Pierre Michel Character Analysis in Murder on the Orient Express

Pierre is a veteran French conductor for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, working on the Paris-Calais car of the Orient Express. The investigators see Pierre as a dependable, honorable man, but not as one “remarkable for brains.” Thus, he appears to be incapable of deception, much less murder. However, suspicion falls on Pierre when a button from a Wagons-Lit uniform is found in Ratchett’s compartment. He’s connected to the Armstrong case through his daughter, a nursemaid for Daisy Armstrong, who later committed suicide after the police scrutinized her for Daisy’s kidnapping.

Pierre Michel Character Timeline in Murder on the Orient Express

The timeline below shows where the character Pierre Michel 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

Deception and Genre Expectations Theme Icon

...groan and notices that the train is stopped. Peering into the hallway, he sees the conductor (Pierre Michel) check in on Ratchett and a voice responds in French that everything is... (full context)

...can’t fall back to sleep afterward. He reaches for the bell to ring for the conductor, but as he does he hears a nearby bell ring a few times before the... (full context)

When he arrives, the conductor explains to Poirot that Mrs. Hubbard believes she saw a man in her cabin and... (full context)

Further details of the murder follow. Ratchett was discovered by the conductor at 11 that morning, but his door was locked and bolted. A window was open... (full context)

In conversation with the conductor, Pierre Michel, and M. Bouc, Poirot determines that the train car was locked after dinner... (full context)

First up is Pierre Michel, the conductor, who seems a bit shaken and flighty. Poirot asks him to describe the events of... (full context)

...Arbuthnot late into the night. After making up MacQueen’s cabin, Pierre Michel talked with another conductor in the adjacent train car until he was summoned by Mrs. Hubbard. He attended to... (full context)

Detective Methods and Inner Lives Theme Icon

Pierre Michel almost omits a detail about Poirot poking his head out close to 2 a.m., with... (full context)

Pierre Michel seeks validation from both Poirot and M. Bouc that he hasn’t been negligent in any... (full context)

...trains…and all the outrages I’ve read of.” Soon, she gathered the courage to ring the conductor’s bell. After Pierre Michel turned on the lights, they found no one there, which “seemed... (full context)

...the investigators’ skepticism. But she offers a piece of evidence, a button from a train conductor’s uniform which she found near her bed, and is gratified when Poirot accepts it, saying... (full context)

...becomes clear to him, but insists that he has not lost a button, and finds conductors from the adjacent train cars to vouch for him. Pierre Michel insists that he saw... (full context)

Poirot again dismisses Pierre Michel and calls for the Russian Princess Dragomiroff. The investigators offer to meet her in her... (full context)

Continuing with his story, Hardman describes how he kept watch all night, describing Pierre Michel ’s movements just as Pierre told Poirot. He notes that no one else could have... (full context)

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

Linda Arden goes on to fill in the gaps of the conspiracy. Pierre Michel had been the French nursemaid’s daughter and Colonel Arbuthnot had fought with Colonel Armstrong in... (full context)