Hildegarde Schmidt Character Analysis in Murder on the Orient Express

Hildegarde is a German lady’s maid working for Princess Dragomiroff. In his interview with her, Poirot speaks German to put her at ease and baits her by complimenting her cooking, which is beyond the responsibilities of her current position as a lady’s maid. It is later revealed that she was the chef for the Armstrong household at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping.

Hildegarde Schmidt Character Timeline in Murder on the Orient Express

The timeline below shows where the character Hildegarde Schmidt appears in Murder on the Orient Express. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

National Identity and International Connections Theme Icon

Detective Methods and Inner Lives Theme Icon

Poirot has only one witness left to call: Hildegarde Schmidt, who is Princess Dragomiroff’s lady’s maid. Poirot was adversarial with Ms. Debenham, but with... (full context)

Hildegarde maintains that she doesn’t know anything. She says she was called to attend to the... (full context)

Deception and Genre Expectations Theme Icon

Poirot asks whether Hildegarde saw a woman in a scarlet dressing gown and her eyes “bulge,” but she denies... (full context)

M. Bouc sends for the three conductors so that Hildegarde can identify the man she saw. In the meantime, Poirot asks whether the handkerchief found... (full context)

When the three conductors, including Pierre Michel, arrive, Hildegarde claims that none of them are the man she saw. Asked to describe the man,... (full context)

...Hardman’s case, his story of the small, dark man is corroborated by an “unlikely” source: Hildegarde the German maid. (full context)

...or indirectly confirmed by the testimony of four witnesses, MacQueen and Arbuthnot in addition to Hildegarde and Hardman. But supposing he exists, Poirot says, he would have to be either hidden... (full context)

...will be found in one of the male passengers’ luggage and the conductor’s uniform in Hildegarde Schmidt’s luggage. As they’re wrapping up, Mrs. Hubbard bursts in screaming about a bloody knife... (full context)

Poirot searches Hildegarde Schmidt’s luggage where, true to his prediction, he finds a conductor’s uniform with one button... (full context)

...Bouc narrows it down to Mrs. Hubbard, Mary Debenham (whose middle name is Hermione), and Hildegarde Schmidt. To this, Poirot responds, “Ah! And of those three?” Dr. Constantine notes that it... (full context)

...cabin through Mrs. Hubbard’s, stabbed him twelve times with the knife, abandoned the uniform in Hildegarde’s luggage, and left the train just before it departed again. (full context)

...namely Countess Andrenyi. The Count Andrenyi took her “place” and stabbed Ratchett. Poirot further identifies Hildegarde Schmidt as the Armstrongs’ former cook and Mr. Hardman as the lover of Susanne, Daisy’s... (full context)