RE: RARA-AVIS: marlowe's character

From: sakana@swbell.net
Date: 06 Apr 2002


while i'm not in any way endorsing this sort of reading across the board, it must be said that FAREWELL MY LOVELY isn't exactly free of interactions that push one that way. marlowe is utterly fascinated by brunette (whose name i may be spelling wrong)-- a fascinated that focuses on detailed descriptions of his appearance, which in turn send marlowe into flights of fancy about cats-- and seems arguably closer to red (and his violet eyes) than he is any other character he encounters over the course of his adventures/travels/life, at least as we see it.

if it's not clear, by the way, none of this is a criticism. chandler is probably my favorite writer of all time, and marlowe is easily one of my five favorite characters.

martha sakana@swbell.net <mailto: sakana@swbell.net>

> hi rene,
>
> i was surfing the web looking for chandler sites and i came on this one
> that had literary analysis and criticism and this lady had
> written an essay
> and quoted a bunch of stuff from _farewell my lovely_ which essentially
> pegged marlowe as a closet homosexual.
>
> i believe i have seen threads here discussing this type of thing. if it
> wasn't about marlowe, then maybe parker's spenser or someone else.
> its not really an unusual literary accusation... man hiding his sexual
> pref-
> erences by being overly masculine and possibly even expressing anti-
> gay sentiments. its not always aimed at an author's characters, but the
> author himself. somebody wrote a hemingway biography using the
> theme.
>
> although i doubt that anybody here is fooled by that sorta ploy, i'll see
> if i can find the link to the article.
>
> miker
>

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