[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
attention. (205)
Warshawski s mock confession and misdirection work to keep Mallory frustrated so he
does not look too closely at what she has been doing on a case he told her to stop investigating.
If she had told Mallory the truth, and allowed it to become a police matter, there is a strong
chance the resolution would not be the one Warshawski is trying to create. She, unlike Mallory,
does not believe her cousin s death was an accident, but that it is tied to the problems a local
shipping company is having. Mallory would see the incidents as two independent occurrences
and would leave her cousins death unsolved. In this case, telling the truth would take away her
power and authority in the situation. Lying directly to Mallory is also threatening to
Warshawski s hold on her power and authority as detective. If her lies are discovered without
204
the factual account of her actions, she could go from detective to suspect in one swift move. In
that case, Warshawski would lose her position as detective and authority to interpret the
information of the case. Either scenario makes Warshawski vulnerable. Warshawski mixes truth
with her lies to grant herself some authority in the eyes of the law. She tells Mallory why she
brought a gun to the boatyard, and some of her suspicions concern the deceased Phillips. This
mix of truth and falsehoods allows Warshawski to maintain her authority without relinquishing
her power as the detective or being dismissed as a manipulative lying woman, like Hammett s
O Shaughnessy. Paretsky s inventive use of truth and deception as tools for protest are traits that
can also be found in characters created by Herbst and Brody.
Grafton s Millhone is the undisputed queen of deceit. Millhone is a self-described liar
who theorizes about lying as being part of her character and about the general thrill she gets from
breaking laws. In O Is For Outlaw, Millhone spends a great deal of time thinking about lies and
her right to be creative with the interpretation of events when needed. She examines the
unfairness of expecting detectives like herself to be held to a higher code of values than the
criminals she investigates: If bad guys don t have to play by the rules, why should the good
guys have to? (322). Millhone sees the strict laws that govern social behavior and the child-like
expectation that good guys do not lie to be a restriction on her power as a detective. In her
eyes she has every right to break a few laws to catch criminals.
Millhone feels even more at ease with her power to break codes and lie because she sees
what she is doing, correcting criminal violations, as beneficial to society. This theory cements
her power and authority as detective. Her ideas are the next step in the evolution of truth telling
and lying that appear in women s proletarian literature. She does not lie to avoid mainstream
authority. She lies to establish her own authority. Lying is a pastime that preoccupies her. In H
205
Is For Homicide, Millhone philosophizes on the problems of lying well: The tricky part of any
lie is trying to figure out how you d behave if you were innocent (266). For Millhone, unlike
Warshawski, Marlowe, or women proletariat writers, lying is an artful act that must be perfected
to be used as a viable tool in investigation.
Like most hard-boiled detectives, Millhone lies to the police. In A Is For Alibi, Millhone
reports the murder of Sharon Napier to the Las Vegas 911, but she lies about the nature of the
crime to get the police to investigate. She tells them she heard an intruder in her neighbor s
apartment, and now her neighbor is not answering (133). Here Millhone is an anonymous caller
whose small lie helps the police uncover a more serious crime. In effect, she is turning over a
part of her investigation to the police and removing herself from the authority position.
Millhone s loss of power is limited. She gives up the authority voluntarily. She is not in a turf
battle with the police where she would run the risk of losing all claim to the case. Once again,
the power of a greater cause keeps Millhone from losing dominance as a detective by lying.
Millhone does directly confront the police with lies, not the safe mixture of lies and truth
that Warshawski uses. In A Is For Alibi, Millhone lies to Lieutenant Con Dolan of homicide
about being in Las Vegas and her role in the investigation of Sharon Napier s murder (198).
Initially Dolan does not believe Millhone, but later he is convinced of her sincerity when she
offers to make her statement legal and truthful in the eyes of the law. Through a careful mix of
truth and lies Millhone retains her power to distract the police from investigating her statement.
Here, Millhone adds credence to her statements using lies and relying upon Dolan s respect for
the legal system. If Dolan were to press Millhone to make a legal statement and discover she
had lied, she would lose her power as a detective, and she would also lose her connections in the
police department. Instead, Millhone uses the integrity associated with the legal system to her
206
favor. She is offering to go through the legal confession/validation process, reminiscent of
Foucault. Where lawyers and Dolan assume the truth, Millhone gives a lie. Millhone s ploy is
another version of the proletarian tactic of using lies to protect agendas from mainstream
interference.
In some respects, Millhone s lying is much like Marlowe s. Millhone lies on casual
levels to strangers and on professional levels to suspects, individuals she is interrogating, and the
police. While Marlowe lies to advance his investigation and for small jokes, it is Millhone who
lies as a part of her character. In O Is For Outlaw, Millhone tells her landlord and longtime
friend, Henry, about her investigation of her ex-husband s old internal affairs investigation and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
attention. (205)
Warshawski s mock confession and misdirection work to keep Mallory frustrated so he
does not look too closely at what she has been doing on a case he told her to stop investigating.
