Through Men’s Eyes The hard-boiled detective story is an American classic, featuring men who speak curtly and without shame, a mystery that often involves danger, and alluding women. Since its publication in 1929, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon has been used throughout English classes in grade schools and universities as a way to explore the theme of greed and deception. Despite this, The Maltese Falcon can also be studied in other branches of academic discipline. A student taking a women’s studies class could benefit from reading The Maltese Falcon as a way to learning about the depiction of women from a male author in the early 20th century. The 20th century faced many changes to the structure of life in America, including the position
…show more content…
The femme fatale is a stereotypical depiction of a women who deceives and manipulates the people — typically men — around her. As Murray Horwitz says, “‘[The femme fatale is] certainly someone who has power and is usually after more power, one kind or another. Money is a big one’” (“Femme Fatales”, para. 8). As it is the case with O’Shaughnessy, she seeks the fortune that the falcon can bring, and she is not afraid of employing riskful methods to obtain the statue. O’Shaughnessy was not the first time the femme fatale interested Hammett, as the archetype “had fascinated him since ‘The Girl with the Silver Eyes’ (1924)” (Marling, para. 41). It is unknown whether Hammett intentionally wrote O’Shaughnessy’s character to be a femme fatale as a form of expressing his dislike for the reform in women’s social status (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). However, “some scholars have suggested that [femme fatales] of detective fiction reflect some of the resentment felt by many men toward the changing women of the era” (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). O’Shaughnessy “uses her overt sexuality to attract Archer, then kills him to further her own desire for personal gain”, a strategy she copies with Jacobi, and she utilizes “sexuality, love, and sympathy in her attempts to manipulate [Spade]” (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). Because of this, Hammett ends up generalizing women to be deceitful by
The femme fatale is a stereotypical depiction of a women who deceives and manipulates the people — typically men — around her. As Murray Horwitz says, “‘[The femme fatale is] certainly someone who has power and is usually after more power, one kind or another. Money is a big one’” (“Femme Fatales”, para. 8). As it is the case with O’Shaughnessy, she seeks the fortune that the falcon can bring, and she is not afraid of employing riskful methods to obtain the statue. O’Shaughnessy was not the first time the femme fatale interested Hammett, as the archetype “had fascinated him since ‘The Girl with the Silver Eyes’ (1924)” (Marling, para. 41). It is unknown whether Hammett intentionally wrote O’Shaughnessy’s character to be a femme fatale as a form of expressing his dislike for the reform in women’s social status (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). However, “some scholars have suggested that [femme fatales] of detective fiction reflect some of the resentment felt by many men toward the changing women of the era” (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). O’Shaughnessy “uses her overt sexuality to attract Archer, then kills him to further her own desire for personal gain”, a strategy she copies with Jacobi, and she utilizes “sexuality, love, and sympathy in her attempts to manipulate [Spade]” (“Overview: The Maltese Falcon”, para. 34). Because of this, Hammett ends up generalizing women to be deceitful by