Marlowe's The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep has a plot saturated with blackmail, threats, and murder that stem from the sexual actions of Carmen. This sex is the main contributing factor to the darkness that Marlowe finds. However, it is not just sex alone that is the nightmare; but sex used as an instrumental good of exchange. Through comparing the characterizations of Vivian, Carmen, and Mona and the resolution of the plot for characters that engage in this darkness, we can see how using sex as a mode of exchange is different than sex as an act of love for Marlowe. By creating this nightmare about sex as a means to gain wealth, Chandler is playing into his society’s fears of oversexualization of women.
In Marlowe’s first interaction with Carmen, he characterizes her

She is willing to convince herself that he is not committing heinous crimes stating, “ Eddie didn’t do anything… Eddie’s not that sort of man.” (Chandler 193). This is all because Mona “was willing to do what he wanted me to do-hideout...I wouldn’t let him down. I love him” (Chandler 195). This is the first time we see love mentioned as a motive and an example of a character defending her actions with the motive of love rather than money. Marlowe eats this behavior up. He describes her breath “as delicate as the eyes of a fawn” (Chandler 192). And when she neared him “Blood began to moved around in me, like a prospective tenant looking over a house” (Chandler 192). Typically fawns are delicate, innocent creatures suggesting that Marlowe sees an innocence in Mona. This is attractive to him as his blood itself is drawn to her. His attraction is solidifies when Marlowe initiates a kiss with Mona. He leans in and mutters “Kiss me, Silver Wig.” (Chandler 198). Marlowe’s attraction to Mona suggests that there is something different about Mona than Carmen and Vivian that makes a romantic involvement okay for Marlowe. Because Mona’s sexualization is based on love rather than as a means to gain wealth, the novel does not group her sexualization with the Carmen’s, who’s sexualization is the object of the

These exchanges however, are centered around Carmen. Various sleazebag characters use Carmen to blackmail General Sternwood. By exploring the resolution of these character’s fates, insight can be gained on what exactly Chandler was trying to convey about over sexualization in this time. The characters involved in the exchange of sex for money end up dead, except for Carmen and Eddie Mars. However, Carmen is punished by being sent somewhere where she cannot exercise her sexuality, the only aspect of her that makes her alive. Eddie Mars is a reminder to the audience of the omnipresence of crime in society. Mona Mars is the only example of love in this novel, and serves to distinguish between sex for love and sex for money. She is spared and well liked by Marlowe to show that there is an acceptable form of sexual activity, one that is not marred by blackmail and murder. Therefore a nightmare has been created around sex used as a medium to gain wealth. This plot is attractive to readers of this age because of the fear of oversexualization already present in society. Chandler plays on these fears to generate potentially more dramatic reactions from his readers who are not as accustomed to seeing so much sex and violence thrown in their