Hercule Poirot and the Salvation Army Part 1

In the Agatha Christie's Poirot adaptation of "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook," Eliza Dunn is walking home after her afternoon off. As a volunteer for the Salvation Army preaches to a few people on the street about the "stone that the builders rejected," a distinguished-looking man leaves the crowd to approach her. He tells her that he is a lawyer from Australia, who has traveled to England to find her.

As the man from the Salvation Army explains to the crowd that this stone, which the builders initially rejected, has become the cornerstone (or the most important stone in the building's foundation), the distinguished lawyer hands her an envelope containing the will of one of her relatives. In it, she will receive a legacy that will enable her to leave her employment as a cook, and own her own house in the country.

The gentleman from the Salvation Army is referring to Psalm 118: 22. The imagery refers to workers in a quarry, who look for the chief stone to use in a building's foundation. The gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus quoting this verse, and identifying himself as the cornerstone that the Jewish leadership rejected. In Acts, Peter uses this verse to stress that Jesus is the cornerstone of the true faith, and salvation can only come through him.

This is just a little background in the scene. Most viewers would filter out the preacher's message, as Eliza Dunn relates this bit of backstory to Hercule Poirot. But it's a neat inclusion from screenwriter Clive Exton. Not only was the Salvation Army an important movement in 1930s Britain, but Eliza Dunn, who has worked all her life below-stairs for the gentry, and never been a person of importance, has suddenly become a woman of independent means.

Suddenly, she's somebody. She's more than just a poor employee who works nearly seven days a week. She can order her life, and make her own choices. She may not be a cornerstone of British society, but she's just become far more important than she has been up to now.

Or at least, so it would appear.

Dragon Dave