonard everything, supplying the prosecution with a clear motive.
And there she was, dead. And everything tossed hither and thither.Her flat description of finding the body and the ransacked room is the scene's hardest, quietest blow.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Janet insist on being called a housekeeper, not a companion?
She is proud of doing real domestic work and looks down on companions as 'poor feckless bodies' — but the label also matters, because closeness to Mrs French is exactly what her evidence is meant to establish.
Why did Janet slip back to the house on her night off?
She had left the dress pattern she promised her niece at home. Going back only to fetch it is what puts her in the house and lets her hear Leonard with Mrs French.
Why does the housekeeper's evidence damage Leonard so badly?
She places him with Mrs French the night of the killing and reveals two facts the jury did not have: he was already married, and a will made a week earlier left him all her money.
Why does Sir Wilfrid object to Janet's answer about what Mrs French knew?
He calls it 'pure conjecture' — Janet can testify to what she saw and heard, not to what the dead woman was thinking, and the judge agrees the opinion cannot be admitted.
Who is the 'prisoner' Janet keeps referring to?
Leonard Vole, the man on trial for the murder. In court he is referred to as the prisoner until the verdict is reached.
情婦 · 全 27 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 18 章a scheming rascalWilfrid Cross-Examines the Housekeeper
第 1 章put it in mothballsSir Wilfrid Goes Home
第 2 章when her back is turnedSir Wilfrid Hides Cigars in His Cane
第 3 章circumstantial evidenceVole Tries to Hire Sir Wilfrid
第 4 章in the hands ofLeonard Tells Sir Wilfrid His Story
第 5 章not cricketHow Vole Met Mrs French
第 6 章a hot potatoLeonard Recounts the Night of the Murder
第 7 章with flying coloursInspector Hearne Arrests Leonard
第 8 章call it what you likeChristine Vole Meets the Lawyers
第 9 章a way with womenChristine and the Green Socks
第 10 章worships the ground I walk onChristine Denies She's His Wife
第 11 章on the chance thatWilfrid Photographs Vole in Prison
第 12 章gave someone ideasLeonard Meets Christine in Hamburg
第 13 章clutching at a razor bladeVole Tells How He Married Christine
第 14 章to a pointLeonard Vole Pleads Not Guilty
第 15 章take someone by surpriseHearne Testifies About the Prints
第 16 章account forThe Bloodstained Jacket in Court
再生中 · 第 17 章hither and thitherJanet McKenzie Takes the Stand
第 18 章a scheming rascalWilfrid Cross-Examines the Housekeeper
第 19 章an accomplice toChristine Testifies Against Vole
第 20 章a chronic and habitual liarMyers Destroys Christine on the Stand
第 21 章shed new light onSir Wilfrid Calls Leonard Vole
第 22 章establish an alibiMyers Cross-Examines Leonard Vole
第 23 章wild-goose chaseThe Call About the German Wife
第 24 章on the slySir Wilfrid Buys the Letters
第 25 章a pack of liesSir Wilfrid's Blue Letter Trap
第 26 章dispose ofVole Is Found Not Guilty
第 27 章call someone namesChristine Reveals Leonard Was Guilty第 17 / 27 章 · 残り約 37 分