In 1982, the United Kingdom produced a 10-episode unit drama "Agatha Christie's Suspense Theater", each episode of the series is a separate story, lasting 52 minutes. Although only 187 people have seen this series on Douban, the rating is also as high as 7.9 points. Today's introduction for you is the fourth episode of "The Fourth Man".
In one of the carriages of a night train bound for Edinburgh Waverley, legal expert Durant, psychologist Sir Campbell Clarke, and theological expert Canon Parfit got together.
Sir Clarke talked about his new research topic, The Dual Personality, and the case he had come into contact with, of a French girl named Felice Ballett. Felicity was originally a dull and rough girl, until she suffered a mental breakdown in her twenties and she had a second personality. This personality speaks many languages and can also play the piano, sing and dance.
At this time, the fourth man in the carriage also joined the conversation. The man, Raul Lightdoux, was a veteran and now a journalist. Raul named another girl, Annette Ravel, who had grown up with Felice.
It turned out that Raul had lost both of his parents at the age of 14 and was sent to an adoption institution, where Annett and Felicity were his youngest siblings. Although Annett is beautiful and versatile, she is actually very envious of the healthy and strong Felicity, because Annett has asthma.
In the adoption, both Raúl and Felice were Annette's slaves. Raul loves Annette deeply, but Annette is hot and cold to him. She was even more excessive towards Felice, who used hypnosis to make Felice eat the candle. Annette is such a beautiful and evil girl.
Growing up, Raul returned to Paris as a soldier and enjoyed Annett's performance in the ballroom. Raul came backstage and wanted to invite her to dinner. But Annet already had a lover, a Russian count. However, her asthma was getting worse.
When Annett was very popular in Paris, he said that he would never return to the adoption camp in Brittany. But when she was seriously ill, it was her last refuge. Annette grew weaker and refused to die until he died.
After Annett's death, Felicity suddenly changed into a person, and she could play the piano, sing, and dress up beautifully. Parfit, a theological expert, rejected Raul's claims, which violated his beliefs.
When Raul talked about the last time she saw Felicity, she had realized that Annette's soul was going to take away her body, and if she succeeded, where would Felicity's soul or consciousness go? Felicity was so frightened that she even had the idea of dying with Annette. In the end, Felicity strangled herself.
The plot of "The Fourth Man", unlike Agatha's other love stories, can not be regarded as strict suspense reasoning, but has a bit of metaphysics and science fiction flavor. At the end of the story, Raul's question to the three experts is also thought-provoking, what is the essence of life? What should you do if you break into thieves in your house?
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