--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got…" description: "\"The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got a limp, and he hasn't got a lisp, and he hasn't got a French accent, or a particular love of opera... or all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/rowan-atkinson-3883_accents_the-problem-with-maigret-is-he-hasn-t-go_2321387.jpg" --- # The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got a limp, and he… ![“The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got a limp, and he hasn't got a lisp, and he hasn't got a French accent, or a particular love of opera... or all those other things that people tend to attach to many fictional detectives. He's just an ordinary guy doing an extraordinary job, in a very…” quote by Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/rowan-atkinson-3883_accents_the-problem-with-maigret-is-he-hasn-t-go_2321387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/rowan-atkinson-3883_accents_the-problem-with-maigret-is-he-hasn-t-go_2321387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/rowan-atkinson-3883_accents_the-problem-with-maigret-is-he-hasn-t-go_2321387.jpg) > “The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got a limp, and he hasn't got a lisp, and he hasn't got a French accent, or a particular love of opera... or all those other things that people tend to attach to many fictional detectives. He's just an ordinary guy doing an extraordinary job, in a very interesting time.” [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A detective without stereotypical quirks can be relatable, showing that ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats in compelling eras. **In simple terms:** Ordinary people can be great detectives. Key Takeaway Value substance over gimmicks. Themes detective fiction relatability ordinary heroism period setting Mood humorous analytical Type literary media When to use this quote - crime writing - character development - media casting - audience expectation Key Concepts character archetype narrative realism cultural expectations Questions to Reflect On - Why do audiences love eccentric detectives? - How does realism affect engagement? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex characters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) [Detectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detectives/) [Detectives Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detectives-just-2576589/) [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Fictional Detectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-detectives-5550233/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-times/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Lisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lisp/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-guy-464194/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Maigret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-maigret-5550232/) [Very interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-interesting/) ## Related quotes > [“(She’d always wondered, or even daydreamed, what it was like to actually work with great detectives, rather than just read about them. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-cogman/she-d-always-wondered-or-even-daydreamed-what-it-was-like-to-actually/) [Genevieve Cogman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-cogman/) > [The criminal is a creative artist; detectives are just critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannu-rajaniemi/the-criminal-is-a-creative-artist-detectives-are-just-critics/) [Hannu Rajaniemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannu-rajaniemi/) > [Paris in the mid-'50s was a very interesting place. It was only ten years after the Third Reich had left, and the city was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/paris-in-the-mid-50s-was-a-very-interesting-place-it-was-only-ten/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [I'm an ordinary guy serving an extraordinary God - and that makes the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-scott/i-m-an-ordinary-guy-serving-an-extraordinary-god-and-that-makes-the/) [Tim Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-scott/) > [“Clay sat up, swinging a leg over Jeff's body to straddle him. He grabbed both wrists and pinned them by Jeff's head, bending closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catt-ford/clay-sat-up-swinging-a-leg-over-jeff-s-body-to-straddle-him-he/) [Catt Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catt-ford/) > [Consultant: an ordinary guy more than 50 miles from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-sevareid/consultant-an-ordinary-guy-more-than-50-miles-from-home/) [Eric Sevareid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-sevareid/) > [Consultant: any ordinary guy more than fifty miles from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-sevareid/consultant-any-ordinary-guy-more-than-fifty-miles-from-home/) [Eric Sevareid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-sevareid/) > [I'm not a star, and I don't want to be a star. Stars fall. I'm an ordinary guy with an extraordinary job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-m-not-a-star-and-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-star-stars-fall-i-m-an/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [They see me as an ordinary guy, like a construction worker or the guy who delivers your piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gable/they-see-me-as-an-ordinary-guy-like-a-construction-worker-or-the-guy/) [Clark Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gable/) > [There is nothing special about Tim Scott. I'm an ordinary guy serving an extraordinary God and that makes the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-scott/there-is-nothing-special-about-tim-scott-i-m-an-ordinary-guy-serving/) [Tim Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-scott/) > [An ordinary guy who caters to me and is always by my side is better than a prince who waves to me from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wonderful-life/an-ordinary-guy-who-caters-to-me-and-is-always-by-my-side-is-better/) [Wonderful Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wonderful-life/) > [I'm an ordinary guy with an extraordinary job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/i-m-an-ordinary-guy-with-an-extraordinary-job/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [You would be amazed what the ordinary guy knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-drudge/you-would-be-amazed-what-the-ordinary-guy-knows/) [Matt Drudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-drudge/) > [I always thought that one day I would be somebody. I would be successful in music, and I would have fans that cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/i-always-thought-that-one-day-i-would-be-somebody-i-would-be/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [“I'm just ordinary guy, ordinary family, ordinary education, ordinary