Sam Spade: The Detective as Bastard Spade is the novel’s hero. He is also a bastard. He has an affair with his partner’s wife. His partner is murdered. Spade does not mourn. He investigates. He is hired by a beautiful liar, Brigid O’Shaughnessy. He sleeps with her. He knows she is lying. He does not care. He finds the falcon. It is fake. He sends Brigid to prison for his partner’s murder. He says, “I won’t play the sap for you.” Spade has a code. It is not the law. It is not kindness. It is professionalism.
The Falcon: The MacGuffin The falcon is a statuette. It is supposed to be made of gold and jewels. It is worth a fortune. Everyone wants it. It is the “MacGuffin” – the object that drives the plot. The falcon is also a symbol. It represents greed. Everyone who wants it is destroyed. When it is finally found, it is a fake. The real falcon is lost. The characters have killed for nothing. The reader has cared about nothing.
Brigid O’Shaughnessy: The Femme Fatale Brigid is the femme fatale. She is beautiful, vulnerable, and treacherous. She lies to Spade. She sleeps with him. She kills his partner. She begs for mercy. Spade sends her to prison. He does not love her. He does not hate her. He does his job. Brigid is a victim. She is also a killer. The reader cannot decide. Spade decides.
Joel Cairo: The Effeminate Villain Cairo is a small, neat man. He carries a scented handkerchief. He is a criminal. He is also effeminate. Hammett uses homophobic stereotypes. The reader is uncomfortable. The novel is a product of its time. It is also a product of its genre.
Gutman: The Fat Man Gutman is the mastermind. He is fat, jovial, and ruthless. He has been searching for the falcon for seventeen years. He kills without remorse. He is also charming. He offers Spade a drink. They talk. He lies. He lies again. Gutman represents the evil of capitalism. He is a businessman. His business is murder.
The Style: Hardboiled Prose Hammett’s prose is spare, fast, and brutal. He wrote for “Black Mask,” a pulp magazine. He learned to cut every unnecessary word. He wrote: “The cheap silver paint had a greasy luster under the electric light.” The sentences are short. The images are sharp. The effect is cinematic. Hammett invented the style. Chandler perfected it.
Conclusion: “The Maltese Falcon” is a novel about nothing. The falcon is a fake. The love is a lie. The justice is a job. Spade does his job. The reader watches. The reader respects him. The reader does not love him.
