Before we can analyse performativity in The Maltese Falcon however , it would first be prudent to give a definition of the roles that Brigid performs , the femme fatale and the good girl ( that is , the Angel in the House or the “ schoolgirl act ” ( Hammett 1974 , 182 )). In the Victorian era the femme fatale was very much posed as the polar opposite of the Angel in the House . However , when Grossman writes : “ Victorian novels struggling with issues of female power can usefully be seen as precursors to film noir , which inherits yet extends Victorian narratives investigation of the categorical representation of woman as angel / whore , as ‘ good girl ’/ ‘ femme fatale ’” there is a suggestion that the Angel in the House continued past the Victorian era . ( Grossman 2009 , 93 ). Additionally , scholars , ( for instance Simkin 2014 and Place 1998 ) argue that in film noir ( and in representations of the femme fatale generally ) the fallen women is presented alongside the “ maternal , the chaste and the virgin ” ( Simkin 2014 , 5 ) or “ the mother , the innocent , the redeemer ” ( Place 1998 , 47 ) in order for the reader or viewer to form a direct comparison . Therefore , we can suggest that this dichotomous relation between the femme and the angel exists within the 1930s and into the period of noir . We can still regard the good girl , or the Angel in the House as being pure , virtuous , motherly and , rather importantly , not sexual .
In contrast , the femme fatale is the opposite of that . Yvonne Tasker provides a succinct definition when she writes that the femme fatale is defined :
First , her seductive sexuality . Second , the power and strength ( over men ) that this sexuality generates for the femme fatale . Third , the deceptions , disguises and confusion that surrounds her , producing her as an ambiguous figure for both the audience and the hero . Fourth , as a consequence the sense of women as ‘ enigma ’, typically located within an investigative narrative which seeks to find ‘ truth ’ amidst the deception ( Tasker 1998 , 6 ).
While Tasker makes a point of the femme fatale being defined by her sexuality , the point that she has ‘ power and strength ( over men )’ suggests that the femme has an element of control over how she perceived , and that it is a choice to belong to the group of femmes . That may not always be the case . The femme fatale can in fact be read in two ways . Firstly , as Tasker suggests above , as “ an empowered modern subject ” ( Bronfen 2004 , 114 ) who chooses to exert her sexuality as a power over men , presumably for some gain . This can be evidenced in The Maltese Falcon as Brigid asks Spade , “ Can I buy you with my body ?” ( Hammett 1974 , 51 ). Alternatively , Bronfen