Brigid O Shaughnessy In The Maltese Falcon

“When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it.”

It’s not enough to know one, or even two of these points unless we know all three we shall be unable to arouse the other emotions. - Aristotle, and George Alexander Kennedy

The Maltese Falcon written by Dashiell Hammett is a great example of Aristotelian logic’s argumentative style: ethos, pathos, deduction and even induction. Sam Spade used inductive and deductive reasoning and did it in more of an ethos style. Whereas, Brigid O'Shaughnessy was more pathos style. Throughout the movie there are many examples of all styles, but I will be focusing on Detective Same Spade as he has such a great use of ethos, deduction, and induction and Brigid O’Shaughnessy’s pathos and inductive style logic.

She changed slightly the position of an ornament on the mantelpiece, crossed the room to get a box of cigarettes from a table in a corner, straightened a curtain, and returned to her seat. Her face was now smooth and unworried. Spade grinned sidewise at her and said: "You're good. You're very good" (The Maltese). We can see in this brief scene that Brigid is very experienced at controlling her emotions. In the span of time that it takes her to walk to the fireplace, fuss with the ornament on the mantelpiece, light a cigarette, fix the curtains, and return to her seat, she succeeds in regaining her composure. If anyone else but Spade had been there, they would have surely been fooled by her acting. But nothing can escape Spade's hawk-eyes, and he sarcastically compliments her on her skillful acting abilities. Miss Wonderly a.k.a. Miss Leblanc a.k.a. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is the classic femme fatale. What's a femme fatale, you ask? Good question. A French term meaning "deadly woman," a femme fatale is a seductive, mysterious woman who uses her femininity to lure men to do her bidding, leading them into compromising, often deadly situations. Which makes her such a great example of pathos like in the ending scene when she is trying to convince Sam Spade not to turn her over. At first, O’Shaughnessy thinks his threat to turn her over to the police is only for dramatic effect. She responds by accusing him of playing with her and tries to laugh away the threat: "Don't, Sam. Don't say it even in fun. Ha, ha, ha. Oh, I was frightened for a minute. I really thought...You do such wild and unpredictable things." Almost hateful of her, Spade tells her that he is resolved: Spade: Don't be silly. You're taking the fall. O’Shaughnessy: You've been playing with me. Just pretending you care to trap me like this. You didn't care at all. You don't love me! Spade: I won't play the sap for you! O’Shaughnessy: Oh you