![]() ![]() ![]() With the "postman" being God, or Fate, the "delivery" meant for Frank was his own death as just retribution for murdering Nick. Upon discussing it further, the two men agreed such a phrase was metaphorically suited to Frank's situation at the end of the novel. Cain then lit upon that phrase as a title for his novel. According to Cain, Lawrence spoke of the anxiety he felt when waiting for the postman to bring him news on a submitted manuscript-specifically noting that he would know when the postman had finally arrived because he always rang twice. In the preface to Double Indemnity, however, Cain gave a specific, and entirely different, explanation of the origin the title for The Postman Always Rings Twice, writing that it came from a discussion he had had with screenwriter Vincent Lawrence. In the real-life case, Snyder said she had prevented her husband from discovering the changes she had made to his life insurance policy by telling the postman to deliver the policy's payment notices only to her, and instructing him to ring the doorbell twice as a signal indicating he had such a delivery for her. It is recognized that Cain used the Snyder case as an inspiration for his 1943 novel Double Indemnity Marling believes it was also a model for the plot and the title of Postman. Snyder was a woman who, like Cora in Postman, had conspired with her lover to murder her husband. William Marling, for instance, suggested that Cain may have taken the title from the sensational 1927 case of Ruth Snyder. The title's meaning has therefore often been the subject of speculation. The title is something of a non sequitur in that nowhere in the novel does a postman appear, nor is one even alluded to. The title and explanations of its meaning The text, he hopes, will be published after his execution. The book ends with Frank, from death row, summarizing the events that followed, explaining that he was wrongly convicted of having murdered Cora. Then Cora is killed in a car accident while Frank is driving. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE PATCHWith the prosecutor thus having failed to acquire any new evidence, he is forced to grant Cora a plea agreement, under which she is given a suspended sentence and no jail time.įrank and Cora patch things up and plan a happy-family future. Her lawyer tricks her into dictating that confession to a member of his own staff, however, which prevents its reaching the prosecutor. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE FULLThey do turn against each other, with Cora, not wanting to take all the blame, insisting upon offering a full confession detailing both their roles. As a tactic intended to get Cora and Frank to turn on one another, he charges only Cora with the crime of Nick's murder. The local prosecutor suspects what has actually occurred, but doesn't have enough evidence to prove it. They ply Nick with wine, strike him on the head, and crash the car. ![]() Nick recovers and because of retrograde amnesia does not suspect that he narrowly avoided being killed.ĭetermined to kill Nick, Frank and Cora fake a car accident. Cora fells Nick with a solid blow, but, due to a sudden power outage and the appearance of a policeman, the scheme fails. They plan on striking Nick's head and making it seem he fell and drowned in the bathtub. ![]() Frank and Cora scheme to murder the Greek in order to start a new life together without Cora losing the diner. There is an immediate attraction between Frank and Cora, and they begin a passionate affair with sadomasochistic qualities (when they first embrace, Cora commands Frank to bite her lip, and Frank does so hard enough to draw blood).Ĭora, a femme fatale figure, is tired of her situation, married to a man she does not love, and working at a diner that she wishes to own and improve. The diner is operated by a young, beautiful woman, Cora, and her much older husband, Nick Papadakis, sometimes called "the Greek". The story is narrated in the first person by Frank Chambers, a young drifter who stops at a rural California diner for a meal, and ends up working there.
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