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Men and Masculinity
The atmosphere in this novel is frequently one of competition, rivalry and male aggression. Many of the male characters in this novel are macho, gritty tough guys. There are countless fistfights, arguments, and shootouts that arise out of a sense of challenged masculinity. The men in The Maltese Falcon always talk tough and language becomes a way of asserting one's manliness. On the flipside, we also see some examples of a limited or complete lack of masculinity. For example, Cairo is portrayed as an effeminate homosexual, and some readers of Hammett are critical of the homophobic-seeming tone of certain passages in The Maltese Falcon, where unmanly behavior is looked down on as something unnatural or immoral.
Cairo's homosexuality serves as an important contrast to the overly masculine, testosterone-driven cast of male characters that appear in the novel
Spade's cold, oftentimes callous, treatment of Iva and Brigid signals that his attitude towards women can be seen as misogynistic.
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