There are countless stereotypes of characters that could be implemented into a story, all with their own unique features. One such example of this is called a Femme Fatale. A femme fatale is defined as an attractive and seductive woman that uses her sexuality to deceive and bring destruction to a man that becomes involved with her. Every femme fatale has a particular way of achieving their goals, along with a particular method of utilizing these skills to get closer to this achievement. One such example of this stereotype is from the novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, a character named Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Throughout the novel, Brigid uses her skills and talents to deceive the investigators in a variety of ways.
Brigid O’Shaughnessy is a very talented liar, being able to effectively control her emotions using her background as a successful actress. One example of this display of talent is when she is brought into Samuel Spade’s office; an attempt on Spade’s part to bring her into a trap to determine if she had anything to do with an earlier confrontation between himself and Joel Cairo. When he begins with “I saw Joel Cairo tonight” (Hammett, 56), he observes Brigid’s reaction to determine her position in the situation. Her initial reaction is described as “her eyes, focused on his profile, became frightened, then cautious” (Hammett, 56). However, minutes later she stands from the settee to perform smaller activities such as poking at the fire in the fireplace, returning to her seat afterwards with “her face now smooth and unworried” (Hammett, 56). Although Spade makes a remark about her actions, anyone else would’ve been fooled by her acting.
Brigid is also a woman described as being incredibly intelligent, that being equal to the investigators themselves. She manages to convince Samuel Spade to grant his protection to her and even provides her assistance to the investigation; hiding the fact that she, in fact, is the murderer. She convinces Spade that she worries about him, and is even frightened, causing Spade to open himself up and not think through his actions at times. One such example is during the questioning of Casper Gutman about Wilmer Cook’s death, where Brigid had ended up moving away from the interaction. Later on, Spade goes to check on her, where she lowers her voice to express her fear. He responds with reassurance “carelessly and puts a hand on her grey-stockinged knee” (Hammett, 179). This display of carelessness shows that Brigid had effectively convinced Spade to let his guard down around her enough to not think through his actions as consistently.
In conclusion, although Brigid O’Shaughnessy is a character that fits within the femme fatale stereotype, she displays throughout the novel that she has many more talents and skills that set her apart from other characters of the sort. Her intelligence and ability to effectively calculate her seemingly random actions make her a very dangerous woman. Not only that, with her background as an actress, she is a professional at controlling her emotions and putting on a convincing act. Brigid O’Shaughnessy shows that a highly effective femme fatale uses much more than just her looks and sexuality to reach her goals; this is what makes her a dangerous force.
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