I've just finished reading Story of a Murder and I would like to discuss the case with others (especially since there are a lot of theories surrounding it). I'm especially interested in hearing what you guys think about Ethel le Neve. She was considered innocent during the proceedings and obviously acquitted, but I think she was far from innocent. She never showed any shock or remorse about what happened to Belle Elmore, she was fully devoted to Crippen and she always blamed others for ruining the life she thought she was entitled to. I'm sure she must have at least known about the murder. Her behaviour around the time of the murder indicates that she expected something to happen, and her lack of surprise when officially informed of the murder definitely doesn't fit the profile of someone who was completely unaware of it.
Do you think she was truly a woman under the spell of a manipulative man who managed to make her so obsessed with him that she ended up being in a sort of phycological trance where she was willing to love him despite everything as long as he loved her back, or that she was just as cunning and contemptible as he was, and her part in what occurred was more active than it appears? What do you think of her behaviour after Crippen was hanged? Her bouts of anxiety and paranoia, her sudden fear of being identified and discovered, despite never showing any anxiety while she was actively and publicly involved in the case? Was her love for Crippen an obsession that developed out of her desire for a certain kind of life she thought he could provide or simply a relationship built on the likeness of their characters? Her psychology interests me, but it seems so convoluted that I can't put my finger on what exactly was going on with her. The only thing I'm convinced of is that she was never as innocent as she was painted during the trial, and that she knew much more about the murder than she was willing to tell. She continued to love Crippen and think badly of Belle her entire life, as well as see herself as the victim for not getting the life she dreamt of. Those seem like the thoughts of a vile, self-centered person, not of a naive, guiltless one who was simply manipulated by someone else.
What is your take on her and her behaviour?
by Wonderful-Elk5080
1 Comment
I think she was both under Crippen’s spell AND that she was cunning and manipulative. We can’t know for certain how involved she was in Belle’s deathso I don’t want to make any decision on that but her behaviour was so awful, both at the time and after Crippen’s death, that I struggle to sympathise with her. I remember literally gasping out loud when Rubenhold described Ethel wearing Belle’s clothes and jewels to an event full of Belle’s worried friends, and openly attending with Crippen. The fact she changes her story so much as she got older is strange as well.
Tbh I find her fascinating. She had these delusions of grandeur, that she deserved this incredible life, was huge on appearances and how she wanted other people to perceive her, but didn’t think twice about moving into Belle’s home and taking up with Crippen, running off and dressing as a boy etc – and I also wonder why she believed Crippen so easily that Belle was this awful overbearing wife and he needed rescuing. I think she wasn’t a good person and surely she must’ve suspected something after they fled, but I still struggle to put my finger on whether she knew about the murder.