Arthur Richmond

Arthur Richmond is a British Army officer whose death in France during the First World War was deliberately engineered by his commanding officer, General Macarthur, after Macarthur discovered Richmond was having an affair with his wife, Leslie. Though Richmond appears only in Macarthur's memories and the gramophone accusation, his death is the central crime that drives Macarthur's guilt, his acceptance of death on Indian Island, and the novel's exploration of murder committed under the cover of war.

Identity and Background

Richmond was one of General Macarthur's officers in France. Macarthur described him as a young man of twenty-eight, the same age as Leslie Macarthur, the General's wife. The General initially believed that Leslie took a "motherly interest" in Richmond, and was pleased that they got on well together, talking of plays, music, and pictures. Richmond was a good-looking, smiling man who addressed Macarthur with a brisk "Yes, sir." He was liked by the General, who admitted he had been "damned fond" of him.

The Affair and Macarthur's Discovery

Macarthur discovered the affair in a manner that he himself compared to a book: a letter placed in the wrong envelope. Leslie had written to both men, and put her letter to Richmond in the envelope addressed to her husband. The letter made clear that the affair had been going on for some time, including during Richmond's last leave. Macarthur felt the shock and pain of the discovery acutely, and a "cold murderous rage" gathered slowly within him. He managed to carry on as usual, trying to make his manner toward Richmond unchanged, though he wondered if a young officer named Armitage had perceived something.

Deliberate Death in War

Macarthur sent Richmond on a reconnaissance mission from which only a miracle could have brought him back unhurt. That miracle did not happen. Macarthur later reflected that mistakes were being made all the time, with officers being sent to death needlessly amid the confusion and panic of war. He knew that people might say afterward that he had "lost his nerve a bit, made some colossal blunders, sacrificed some of his best men." But he felt no regret at the time, thinking only, "Serves him damned well right!" Young Armitage, however, looked at his commanding officer very oddly afterward, and Macarthur worried that Armitage might have talked after the war was over.

Aftermath and Guilt

Leslie never knew that Macarthur had discovered the affair. She wept for her lover, but her weeping was over by the time Macarthur returned to England. He never told her he had found her out, and they went on together, though she seemed unreal to him. She died of double pneumonia three or four years later. Macarthur left the Army and bought a small place in East Devon, but he found himself avoiding people, feeling that they were discussing him. He stopped going to church on the day the lesson was read about David putting Uriah in the forefront of the battle, because he could not face it. The gramophone accusation on Indian Island, which stated that Macarthur "deliberately sent your wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death," forced him to confront the crime he had committed thirty years earlier.

Narrative Role and Thematic Significance

Richmond's death is the paradigmatic example of a crime that the law cannot touch. Macarthur's murder of Richmond was committed under the cover of war, with no legal evidence and no witness willing to speak. The accusation against Macarthur is one of the ten that the mysterious U. N. Owen uses to justify the executions on Indian Island. Richmond's fate also establishes the novel's central moral paradox: Macarthur, a law-abiding man who had always believed in duty and order, committed a murder out of jealousy and rage, and spent the rest of his life living with the consequences. His acceptance of death on the island—his feeling that "it's the end, you see—the end of everything" and that "that's peace—real peace"—is directly linked to his guilt over Richmond. The confession of Lawrence Wargrave later confirms that Macarthur's crime was one of those that inspired the entire scheme, as Wargrave had overheard military gossips discussing the case.