Madeleine McCann thread?

[Cherokee]

Kate (in her book "Madeleine", p. 71) about her entering of the apartment:
[bolding mine]


After stating that she discovered Madeleine missing from her bed and could not find her anywhere in the apartment, Kate continues:


What struck me as odd when trying to visualize the above scenario: Why would Kate "pull a door to" of a room that she wanted to enter?
Imo this does not make sense.

Maybe she meant she pulled the "door to" after she opened it? In other words, she didn't close the door all the way as in shut completely - the draft did that. The part about opening the door was left out because her main thought was on how the door reacted to the draught in the room. Anyway, that's how I read it.

[rashomon]

Maybe she meant she pulled the "door to" after she opened it? In other words, she didn't close the door all the way as in shut completely - the draft did that. The part about opening the door was left out because her main thought was on how the door reacted to the draught in the room. Anyway, that's how I read it.

Acording to the passage in the book, the door to the children's bedroom was already open quite wide when Kate saw it (which was before she entered this room).

Kate in "Madeleine", p. 71:
"At 10 pm I went back to the apartment myself. I entered the sitting room via the patio doors, as Gerry and Matt had done, and stood there, listening, for a few seconds. Then I noticed that the door to the children's bedroom was open quite wide, not how we had left it. At first I assumed that Matt must have moved it. I walked over and gently began to pull it to. Suddenly it slammed shut, as if caught by a draught.
A little surprised, I turned to see if I'd left the patio doors open and let in the breeze. Retracing my steps, I confirmed that I hadn't. "

Here is a link to the floor plan of apartment 5A (a bit further down the page):

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id21.html

Kate states that she entered the apartment through the (unlocked) patio doors.
Not yet having entered the children's room, she then noticed that the door to this room was "open quite wide".
She then says that she "walked over and gently began to pull it to".
She has not yet entered the room.
Imo it makes no sense to "pull the door to" of a room which one is going to enter.

[Cherokee]

Acording to the passage in the book, the door to the children's bedroom was already open quite wide when Kate saw it (which was before she entered this room).



Here is a link to the floor plan of apartment 5A (a bit further down the page):

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id21.html

Kate states that she entered the apartment through the (unlocked) patio doors.
Not yet having entered the children's room, she then noticed that the door to this room was "open quite wide".
She then says that she "walked over and gently began to pull it to".
She has not yet entered the room.
Imo it makes no sense to "pull to" the door of a room which one is going to enter.

Whether it is in the text or not, it is implied from the context of the sentence and the rest of the writing. I think it is inferred that Kate had entered the room. Whoever wrote that sentence either left out the part about her entering the room, or didn't think it as necessary.

The act of "walking over" may have been meant to include entering the room - walking over to the door and entering the room - since the door was already wide open. Kate didn't have to open the door to enter the room, thus the physical description of walking over and entering the room was one action.

To satisfy details, the writer could have included, "I stepped over the threshold of the door," but they didn't because it was implied.

I have edited many papers and a few books, and it is amazing what people will leave out in their writing, thinking the reading audience knows what they mean. This type of writing omission is common and one reason I have always cautioned writers to read their works from the point of view of an objective third person, an unknowing other, someone who doesn't already know the details and actions contained in the work.

When we write, we know what we are thinking as we see the scene in our heads. The trick is to describe it so that others see the same scene.

[rashomon]

The act of "walking over" may have been meant to include entering the room - walking over to the door and entering the room - since the door was already wide open. Kate didn't have to open the door to enter the room, thus the physical description of walking over and entering the room was one action.

Still, the part of wanting to "pull the door to" sounds odd.
Jmpo.

From the PJ police files:

Witness statement of Gerald Patrick McCann, on the 4th of May 2007, at 11.15 a.m.
Thus, at 9.05 pm, the deponent entered the club, using his key, the door being locked, and went to the children's bedroom and noted that the twins and Madeleine were in perfect condition.

Kate's version of events differs from Gerry's witnesss statement. In her book, she states that he entered through the (unlocked) patio doors:

Kate in "Madeleine", p. 71:
"I entered the sitting room via the patio doors, as Gerry and Matt had done."