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Re: RARA-AVIS: Locale
RE: whether Chandler is "hard-boiled" or "Romantic."
First, I wonder what is meant by the latter term. Chandler has little if
anything in common w/ the 19th-c. poetry that is typically called
"Romantic," except a fascination w/ things medieval. I have seen
reference to Chandler's medievalism in a number of books and articles. I
have heard that Chandler derived the name "Marlowe" from "Malory," as in
"Sir Thomas Malory," author Le Morte Darthur (the most famous Eng.
collection of Arthurian legend). *The Big Sleep* of course opens w/
Marlowe's great, jaded analysis of the stained glass over the
entrance to the Sternwood place, which depicts a knight helping a damsel
in distress. You will find lots of little references to knighthood in
Chandler's work. It's not too difficult to see connections between
hardboiled novel and, say, a medieval quest. Chandler does make modern PI
work into a kind of knighthood, but he also makes knighthood sound like an
outmoded ideal: "Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for
knights" (from *The Big Sleep*).
What Chandler is "really" is not an either-or question. That a hardboiled
dick would have a romantic strain is not surprising. So many of the novels
are about maintaining a sense of honor, personal honor, in a world that
doesn't recognize the importance of such a concept. Even Thompson
anti-heroes are driven by a (twisted) sense of propriety.
Just some morning ramblings. I too have had only one cup so far today.
Michael
====================== =================================
Michael D. Sharp "And trewely he were a greet fool
msharp@umich.edu that wolde kisse the mouth of a
Department of English brennynge oven or of a fourneys."
University of Michigan --The Parson
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