Themes
Although there is a murder mystery, its resolution is not explicitly spelled out. The implication is that the mother (Mrs Herbert) and daughter (Mrs Talmann) planned the murder of Mr Herbert, respectively their husband and father. They were aided by Mr Clarke, the gardener and his assistant. In order to keep the estate in their hands, they needed an heir. Because Mr Talmann was impotent, they used Mr Neville as a stud. Mr Herbert was murdered at the site where Mr Neville is murdered. (In the original treatment, Mr Herbert is murdered on his return, on the 12th day, and the site was vetoed as a painting site because it was instead to be used as a murder site.)
Read more about this topic: The Draughtsman's Contract
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)