Masculinity In The Maltese Falcon

Throughout The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett uses gender and sexuality as a reflection of power and strength. Throughout the text, Hammett introduces three main male characters and three main female characters. The main character, Sam Spade is introduced to us at the beginning of the novel; “Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, v. […] He looked rather pleasantly like a blond Satan” (Hammett, 3). The use of “v” during his description leads the reader to envision a strong, angular, and muscular man. This was the ideal version of a man during the time that the novel was published, as well as today. Throughout the text, Spade continues to represent the epitome of masculinity. He uses his sexuality and gender to manipulate and defeat the people around him. Additionally, other characters can be viewed as more or less powerful through how they sexually express themselves.
It can be argued that two of the three female characters desire to be romantically involved with Spade, and he uses this to his advantage. Iva Archer (Sam’s late partner’s wife) and Spade were

Effie is introduced as “a lanky sunburned girl whose tan dress of thin woolen stuff clung to her with an effect of dampness” (Hammett, 3). Describing her using the words “sunburned” and “dampness” immediately show her to be less of a sexualized character. However, the connection between sexuality and power is still reflected in this relationship. Effie is the only person that Spade can fully trust in the story, and they consistently have one another's backs. Therefore, Spade doesn't need to use sex and masculinity to benefit himself. The lack of manipulative masculinity in the relationship between them proves that Spade only uses his masculinity and sex in relationships where he needs to prove his