La Justice
Lovers
of mystery stories - like me - adore codes
and clues. But, as an author, they aren't easy to judge.
Make them too easy to solve, they seem ham-fisted and lame. Make them too hard, and they seem bogus, contrived.
Above all, readers - like me - seem to enjoy most the clues whose solutions, on reflection, with hindsight, appear obvious.
In one of Agatha Christie's very best novels, Sleeping Murder, there is a recovered memory, the murderer's hands like the paws of a monkey.
When we at last discover who did it and how they did it - why of course! The surgical gloves. Monkey paws!
To keep a reader involved in a story, there must be delay. Does that mean that it is all right to introduce the murderer only at the end? Is it OK if Justice can only play its role once Mr or Mrs X has finally entered the stage?
It's a matter of taste. Like the question of whether La Justice is card 8 or card 11.
It just depends on the deck and its designer.
In any case, the card signifies reasonableness, equity. The character that embodies these virtues will be virtuous. Give this character power in your story and balance will be achieved, or perhaps a pause in the action, a moment to relax and take a breath. That is the nature of impartiality – you stand back and weigh things up.
But in the drama of a novel, that is not enough. The character of La Justice must come into some kind of conflict. The right path, the virtuous judgement, must be impeded, or its consequences perverted. Justice must hesitate to act, the result of action equivocal, unclear.
Should you find La Justice reversed, beware the peremptory – intolerance, excessively severe judgements, even abuse of power.
This character can bring equity, balance and reflection or dark energy and drive.