If she had told Mallory the truth, and allowed it to become a police matter, there is a strong
chance the resolution would not be the one Warshawski is trying to create. She, unlike Mallory,
does not believe her cousin s death was an accident, but that it is tied to the problems a local
shipping company is having. Mallory would see the incidents as two independent occurrences
and would leave her cousins death unsolved. In this case, telling the truth would take away her
power and authority in the situation. Lying directly to Mallory is also threatening to
Warshawski s hold on her power and authority as detective. If her lies are discovered without
204
the factual account of her actions, she could go from detective to suspect in one swift move. In
that case, Warshawski would lose her position as detective and authority to interpret the
information of the case. Either scenario makes Warshawski vulnerable. Warshawski mixes truth
with her lies to grant herself some authority in the eyes of the law. She tells Mallory why she
brought a gun to the boatyard, and some of her suspicions concern the deceased Phillips. This
mix of truth and falsehoods allows Warshawski to maintain her authority without relinquishing
her power as the detective or being dismissed as a manipulative lying woman, like Hammett s
O Shaughnessy. Paretsky s inventive use of truth and deception as tools for protest are traits that
can also be found in characters created by Herbst and Brody.
Grafton s Millhone is the undisputed queen of deceit. Millhone is a self-described liar
who theorizes about lying as being part of her character and about the general thrill she gets from
breaking laws. In O Is For Outlaw, Millhone spends a great deal of time thinking about lies and
her right to be creative with the interpretation of events when needed. She examines the
unfairness of expecting detectives like herself to be held to a higher code of values than the
criminals she investigates: If bad guys don t have to play by the rules, why should the good
guys have to? (322). Millhone sees the strict laws that govern social behavior and the child-like
expectation that good guys do not lie to be a restriction on her power as a detective. In her
eyes she has every right to break a few laws to catch criminals.
Millhone feels even more at ease with her power to break codes and lie because she sees
what she is doing, correcting criminal violations, as beneficial to society. This theory cements
her power and authority as detective. Her ideas are the next step in the evolution of truth telling
and lying that appear in women s proletarian literature. She does not lie to avoid mainstream
authority. She lies to establish her own authority. Lying is a pastime that preoccupies her. In H
205
Is For Homicide, Millhone philosophizes on the problems of lying well: The tricky part of any
lie is trying to figure out how you d behave if you were innocent (266). For Millhone, unlike
Warshawski, Marlowe, or women proletariat writers, lying is an artful act that must be perfected
to be used as a viable tool in investigation.
Like most hard-boiled detectives, Millhone lies to the police. In A Is For Alibi, Millhone
reports the murder of Sharon Napier to the Las Vegas 911, but she lies about the nature of the
crime to get the police to investigate. She tells them she heard an intruder in her neighbor s
apartment, and now her neighbor is not answering (133). Here Millhone is an anonymous caller
whose small lie helps the police uncover a more serious crime. In effect, she is turning over a
part of her investigation to the police and removing herself from the authority position.
Millhone s loss of power is limited. She gives up the authority voluntarily. She is not in a turf
battle with the police where she would run the risk of losing all claim to the case. Once again,
the power of a greater cause keeps Millhone from losing dominance as a detective by lying.
Millhone does directly confront the police with lies, not the safe mixture of lies and truth
that Warshawski uses. In A Is For Alibi, Millhone lies to Lieutenant Con Dolan of homicide
about being in Las Vegas and her role in the investigation of Sharon Napier s murder (198).
Initially Dolan does not believe Millhone, but later he is convinced of her sincerity when she
offers to make her statement legal and truthful in the eyes of the law. Through a careful mix of
truth and lies Millhone retains her power to distract the police from investigating her statement.
Here, Millhone adds credence to her statements using lies and relying upon Dolan s respect for
the legal system. If Dolan were to press Millhone to make a legal statement and discover she
had lied, she would lose her power as a detective, and she would also lose her connections in the
police department. Instead, Millhone uses the integrity associated with the legal system to her
206
favor. She is offering to go through the legal confession/validation process, reminiscent of
Foucault. Where lawyers and Dolan assume the truth, Millhone gives a lie. Millhone s ploy is
another version of the proletarian tactic of using lies to protect agendas from mainstream
interference.
In some respects, Millhone s lying is much like Marlowe s. Millhone lies on casual
levels to strangers and on professional levels to suspects, individuals she is interrogating, and the
police. While Marlowe lies to advance his investigation and for small jokes, it is Millhone who
lies as a part of her character. In O Is For Outlaw, Millhone tells her landlord and longtime
friend, Henry, about her investigation of her ex-husband s old internal affairs investigation and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]