Maltese Falcon

In traditional hard-boiled American detective fiction there are many themes that seem to transcend all novels. One of those themes is the concept of power and the role in which it plays in the interaction and development of characters. More specifically, the role of women within the novels can be scrutinized to better understand the power they hold over the other characters, their own lives and the direction of the story. Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon exemplifies the varying ways in which female characters attempt to obtain and utilize power in hopes of influencing, manipulating and succeeding.

The most prominent female character in the novel, Brigid O’Shaughnessy, employs her sexuality, secrecy and mysterious nature when trying to gain more power and control throughout the novel. This can be seen easily in her description at the beginning of the novel. “She was tall and pliantly slender, without angularity anywhere. Her body was erect and high-breasted, her legs long, her hands and feet narrow…The hair curling from under her blue hat was darkly red, her full lips more brightly red” (Hammett, 4). Her physical description gives her an air of sexuality and intrigue that can immediately be assumed will be beneficial to her throughout the story. However, it is not until later when her use of her sexuality can be interpreted as a desperate attempt to take power back from the leading male character. “�I’ve thrown myself on your mercy, told you that without your help I’m utterly lost. What else is there?’ She suddenly moved close to him on the settee and cried angrily: �Can I buy you with my body?’” (Hammett, 57). The desperation, which is a common characteristic that can be seen among hard-boiled female characters, pushed her to blatantly offer her sexuality as a final shot to regain control and her power. Due to the complexity of her involvement in the plot, O’Shaughnessy’s struggle to obtain power can also be seen through the web of lies she constructs in hopes of remaining strong and in control. “I don’t know where she met him. I mean I don’t know where in New York. She’s five years younger than I—only seventeen—and we didn’t have the same friends…I’ve got to get her back before they come home” (Hammett, 5). From the beginning of the novel O’Shaughnessy wants to acquire power so begins constructing falsifications and weaving a very tangled web, however, she is unsuccessful in upholding her lies. The inability of Brigid O’Shaughnessy to attain and maintain power is symbolic of the generalized role of women throughout the novel.

Similar to O’Shaughnessy, the character Iva Archer also exemplifies the struggle of women to get power in the masculine and testosterone driven world of hard-boiled fiction. However, Archer is very unsuccessful in her attempts because, since she is such a flat character, all her control must be derived from her sexual nature. “She was a blond woman of a few years more than thirty. Her facial prettiness was perhaps five years past its best moment. Her body for all its sturdiness was finely molded and exquisite” (Hammett, 25). She is a very obviously attractive woman and is able to get some basics that she desires; nevertheless, Archer’s inability to use her sexuality effectively depletes her power later on in the novel. “�I know I haven’t. I haven’t any rights at all, it seems, where you’re concerned. I thought I did. I thought your pretending to love me gave me—’” (Hammett, 59). Archer’s power made her capable of seducing Spade; however, her inability to efficiently utilize her sexuality leads to a desperate, pleading attempt to regain even the slightest bit of control. Sexuality is only one of the many ways women struggle to get power in The Maltese Falcon and because of this it is only successful in certain instances and on specific levels.

Of all the female characters in the novel