>I too noticed Hammett's constant use and re-use of
"Ned Beaumont" every
>time he refers to his hero in "The Glass Key." I liked
it, though; I see
>it fitting into Hammett's general take on class and
ethnicity.
>
>"Beaumont" sounds sophisticated, and Ned certainly is
that. He's a master
>of cultural niceties; he's the one who recommends the
kinds of clothes that
>Paul Madvig ought to wear, and he's the one who's
sophisticated enough for
>Janet Henry actually to fall in love with.
>
>There's something upper-class sounding about the name,
and I think it
>reinforces the idea that Ned is in a seedy place,
living by a code that
>probably belongs somewhere else.
Way off-topic, but here goes: In a study done some years
back, which I
read about I don't know where, probably in the newspaper (or
somesuch
scholarly outlet), names were "rated" for the type of job the
name
"fit." "Ned" conjured up a middle-aged, mustachioed
university professor
in most (some?) peoples' minds. As a middle-aged,
mustachioed
non-professor, who has been called "perfessor" (a la
"Gilligan's
Island"), I can't say I object much. But I ain't changing my
last name
to "Beaumont."
-- Ned Fleming # # To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to majordomo@icomm.ca. # The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.