Philip as Narrator
Philip Ashley is only somewhat interesting as a character. He is basically just a young, not fully ripened version of Ambrose and the two are linked together incestuously as a doubling of the same character. Ironically, however, Philip makes for a fascinating narrator because he is unsure, easily swayed, lacks the relative worldliness of somewhat of his circumstances and, most of us, is driven by an ability to determine for sure whether Rachel is evil or innocent victim.
A Memoir of Feelings
The content of the narration is also ironic given the state of feelings toward women developed by Ambrose and nurtured in Philip. Both men possess misogynistic feelings toward women, viewing them in the traditional masculine way as too occupied by their emotions. And yet, Philip observes of himself in his narration:” I do not know if I showed my feelings in my face as plainly as I felt them in my heart.” The fact is that he shows his feelings throughout his narrative; it reads more like the account of exactly the type of woman that Philip was raised to view dismissively.
Rachel’s Hands
Philip is attracted by the small size of Rachel’s hands, investing them with the fragility of femininity. In fact, he is obsessed with her hands the way other men are obsessed with…well, parts of the body that are not hands. Ironically, however, it is these very same hands which also drive Philip to murderous paranoia on the suspicion that they crushed the poison which Rachel uses to commit murder.
The Guilty Party
Philip himself admits early on that the central question of his narrative is “Was Rachel innocent or guilty?” before immediately admitting that he does not know the answer to this question. And yet, by the end—courtesy of his own accounting of the events—the evidence seems to be weighted fairly heavily against her guilt. Ironically, this evidence arrives in Philip’s hands at the exact moment that his “plan” to kill Rachel is taking place.
Of all The Women…
Due to their distrust, fear and patriarchal view toward women, neither Ambrose nor Philip have much experience in the ways of romance. Of all the circumstances that could have changed this status, few could be more ironic. Both men fall for the same woman. That woman is actually distantly related to them. The distant relation is by far too worldly, sophisticated and complicated for such simple men to ever have a chance of understanding and both men suffer for this failure.
