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Women and Femininity
There are a limited number of female characters in The Maltese Falcon, and most of them aren't portrayed in a very positive light. Of the three main female characters, Spade likes one (Effie Perine), loves another (Brigid O'Shaughnessy), and avoids the other (Iva Archer) entirely. Spade's relationship to women is particularly ambiguous because on the one hand, he relies a great deal on Effie's sound judgment, but on the other, he has a bad habit of referring to women by impersonal diminutives such as "darling" and "angel," which implies that these characters are stand-ins for all other women. Both Brigid and Iva appear as seductive, manipulative women (Brigid more so than Iva, of course), and an argument could be made that this is a sexist commentary on the untold dangers of the female sex. On the flipside, we could also say that The Maltese Falcon is actually a feminist novel because the women are seen as no better or worse than the men. They have the same fears and insecurities, and are consumed by the same desires and needs. In this sense, both sexes are shown as equals playing on the same field.
Brigid is a victim of her unfortunate circumstances and is forced to lie in an effort to protect herself.
Most of the female characters in the novel, with the notable exception of Effie, use their femininity to manipulate and control the men around them.
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