Tony’s suggestion that Margot should spend the evening doing clippings
On the night of the stag party, Margot feels unhappy to be left behind in the apartment.To Tony’s horror, Margot expresses a desire of going to the cinema. Tony is horrified because it would disrupt his murder plan. To ensure that everything goes according to his plan, he persuades Margot to stay put in the apartment by inviting her to do clippings. Ironically, Tony’s suggestion destroys the entire plan, because the scissors which Margot accidentally left on the desk turned out to be her weapon against Swann. If Tony did not make such a suggestion, Margot would have had no weapons on hands to defend her. Ironically, the murderous Tony accidentally arms Margot with a powerful weapon. Tony unwittingly transforms himself from an agent of destruction into an agent of empowerment.
Margot feels that Tony had changed for the better
After Tony discovers Margot’s infidelity, he secretly embarks on the plan to murder her and to usurp her property. In order to avoid arousing suspicion, Tony redoubles his affection towards Margot. He lavishes his loving attention upon Margot. Touched by Tony’s sudden transformation, Margot experiences intense guilt towards her infidelity. Margot’s sense of guilt in face of Tony’s lavish attention ultimately led to the breakup of her affair with Mark. Ironically, Tony did not change for the better, he had actually changed for the worse. His tender sweetness towards Margot masks a murderous desire to be rid of his wife. Margot is impressionable and can be easily manipulated and deceived by Tony’s charming façade. Her naïve trust towards Tony reflects the extreme gullibility of her personality. Despite of the suspiciousness of Tony’s sudden and inexplicable transformation, it had never entered into Margot’s head that Tony is hatching some sinister plan.
Hubbard’s suspicion that Margot had deliberately murdered Swann
The many incriminating evidence left by Tony causes Inspector Hubbard to suspect that Margot had deliberately murdered Swann. The Inspector Hubbard and the jury are so convinced of Margot’s guilty that she is found guilty for murder. It is deeply ironic that the victim of a carefully planned murder attempt is to be tried for murder. This ironic turn of events indicates the inadequacy of the legal system. Even though a policeman dutifully patrols Wendice’s upscale neighborhood, the police force is unable to thwart Wendice’s murder conspiracy. Even though a team of detective is hard at work, they have been unable to uncover the true cause of the murder. These fatal inadequacies of the justice system nearly led an innocent woman to the gallows. The charge laid against Margot also reflects the misogynist distrust towards women in the patriarchal society. Margot’s extramarital affair causes her to lose the sympathy of the jury. The sight of an adulteress awakens the age-old sexual anxiety towards women in the hearts of the male-dominated jury.
Margot believes that Tony is in the dark about her affair
When questioned by Inspector Hubbard, Margot deliberately tries to conceal the theft of her love letter from the inspector. She believes that her husband is in the dark about her love affair. As a result of her misjudgment, she unwittingly incriminates herself by lying to the inspector, without knowing that the letter had been discovered in Swann’s pocket. Ironically, Tony had been privy to the contents of Margot’s letter all along, because he was the real thief of the letter. Margot’s unsuspecting attitude towards Tony reflects her unsophisticated character and her extreme naivety. Margot’s unconditional trust towards her husband plays into the hands of Tony.
Mark’s suggestion that Tony should lie to the police
The day before Margot’s execution, a desperate Mark visits Tony, pleading with him to go to the police and to supply them with a false story. Tony supplies Tony with a story, such as the fact that Tony had left the key outside the apartment and that Tony had stolen the letter himself. Ironically, Mark had accidentally stumbled on the truth. Mark’s accidental discovery of the truth shows that Mark had spent a long time hammering out a convincing story to save Margot from the gallows. It also bears witness to Mark’s remarkable skills as a detective fiction writer. Mark’s desperate efforts to save Margot show that his feelings for her are not a passing fancy, but are genuine and enduring.
