One of the biggest differences between the Marlowe's we have been presented is their willingness or unwillingness to be part of society. For the sake of this argument we will have to lump Marlowe from the novel,
The Big Sleep, and its film rendition in the same category (Marlowe 1); and the Marlowe from The
Long Goodbye in another ( Marlowe 2). Marlowe 1 is depicted as the epitome of the homme fetale. He is an ever-successful womanizer always with a stiff drink upon his hand and a cigar hanging from his lips. He has the charm and ease to flow from one social circle to the other therefor when we see him isolated and alone we realize that this is no one else's doing but his own. He knows that due to his charisma and smarts, society will never turn his back on him. This then leads to a different outcome in the solution of the conflict. Marlowe 1 is able to successfully alleviate all of the three kinds of conflict pertinent to the story line: person vs person, person vs society, person vs self. Person vs person sees fulfillment in Marlowe getting the job done e.g: figuring out Carmen was to blame & killing Mars. Person vs society is solved simply by Marlowe accomplishing his task and then going the extra mile to tie all loose ends, as such he puts an end to certain illicit activities. Person vs person is resolved in that by completing his task, Marlowe gains the satisfaction of higher knowledge or understanding of a metaphysical state of being. On the other hand, we have Marlowe 2 who is punished instead of rewarded for his character. Marlowe 2 is not as charismatic or masculine as Marlowe 1 and is therefor considered as loser by all of his peers. This kind of emasculation prevents Marlowe 2 from finding the same fluidity as Marlowe 1; leading to a less dramatic resolution. Marlowe 2 is only able to acquire an unravelment to person vs self. When Marlowe 2 kills off Lennox his death only serves in Marlowe's' personal plight. Society would be unaffected by Lennox's death because they believe him already dead. Marlowe 2 does not resolve person vs person because this kind of conflict usually indicates a kind of public reward. Since no one knows that Lennox is still alive then nobody is there to congratulate Marlowe and tittle him "hero" (unless you take into consideration the relationship between character and viewer).
Even more so, it can be argued that the highest motivation in all the adaptations of Marlowe is simply person vs society. Depending on the depiction, as stated before, Marlowe will be allowed to come within a society or choose to be without it; either way Marlowe is his own man.
*For the purpose of this argument person vs nature was foregone as there is no persistent climate impeding or alleviating Marlowe's plight...except maybe death... but this was already addressed :)
This is really interesting, Monica. What changed? Why in the 1950s do we have the homme fatale and in the 70s we have an "emasculated" Marlowe?
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure but I'm willing to argue that this transition is a product of its time. If we refer back to a highly stressed point made time and time again in our class,that a film will reflect the popular opinion in society then we come to face these two types of men. The homme fetale in the 50's and the emasculated male in the 70's. Now, I truly believe that both these portrayals weren't necessarily the ultimate goal. Rather, I think that these depictions were antagonists to the ideal male. We always see the homme fetale almost as a hermit. They're income stems from less than respectable or even a legal source and even though they have women to spare, these usually never lead to marriage. Taking into consideration that society was sort of 'idealistic' and 'moral' during the 50's, these attributes I'm sure were looked upon with distaste. Sure, many people probably thought this kind of outsider was daring and exciting but I'm not too convinced that many would have been comfortable leaving their 9-5 and wife & kids. We then move to the 70's, where the emasculated male serves as the antagonist. Meaning, that what would have been highly stressed was the macho-man. A quick search on Google leads to tittles such as The Godfather, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Superman, Taxi Driver, and A Clockwork Orange. All these titles feature men with the stereotypical traits of masculinity: independence, competitiveness, little to no emotions, aggressiveness, and egotism. All traits that 70's Marlowe lacked.
DeleteSo yeah! I think that these portrayals just go to show a shift in what society thinks men should be like by showing the exact opposite.