I do not think I made the original question very clear. But
it concerned the male protagonist's response to women in the
1930s and 40s crime novels. Their need for keeping their
integrity and resolve to go down the "mean streets" with
honor meant they did not want to have lasting female
relationships or marriage. So does that mean they
"silenced" women or harbored a disrespect for them? The
answer was hell no, and I agree. But I also agree with Mario
when he says that women do not take men seriously at some
level; some men anyway. I don't think Sam Spade's secretary
Effie in _The Maltese Falcon_ takes Sam as seriously as she
used to after she understands exactly what he means by saying
near the end "Your Sam's a detective." I think Vivian
Sternwood's sarcastic approach to Marlow (until the end) of
_The Big Sleep_ is well founded. She thinks he is in love
with his own toughness and the competence he has in using it.
It's true and he should be, and so should his clients. Of
course these women really like these guys a lot also. David
Goodis' waif-like heroines take their men seriously and what
happens--they wind up dead, because of the Goodis hero's
response to his flaws, which are also what makes those books
interesting. It's complicated. Nick Tosches' _Cut Numbers_ is
about a very sharp tough gambler who had vicious fights with
his girl friend, until the end, where he proves to her she
can take him seriously. But he seems to lose something in
himself and grow older and softer when this happens.
-- Jay A. Gertzman 718 Kennedy House, 1901 Kennedy Blvd. Phila PA 19103 215 567 2289 or 201 869 4566 "Until I understand a man's 'ignorance,' I must presume myself ignorant of his understanding." Coleridge
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