解説　場面 214「ある人の立場」

"It only remains to indicate the part which she had played throughout. There can be no doubt that Stapleton exercised an influence over her which may have been love or may have been fear, or very possibly both, since they are by no means incompatible emotions. It was, at least, absolutely effective. At his command she consented to pass as his sister, though he found the limits of his power over her when he endeavoured to make her the direct accessory to murder. She was ready to warn Sir Henry so far as she could without implicating her husband, and again and again she tried to do so. Stapleton himself seems to have been capable of jealousy, and when he saw the baronet paying court to the lady, even though it was part of his own plan, still he could not help interrupting with a passionate outburst which revealed the fiery soul which his self-contained manner so cleverly concealed. By encouraging the intimacy he made it certain that Sir Henry would frequently come to Merripit House and that he would sooner or later get the opportunity which he desired. On the day of the crisis, however, his wife turned suddenly against him.

「あとは、事件を通じて彼女が果たした役割を示すだけだ。ステイプルトンが彼女に及ぼした力は、愛だったかもしれず、恐怖だったかもしれない。二つは決して両立しない感情ではないから、おそらく両方だったのだろう。少なくとも、その力は完全に有効だった。彼の命令で妹のふりをすることには同意したが、殺人の直接の共犯者にしようとしたとき、彼は自分の支配力の限界を知った。夫を巻き込まない範囲で、彼女はサー・ヘンリーに警告しようとし、何度もそれを試みた。ステイプルトン自身には嫉妬心もあったらしい。準男爵が彼女に求愛するのを見たとき、それが自分の計画の一部であっても、激情を爆発させて割り込まずにはいられなかった。その爆発は、冷静な態度の下に巧みに隠していた激しい魂をさらけ出した。二人の親密さを促すことで、サー・ヘンリーが頻繁にメリピット・ハウスを訪れ、遅かれ早かれ望んだ機会が訪れることを確実にした。しかし決行の日、妻は突然彼に反旗を翻した。