On May 22, 2008, at 6:06 AM, Patrick wrote:
> While
> on the opposite side is stalwart, heterosexual,
Samuel
> Spade who may play fast and loose with the truth
in
> the face of psychosis but in the long
run,
Stalwart? Hardly. He's a guy with a well-documented and well-
lubricated sliding scale of ethics and morality, and his
ambivalence and ambiguity have been duly noted by both fans
and critics for decades. His warning to Brigid that he may
not be as "crooked" as he appears is -- in light of the
book's previous events -- arguably just one more shading of
the truth, perhaps less about doing the right thing as it is,
as Sam himself allows, "good for business."
Or maybe not. The flexible nature of the truth, and the
ambiguity of what and why we do things -- and what we say we
did -- is certainly an underlying theme. Is there anyone in
the book who doesn't lie?
Maybe Effie. Though doesn't she lie on the phone to cover for
Sam at some point?
And as for Spade being heterosexual, well, there's one
literary theory that claims Spade's homophobia was simply
over-compensation. It would certainly add a whole new
dimension to the story if he was doing BOTH Archers -- but on
separate days.
After all, he does refer to Miles as his "partner."
> unlike
> Archer & Jacoby, does not fall prey to the lure
of
> illicit sex. Donald Spoto wold have a field day
with
> the underlying psychology of this novel.
Spade does not fall prey to "illicit" sex? By the generally
accepted
(if not always practiced) standards of the time, he most
certainly did. With his partner's wife, and then with a woman
he was not married to.
In fact, that Spade did sleep with Brigid -- made quite clear
in the novel and the first, pre-code film version -- was
considered quite risque and controversial for the time.
Of course if -- in 2008 -- you're referring to homosexuality
as
"illicit" sex, well, that's far out of our purview
here.
Spade's more of an anti-hero than a hero, but I really can't
see Brigid as much of a victim, either. Except maybe of greed
and ruthlessness.
Kevin
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