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The Viaduct Murder · Theme
Religion and Morality
How The Viaduct Murder develops Religion and Morality.
Religious themes permeate the story, from Brotherhood's atheist lectures and Marryatt's clerical role to the use of ecclesiastical words in the cipher, raising questions about faith, hypocrisy, and moral justification for murder.
Where it surfaces
- XIX: Mordaunt Reeves Talks to Himself
Marryatt's sermon on Brotherhood's sudden death and the afterlife highlights themes of mortality, belief, and moral reflection.
- XXII: In the Fog
Marryatt, a clergyman, justifies murder as 'doing God's work' and uses religious precedents, while Brotherhood's atheist lectures provoke the conflict.