tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post7794447753931186743..comments2024-03-04T10:17:35.836-08:00Comments on MARISSABIDILLA: The Real Mystery of "The Maltese Falcon"Marissa Skudlarekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15864377900420377361noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-67362782936777781152022-07-27T09:19:11.724-07:002022-07-27T09:19:11.724-07:00I'm so glad I found this discussion! While rer...I'm so glad I found this discussion! While rereading TMF (third or fourth time?), once again I have stumbled on Spade’s early reference to Gutman’s daughter when Spade didn't even know Gutman existed yet (at least, not according to the text, and the text is everything, right?). So I once again took to the information superhighway . . . And found damn little, except this blog entry.<br /><br />I just want to mention something I found that I know must be connected to the whole Rhea-Wilmer identity confusion. It doesn't nail anything down but it's relevant.<br /><br />From chapter 12, Merry-Go-Round, the next to the last page:<br /><br />They walked up Sutter Street side by side. The boy kept his hands in his overcoat-pockets. They walked a litte more than a block in silence. Then Space asked pleasantly: "How long have you been off the goose-berry lay, son?"<br /><br />The boy did not show that he had heard the question.<br /><br />"Did you ever--?" Spade began, and stopped. A soft light began to glow in his yellowish eyes. He did not address the boy again.<br /><br />Goose-berry lay? What the . . . ? Well, according to [Wikitionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gooseberry_lay#:~:text=gooseberry%20lay%20(plural%20gooseberry%20lays,linen%20hanging%20on%20a%20line.):<br />The stealing of linens hanging on a line.<br /><br />And from the [ORIGINAL HOBO NICKEL SOCIETY terminology page G](http://www.hobonickels.org/terms.htm#G):<br />**Gooseberry bush** - The clothes line. Gooseberries are the garments that adorn the line in the moonlight. <br />**Gooseberry lay**: -Stealing clothes from a clothesline. <br />**Gooseberry picking** - The act of a hobo who steals from clothes lines at night. They are called geese.<br /><br />Okay, so why is Spade asking Wilmer about stealing clothes from the clothesline? I think the implication here is that Spade is aware that Wilmer is actually a girl in man's clothing. And the sentence "A soft light began to glow in his yellowish eyes." means that Spade is putting some things together about Wilmer that he hadn't realized before. <br /><br />The difficulty here is that Hammet does not appear to be consistent with this particular issue. It's almost as if he had something in mind for the Rhea-Wilmer duality that he just doesn't manage to pull off. At any rate, it certainly adds some further complexity to the Wilmer character.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11126413845820979879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-10899247227339396652020-08-28T12:42:20.415-07:002020-08-28T12:42:20.415-07:00thank you for your comment, @unknown!
I haven'...thank you for your comment, @unknown!<br /><br />I haven't forgotten I wrote this post -- this is my all-time favorite bonkers literary theory and I'm happy to hear that it occurred to you as you read the novel as well!<br /><br />coincidentally, my book club read "The Maltese Falcon" this month (the first time I've reread it since I wrote this post in 2008) so I got to regale them with this theory last night! On this latest reread, I also noticed the bizarre (and kind of out-of-left-field) dialogue of "what about his daughter?"/"HE is not the owner!" for the first time as well.<br /><br />Everything about Rhea is just so bizarre and I wish people talked about it more!Marissa Skudlarekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15864377900420377361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-3328312535728993862020-08-16T03:40:41.884-07:002020-08-16T03:40:41.884-07:00I realise that you wrote this 12 years ago, and ma...I realise that you wrote this 12 years ago, and may have even forgotten that you posted it, but I just wanted to leave a comment for you.<br />I love the movie of the Maltese Falcon, and have watched it more times than I can recall, but I had never read the book until a couple of years ago. As Rhea doesn't appear in the movie, I was intrigued by this new character, albeit a slightly peripheral one. But as I read, I started to notice the same things that you did, and by the end I too had come to the same conclusion: "was... was Wilmer actually Rhea in disguise?" It didn't seem unfeasible - Hammett had been a PI, he was happy to include all kinds of things that were too hot for Hollywood. I was a bit disappointed about how Ida Archer in the movie is downgraded to a clingy fantasist, when the book is crystal clear that she and Spade were having an affair. I could see how a self harming cross-dressing woman might get dropped.<br /><br />Excited with my theory, I hopped online to find a discussion of it, but there seemed to be nothing. It took me a long time to find this page, but I'm glad I did, and thanks for laying it all out so coherently. There's one other piece of evidence I'd like to add, which again could be a misunderstanding, and yet...<br /><br />At the end of Chapter 5, Spade is discussing with Joel Cairo who owns the Falcon. Cairo dismisses the idea that Gutman owns it.<br /><br />"What about his daughter?" Spade asked.<br />Excitement opened Cairo's eyes and mouth, turned his face red, made his voice shrill.<br />"<i>He</i> is not the owner!"<br /><br />Maybe it's not so much that Wilmer is Rhea in disguise, but rather the reverse?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05689951093257054467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-69645885707516776822016-04-09T16:11:01.248-07:002016-04-09T16:11:01.248-07:00I apologize in advance for any mistakes; English i...I apologize in advance for any mistakes; English is not my native language. I hope I’ll manage to get my message across. <br />I was hinking about Mickey Finn question (slang term for knockout drops ).