Victoria Esposito-Shea (vmes@northnet.org)
Tue, 26 Oct 1999 21:48:19 -0400
Michael Sharp said:
This seems really off the mark to me. I don't see saint or
devil anywhere. I mean, there are manipulative, deceptive,
mean women in his novels, but in something like the Big
Sleep, I don't see either of the women there as devil or
saint. Carmen and ... unh, what's her name? Is it Vivian?
Anyway, the Sternwood girls/women, while hugely flawed, don't
seem demonic to me. Carmen's mental and Vivian is protective
of her. Right? Am I misremembering the book? That would be
bad (though not surprising).
And I don't see a single woman in his novels I would describe
as "wish fulfillment." I wouldn't wish these women on anyone
(except readers).
---------------------------------- I'm with James on this
one. I should say up front that I haven't gone back to
Chandler in a while, but my recollection is that the female
characters are not only saints or devils, but that female
sexuality comes off as really dangerous. Remember, Carmen
Sternwood has kind of a black widow thing going, and the
girlfriend in Farewell, My Lovely killed (or had killed? it's
been a couple years) the fiercely loyal boyfriend who wanted
to come back to her, and I'm remembering that there are at
least two or three similar scenarios in other novels. (Hmmm.
. . maybe I should go back and re-read some Chandler this
week.)
Obviously, Linda Loring isn't in the "dangerous female"
category, but she's extremely romanticized and possibly even
redemptive--i.e., at the "saint" end of the spectrum.
I don't find this kind of dichotomy in Hammett's writing at
all. To me, most of his women come across as characters first
and as women second, if that makes any sense, and I think
that strengthens his writing.
Oh, and Martha--I'd say that The Dain Curse is the weakest of
Hammett's novels, but I still enjoy it. FWIW.
Vicky
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