face, ordinary exam results, ordinary thought in my head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-just-ordinary-guy-ordinary-family-ordinary-education-ordinary/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Rowan Atkinson > [Without wanting to claim that I'm really like James Bond I would certainly prefer to be thought of as closer to James Bond than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/without-wanting-to-claim-that-i-m-really-like-james-bond-i-would/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [Get that right, then- if you get the quality right, then the marketability or whatever; your ability to sell videos or your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/get-that-right-then-if-you-get-the-quality-right-then-the/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [Nope, I don't enjoy work generally. Not because I'm lazy; it's just all so stressful and worrying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/nope-i-don-t-enjoy-work-generally-not-because-i-m-lazy-it-s-just-all/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [A law which attempts to say you can criticise and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/a-law-which-attempts-to-say-you-can-criticise-and-ridicule-ideas-as/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [The path of my life is strewn with cow pats from the devil's own satanic herd!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/the-path-of-my-life-is-strewn-with-cow-pats-from-the-devil-s-own/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [I would never be a television presenter. It's not something I could ever do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/i-would-never-be-a-television-presenter-it-s-not-something-i-could/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [To criticise a person for their race is a manifestly irrational and ridiculous. But to criticise their religion - that is a right. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/to-criticise-a-person-for-their-race-is-a-manifestly-irrational-and/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [But I always feel that whatever I do, I could do better. I suppose it is perfectionism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/but-i-always-feel-that-whatever-i-do-i-could-do-better-i-suppose-it/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [Apart from the fact that your physical ability starts to decline, I also think someone in their fifties being childlike becomes a little sad.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/apart-from-the-fact-that-your-physical-ability-starts-to-decline-i/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [“To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/to-criticize-a-person-for-their-race-is-manifestly-irrational-and/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [But, actually, so many of the clerics that I've met, particularly the Church of England clerics, are people of such extraordinary smugness and arrogance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/but-actually-so-many-of-the-clerics-that-i-ve-met-particularly-the/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [I'm not really a writer, so my main problem always is finding the writing talent to write something of the caliber that you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/i-m-not-really-a-writer-so-my-main-problem-always-is-finding-the/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [I'm not a collector. I don't like the toy cupboard syndrome that causes so many good cars to evaporate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/i-m-not-a-collector-i-don-t-like-the-toy-cupboard-syndrome-that/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [If you're a serious actor, it's when you know you're going to die tomorrow that you really start to feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/if-you-re-a-serious-actor-it-s-when-you-know-you-re-going-to-die/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) [Explore all 120 Rowan Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) ## More Accents quotes > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [You can't live in a dialect without tremendous work. Like any muscle, accents and voices and languages are all formed out of the muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/you-can-t-live-in-a-dialect-without-tremendous-work-like-any-muscle/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [At first I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/at-first-i-thought-i-would-have-to-put-on-an-english-accent-and-try-a/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-don-t-think-you-see-a-pirate-with-a-parrot-on-his-shoulder-for/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I'm a Yente and I have a terrible accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/i-m-a-yente-and-i-have-a-terrible-accent/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [In bed watching Family Guy. Love this show.! So hilarious! Stewie is my favorite :) love his accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/in-bed-watching-family-guy-love-this-show-so-hilarious-stewie-is-my/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [American accents often sound much more confident than British ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/american-accents-often-sound-much-more-confident-than-british-ones/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Much of my playing is rhythmic and choppy; I use a lot of double stops. The wah just accents all those stops and chops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-hammett/much-of-my-playing-is-rhythmic-and-choppy-i-use-a-lot-of-double-stops/) [Kirk Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-hammett/) > [“The accent of one's birthplace persists in the mind and heart as much as in speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-rouchefoucauld/the-accent-of-one-s-birthplace-persists-in-the-mind-and-heart-as-much/) [La Rouchefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-rouchefoucauld/) > [Years later, when I was working as a trolley wally in a supermarket, I tackled the boredom by talking to the customers in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/years-later-when-i-was-working-as-a-trolley-wally-in-a-supermarket-i/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [I think Americans still can't help but respond to the natural authority of this voice. Deep down they long to be told what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-think-americans-still-can-t-help-but-respond-to-the-natural/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/) [Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/) [Browse all 749 Accents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with Maigret is he hasn't got a limp, and he hasn't got a lisp, and he hasn't got a French accent, or a particular love of opera... or all those other things that people tend to attach to many fictional detectives. 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