Reading the post on Marlowe got me thinking about how
Chandler was always searching for nobility in his characters.
Marlowe himself was the most noble of all, but many other
characters (Moose Malloy, for example) have honor and
nobility in spite of their rough natures.
I'm not exactly sure how, but that got me thinking about the
ending to "Red Wind", and I realized that in some ways it's
similar to the end of Joesph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS (also
narrated by a Marlowe, one who possibly influenced Chandler -
I don't know for sure).
(Possible spoilers ahead)
Specifically, both end with the narrator allowing a woman to
think the best of a man who doesn't deserve it. Conrad lets
Kurtz's fiance believe that Kurtz was thinking of her as he
died, while Chandler lets the woman in "Red Wind" think her
former lover, killed in WWII, was more than a cad.
Anyone have any more information about whether and how much
Chandler was influenced by Conrad?
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