<br />See the article titled WATER, AN ANTIDOTE FOR CHLOROFORM.<br /> From Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 1954, 18 September 1905, Page 2 (Note the year: 1905!)<br /> <br />(Link: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CROMARG19050918.2.9 <br /><br /> Also available :http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61126454<br /><br />Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record (Vic. : 1902 - 1917) - vie 2 jun 1905 - Page 3 -WATER, AN ANTIDOTE FOR CHLOROFORM. )<br />According to this Rhea/ Wilmer could have drank water from the faucet as antidote to the knockout drops!<br />Remember that Dashiell Hammett worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. He served as an operative for the Pinkertons from 1915 to February 1922, with time off to serve in World War I. And then he enlisted in the Army in 1918 and served in the Motor Ambulance Corps.<br />Greetings from Argentina!Jorgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16468137342220431662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-81372768125718847132013-11-20T08:49:36.844-08:002013-11-20T08:49:36.844-08:00That's another possibility... and would also e...That's another possibility... and would also explain why Wilmer and Rhea look similar (they have the same dad).Marissa Skudlarekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15864377900420377361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-56595613236745101362013-11-19T22:57:00.829-08:002013-11-19T22:57:00.829-08:00I'll take it a step further. Wilmer is the ill...I'll take it a step further. Wilmer is the illegitimate son of Gutman who, 17 odd years before, deserted the mother and child to pursue the quest for the Falcon. When he talks about Wilmer being like a son and then callously sells him out for the Falcon as he did before but this time it may cost him his life Wilmer decides to exact his revenge. Your Presidenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14722803468943645988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-48535927058654357142013-11-19T22:50:59.035-08:002013-11-19T22:50:59.035-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Your Presidenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14722803468943645988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-84327392930935640872013-10-13T15:40:35.199-07:002013-10-13T15:40:35.199-07:00You're right, Rifer, that is very bizarre. I k...You're right, Rifer, that is very bizarre. I know that some of these old pulp novels can have loose plot threads (e.g. the famous example where Chandler admitted that even he didn't know who kills the chauffeur in "The Big Sleep") but that is an exchange of dialogue that seems very hard to explain.Marissa Skudlarekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15864377900420377361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-65894070629067452282013-10-13T15:10:57.155-07:002013-10-13T15:10:57.155-07:00The scene with Rhea is certainly weird, but I foun...The scene with Rhea is certainly weird, but I found an earlier reference to "his daughter" equally confusing. When Cairo first visits Spade, Cairo states that his client (presumably he's referring to Gutman) claim to the falcon is "...more valid than Thursby's". To this Slade replies, "What about his daughter?", to which Cario responds, "He is not the owner!"<br /><br />I could never understand how Spade knew Gutman had a daughter at this early stage of the plot (the name Gutman isn't revealed until much later in the book); and why would Cairo respond as he did? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-36300606033358430142012-03-31T17:10:49.380-07:002012-03-31T17:10:49.380-07:00Hi RTyst, thanks for commenting. It's been a w...Hi RTyst, thanks for commenting. It's been a while since I read the novel, and as I said at the end of my post, I'm now more of the opinion that "there is a weird thematic doubling between Rhea and Wilmer, but they are not literally the same person" rather than my more excited teenage thought of "Wilmer is Rhea in disguise!" Nonetheless, it's something that does not tend to be much commented on when people discuss The Maltese Falcon.Marissa Skudlarekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15864377900420377361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-40408499709137718702012-03-29T16:34:39.212-07:002012-03-29T16:34:39.212-07:00That is a very good analysis, but there I believe ...That is a very good analysis, but there I believe there is something wrong with it. On pg.164, Rhea mentions Wilmer's name "Yes...Wilmer...Cairo" explaining who took Brigid. I believe that Rhea is the daughter Gutman never wanted but shows her compassion because she has no where else to go. Gutman's spouse is never mentioned. The line "father...kill me..." would imply the question to your analysis, Why would Gutman kill someone he so dearly loves like a son?RTysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13470839012645068527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-89014119417336577342010-06-30T07:50:47.619-07:002010-06-30T07:50:47.619-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Karenbridgethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00366724810305442711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8072609778452128258.post-83055790529676138072010-06-30T07:40:13.766-07:002010-06-30T07:40:13.766-07:00Brilliant analysis. I've read the book many ti...Brilliant analysis. I've read the book many times--it's one of my favourites--but this never occurred to me. Can't wait to go back and play detective.Karenbridgethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00366724810305442711noreply@blogger.com