And then there were none

Our primal instincts, our basic goal in life is self preservation. Even the most docile creature can become a killer if it means their ensured lifespan. Christie's character Vera Claythorne is a prime example: she has a calm demeanor and innocent appearance, but when her animal instinct kicks in and she kills someone,  the overwhelming feeling of remorse drives her to suicide. Vera's animal instinct is self preservation, but the thing that makes her human is the feeling of regret.

Vera is the most innocent, sane, and collected character in the book And Then There Were None, but the will to survive is always there in her and it is the thing that pushes her to murder. She holds a standard of serenity for herself as expressed in her saying to herself " this isn't like you. You've always had excellent nerves." She holds herself like a true lady, even in the midst of death. Even the strangers stuck with her on Soldier island trust her. Another character, called Philip Lombard even says " you strike me as being one of the most sane and leval headed girls I've come across." Even though Vera maintains a collected and ladylike manner, the need to survive shines through making her a killer.

Vera, like any other human being, wants to be alive, and she will kill to stay that way.  When at the end of the book Vera is left alone with Lombard, each believes the other to be a killer. When Lombard jumps at her for a revolver, her instantaneous reaction is to shoot. The most human reaction of all is expressed within the sentence: " automatically Vera pressed the trigger." This is a blatant display of a calm exterior that masks the instinctive panic that shines through in moments of danger. The consequence of her violent instinct is her remorse.

Her words of regret are that after you've killed someone, " you keep on remembering." When it builds up inside her and Vera decides to take her own life. The book says " like an automaton Vera moved forward [towards her death]." While our most primal instinct is self preservation, our most human emotion is remorse and it will drive us to insanity and even suicide.

The importance of Vera Claythorne is that she defines the inside and outside of a composed lady. That in times of danger and even death, we must  go on, no matter our internal conflicts. She shows us the power of impulse and human nature, that both can drive us to murder and suicide, but most important is that she teaches us the power of remorse.