I really don't see a big difference here. "Personal morality"
is consistent with an existential world view. What is not
consistent would be action based on a moral code with
underpinnings outside the personal experience and activity of
the individual - God, humanity, country, or what have you.
Yet that morality, if you want to call it that, is not
justified by anything but itself, its existence.
Chandler's take is a bit different. He writes that the
protagonist must be "a man of honor" and "the best man in his
world and a good enough man in any world." I am not so sure
Sam Spade so qualifies. And an existentialist would ask "who
determines what is honorable?"
I would hold with what I say about existentialism and
determinism. It is one of the difficulties with the outlook
as it does not accept limitations on free will. And yet we
know such limitations exist. In that sense it is defiant, and
perhaps blind at times. Yet, to its credit, the view never
excuses, never holds back from pushing the envelope, testing
the limits it does not recognize, blaming society or mom for
one's actions.
So what does this all have to do with reading, understanding
and writing mystery fiction? To me the power of the best
hardboiled derives from imperfect people battling in a rotten
world for reasons rooted within themselves. It cuts through
the saccharine, rings true to our existence, and even gives
us a kind of hope. The hope that we can be true to ourselves
regardless.
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