Women in detective fiction
Generally, in the world of hard-boiled detective fiction, women are presented as mysterious, suspicious and dangerous characters or in other words; “femmes fatales”. But we notice that in the following texts; The Maltese Falcon, Chinatown and Chronicles of a Death Foretold, not all authors remain faithful to the conventions of detective fiction in creating their female characters. ... To some extent, the denial of truth, lust and the role women exercise in their society’s causes these texts to conform, contradict and/or extend to the ideals of detective fiction. The three texts, with respect to the roots of detective fiction, all contain female personages who are presumptuously filled with lies and deceptions. ... Brigid O’ Haughnessy, in The Maltese Falcon clearly represents the ideal characterization of women in hard boil detective fiction. ... Brigid perfectly represents the ideal “femmes fatales” in detective fiction. ... But we should also keep in mind that the protection of a women’s honor was a very important aspect in Latin American culture in the 1950s.