Why Poirot is Autistic-Coded
I'm basing this mostly on the David Suchet TV series - I've read some of the books and the traits are noticeable there, but I've seen more of the TV series than I've read books, also David Suchet made a point of acting true to the Poirot of the books - not as the production wanted him to. Captain Hastings, Miss Lemon, and Ariadne Oliver also have neurodivergent traits, which I’m not covering here. I do recommend this series, it is calming, predictable, nothing awful happens to the main characters (I refuse to watch Curtain), it’s relatable to some autistics, and there’s a lot of it! Also, the costumes are great if you’re into period clothing.
~ Clothing – Poirot’s clothes are about 20 years out of fashion, being in the Edwardian style whilst the TV show is always set in the mid 1930’s (the books range between the end of WW1 and the 1960’s). He is fastidious in his dress. He almost always wears his patent leather shoes with spats, even whilst walking in the countryside where they cause him discomfort. His attire changes very little, only differing in fabric and colour (beige/grey/black/white)..he is seen wearing his suit jacket in hot countries, despite being visibly uncomfortable from the heat. He wears his shirt, bow tie and waistcoat at home, with his dressing gown over the top. A small spot of grease on clothing distresses and pre-occupies him, he complains when his collars aren't starched properly. His clothes are always immaculate, and never dishevelled. He will put down a handkerchief before sitting on a bench, or kneeling on the ground. He won't show the bare skin of his arms, he is always fully covered. He doesn't care that they're out of fashion, he doesn't care what people think, he loves them. The restrictiveness of this clothing, and the amount of covering it offers, could also be a sensory need.
~ Personal grooming - While at the barbers he mentions measuring his sideburns and finding one a couple of millimetres longer than the other and tells the barber to make sure this doesn't happen again. He is always perfectly groomed; he takes a lot of pride in his appearance. His moustaches are very important to him, he trims and shapes them very regularly, they are always symmetrical (he carries a little mirror and brush for this purpose). The moustaches are also not the fashion and are quite silly, he doesn't care. He wears expensive fragrance and dyes his hair - both are seen as feminine at the time; he gives zero shits. The fragrance could be a sensory thing. So too could be the hair and moustaches. When he eats, he dabs his mouth with a napkin very regularly - sensory issues with food on skin.
~ Food - He is picky about what he eats and drinks. He has a tisane every day, despite it not being a popular drink in the UK at the time, and he must have his tisane at specific times with a specific quantity of sugar. He won't eat his boiled eggs if they are not identical in size. His toast is meticulously cut up into tiny squares with tiny blobs of jam in the exact centre. He is suspicious of new food - Hastings encourages him to try fish and chips, Japp makes him faggots, mash and peas - he refuses to eat it.
~ People - He is great with people and seemingly has a lot of empathy. Personally I put this down to him enjoying studying people - the way people work being like a special interest to him. He has a good knowledge of human behaviour and psychology. His job allows him to meet a lot of people quite effortlessly, and to be invited into their homes and spend time with them, without having to make the social arrangements himself. His career does the socialising leg-work for him.
~ Justice - He has a strong sense of justice; his job prevents innocent parties from being prosecuted. He doesn't assume the working classes to be the guilty parties and the upper classes to be innocent. He speaks to everyone as his equal, women and working-class folk, he's not condescending. He desires the truth from everyone and is determined to find it if they don't freely give it to him. He values honesty highly and hates to be deceived.
~ Workaholism - He can't cope without a case for too long. He needs his little grey cells to be active and tested. Crime and human behaviour seem to be his special interests, and he has the need for stimulation. He tries retiring briefly to grow vegetable marrows in the countryside ('The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'), but crime finds him again and he realises he misses his career and the city.
~ Home - He is quite minimal with his décor. There is no clutter, everything is neatly arranged in its correct place, and there is no dust. His crockery is arranged by height. He could probably afford to hire a cook, but does not, he loves to cook and needs things to be done his way (Miss Lemon sometimes cooks, but she understands him). He is seen washing the dishes with Hastings in one episode, repeatedly handing the same plate back to Hastings to clean, as he has not done so correctly. In other people's homes he will adjust and straighten objects because it irritates him to see things not lined up.
~ Relationships - Poirot is single, and as far as anyone knows always has been. He has no children, and he has no desire for marriage. He seems to develop a romantic attraction to Vera Rosakof (the Russian countess), but this goes no further (possibly because she's a jewel thief and he's a private detective 😆). He doesn't flirt - he exudes zero sexual energy. Personally, I think he is asexual and bi-romantic, he certainly gives queer vibes. He would likely struggle in a traditional romantic relationship, he enjoys his independence and needs things to be his way, he doesn’t want his routine altered, and is very committed to his work. He never mentions his family background to anyone, he only talks about his prior police work in Belgium.
~ Money - Poirot enjoys having money, money matters to him - he enjoys the finer things. But he is also sensible with money, he doesn't like overpriced things and is quite tight with his purse strings. When he’s at an auction bidding for a mirror he lets himself be out-bid rather than going over his budget – despite being fairly wealthy. He makes a point of his bank balance never falling below a specific figure.
~Travel - Poirot enjoys some elements of travel, but not others. He has a fear of flying and gets sea and car sick. He hates sleeping in a tent - he needs his home comforts. He can't abide dust/sand getting on him or his clothes. We never see him in the water, or sunbathing shirtless. But he seems to appreciate culture and history and art (and knows a little Arabic), and so travels in search of these things, but in as much style and comfort as possible. He will pack his entire wardrobe.
~ Methods - Poirot is very good at noticing small details that seem inconsequential to everyone else but are key details that unravel the whole case, he takes nothing for granted. This knack for noticing details others don't is an Autistic thing. He also understands people’s psychology and motives.
~ Posture - Poirot always has perfect erect posture, to the extent that its quite rigid. He's never seen slumping in a chair or crossing his legs. He sleeps on his back unmoving and equally rigid. There is a scene in ‘The Mystery of the Spanish Chest’ where Poirot dances, his footwork is fast and neat, but the rest of his body does not move, and his face is fixed. When he walks his legs move but his upper body does not.
~ Routine - In ‘Dumb Witness’ a dog is foisted upon Poirot, he looks after it temporarily and seems to enjoy it’s company, but chooses not to keep it, saying - "the routine of the dog is not the routine of Poirot". Poirot has his tisane at specific times every day and won't tolerate it being brought to him late/early. In the TV adaption of 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' he says "you know how lateness distresses me".
Disclaimer -These are just my interpretations of Poirot as an autistic myself. Others will obviously have their own take on him. I’ve probably also missed traits/examples but writing this was mostly just for my own enjoyment!
