LottoX said:
Well, Simon seems to be the least suspect person in this whole case, so one would presume him to be innocent. The fact that Simon Lessing, indeed, killed his "mother" shows a society that has lost its core values and ethics.
I'd actually disagree with this line of thinking - P.D James sets Simon up with motive and opportunity just as she does with most of her main cast. Rather I think Simon's characterisation relates to crime fiction in that it helps in portraying the upper class atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the bourgeoise golden age setting James borrows from.
I also believe the more significant focus of the book is betrayal of the child rather than the mother - we have Clarissa attempting to seduce Simon, and we have Sir Georges mournful attitudes regarding what happened with Munter's father as a youth, not to mention Clarissa's failings with Tolly's child, Roma and Clarissa's hinted experiences with Clarissa's father and so on.
Its also debatable as to whether Simon actually murdered Clarissa or whether he was manipulated into taking the blame by Ambrose - there is a big possibility James was trying to pull a massive red herring with that one.
passion89 said:
Also, why does James make it so that Simon dies? Is she commenting on the failed judicial system of Britain or is she commenting on the society itself?
You don't really need to focus on James's intent on this, rather at what can be interpreted. As I've expressed above, a large focus of Simon's plotline is the failed paren. The point at which there seems to be a message on the flawed legal system is the lack of redress that Ambrose is sure to recieve in the wake of all of this when he was so heavily involved.
