We can suggest , then , that definitions of femininity such as the femme fatale and the angel in the house ( or the good girl , the “ schoolgirl act ” ( Hammett 1974 , 182 )) becomes part of this ‘ cultural history ’. Women then imitate the conventions of those roles in order to ‘ construct the illusion of a primary and interior gendered self ’. The novel shows Brigid acting as an angel in the house - Sam Spade repeatedly tells Brigid “‘ Will you stop it ! … ‘ This isn ’ t the spot for the schoolgirl act ’” ( Hammett 1974 , 183 ). This suggests that Brigid is creating a ‘ parody of the mechanism of that construction ’ – a parody of the angel in the house . The novel boldly assumes that the ‘ schoolgirl act ’ is the only act Brigid is undertaking – leaving her femme fatale actions to be the truth of her character . However , I argue that Brigid performs her femme fatale act as well as the ‘ schoolgirl ’, meaning her ‘ parody ’ is of the structures in place to contain women and the sheer meaninglessness of those labels . In this sense , the femme fatale is not a stereotype of male anxiety but a performative reaction which uses , and exists within , the labels of the patriarchy yet , in the performative action , undermines these dichotomous labels by displaying the very performative nature of corresponding to them .
Mary Ann Doane writes of the femme fatale that “ While the male is locked into sexual identity , the female can at least pretend that she is other – in fact , sexual identity would seem to be a distinguishing feature of femininity ” ( Doane 2005 , 138 ). Here Doane appears to suggest that performativity is an inherently ‘ female ’, or symbolically feminine quality . Performativity can be defined as “ gender not as an expression of what one is , but gender as something that one does ” ( Lloyd 1999 , 196 ). Butler argues that gender is a social construct , not an “ interior essence ” ( Butler 1999 , 186 ), which is maintained through acts and gestures correlating to the socially constructed ‘ gender norms ’ that the performer wishes to correspond to . Butler continues : “ Such acts , gestures , enactments , generally constructed , are performative in the sense that the essence or identity that they otherwise purport to express are fabrications manufactured and sustained through corporeal signs and other discursive means ” ( Butler 1999 , 185-6 ). These ‘ corporeal signs ’ become significant when considering Brigid ’ s parody of gender roles as she then simply copies them – in essence , she is using performativity ( she is earnestly trying to correspond to both gender roles ) yet by purposefully altering it to suit her needs , she is parodying those that perform unknowingly . As she states in the novel “ I am a liar … I have always been a liar ” ( Hammett 1974 , 78 ) evidencing that she is aware of the performativity she is undertaking .
The Femme Fatale and Good Girl