The Mousetrap Flashcards
Characters (13 cards)
Major Plot Elements
Main conflict: A group of strangers is snowed in at a guesthouse, and one of them is a murderer. The main conflict is the race to identify the killer before another murder occurs.
Main events: The guests’ backgrounds are revealed, suspicions mount, and several attempts are made on guests’ lives. The true murderer is ultimately unmasked.
Outcome/ending: The murderer is revealed as one of the guests (Detective Sergeant Trotter, who is actually the killer in disguise), and order is restored.
Themes
- Justice and Retribution: The play examines the idea of justice, both legal and personal, as the murderer seeks revenge for a past wrong.
- Deception and Trust: Characters are not who they seem, and the play explores the difficulty of discerning truth from lies.
Symbols
- The Mousetrap: The title itself is a symbol for the trap set by the murderer, as well as the psychological traps characters fall into.
- Nursery Rhyme (“Three Blind Mice”): The rhyme recurs throughout the play, symbolizing the innocence lost and the clues to the murders.
Point of View
Third-person, dramatic (as a play, the perspective is presented through dialogue and stage directions).
Characters
Mollie Ralston
Giles Ralston
Mr. Paravicini
Mrs. Boyle
Christoper Wren
Miss Casewell
Major Metcalf
Srgt. Trotter
Mollie Ralston
- Co-owner of Monkswell Manor guesthouse
- Kind, anxious, hospitable, caring
- Newly married, harbors secrets
- Central to the unfolding mystery
Giles Ralston
- Mollie’s husband, co-owner of the guesthouse
- Protective, suspicious, somewhat jealous
- Quick to anger, defensive
- Distrustful of the guests
Mr. Paravicini
- Unexpected, flamboyant guest
- Mysterious, mischievous, foreign accent
- Playful, unsettling, possibly deceptive
- Arrives due to the snowstorm
Mrs. Boyle
- Critical, grumpy, demanding guest
- Snobbish, hard to please, opinionated
- Disapproving of the guesthouse and its hosts
- Victim of the murder
Christopher Wren
- Young, eccentric guest
- Quirky, nervous, artistic, childlike
- Unpredictable behavior, draws suspicion
- Fond of Mollie
Miss Casewell
- Independent, aloof, masculine demeanor
- Secretive, guarded, intelligent
- Hints at a troubled past
- Unconventional for her time
Major Metcalf
- Retired army officer
- Solid, reliable, observant, courteous
- Calm under pressure, practical
- Mysterious background
Detective Sergeant Trotter
- Young police detective
- Energetic, determined, methodical
- Investigates the murder, asks probing questions
- Seeks to prevent another crime
