Are we losing our Marples?

By Rebecca Law, Media and PR Officer.

What’s this we hear of Disney casting 38-year-old Jennifer Garner as Miss Marple - one of Agatha Christie’s best-loved characters who was apparently based, in part, on the author’s own grandmother?

Is it not Miss Marple’s age and all of the lighthearted stereotypes that go with it, which make her so delightfully implausible as a detective; that aside from the knitting and the weeding she is able to use her life experience to scupper police officers half her age and beat them at their own game? Take away those salient qualities and, sadly, Miss Marple is no longer herself – she quite literally loses her Marples. Joking aside, by denying us one of our few remaining older role models, Disney is making a grave mistake. Not only is the decision laughable, it highlights a serious unwillingness to accept and honour older age and suggests that it might be unreasonable to subject audiences to the exploits of an older, less than physically perfect, heroine.