Discuss the importance of the setting, or milieu, in The Big Sleep. Throughout The Big Sleep, Chandler is not concerned solely with the solution of the murders, the whodunit’ aspect; he also focuses a great deal on the world created by the story, and the actions of Marlowe in that world. Characters throughout the novel display or comment on the sordid nature of the city of Los Angeles and the modern life it encourages.
The novel depicts a world in which nothing is as it seems, where a book store can be a front for a pornography ring, and everyone has their price. It is no coincidence that this world of facades and deception is set in Hollywood, where people make their fortune pretending to be something they are not. Chandler’s description of the settings surrounding characters accentuates this dark view of the world.
The opening lines of the novel allow the reader to see the importance of appearances and money in L.A. “I was neat, clean shaven, and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well dressed private detective ought to be”. These few sentences with their sardonic humour, typical of Marlowe throughout the novel, give the reader the impression that this is not the common appearance for Marlowe, or indeed anyone else in the novel. It is significant that Marlowe understands that he must look a certain way because he is “calling on four million dollars” (3), as it shows the significance of money in that society, and prepares the reader for the murders and crimes that will be based solely on money.
Chandler’s description of the weather also adds to the strong sense of foreboding throughout the novel. The rain is constant throughout The Big Sleep, as if it were an attempt to ‘clean’ the streets of L.A. and those that walk them. Chandler uses the weather as a representative of human emotion, in a society that is unable to express these emotions themselves. “Thunder was crackling in the foothills now and the sky above them was purple black. It was going to rain hard” (16) This description of a storm brewing comes at a time where Marlowe has just left the Sternwood’s, and will spend that night protecting a girl “who had gone very, very, wrong, and nobody was doing anything about it” (46).
Chandler also uses the rare occasion of a sunny day as a metaphor for the worst being over, or something about to unveil itself. “The next moming was bright, clear and sunny. I woke up with a motorman’s glove in my mouth, drank two cups of coffee, and went through the morning papers” (31). Even with Marlowe’s unwillingness to declare his emotions outright, the sunny morning is a clear representative of relief that the worst appears to be over.
Throughout the novel, there is a constant feeling of settings of former grandeur, now allowed to relapse, and almost to collapse. The Sternwood mansion in the Hollywood foothills where the family “could no longer smell the stale sump water or the oil, but they could still look out their front windows and see what had made them rich. If they wanted to” (15) is an example of deterioration not only of the physical home, but also of the family who lives in it. There is a strong sense of the source of the General’s money being ‘dirty’.
This is emphasised by Carmen attempting to kill Marlowe, and the body of Rusty Regan lying in the same, now deserted, oil field in which General Sternwood made his fortune. Another example is Eddie Mars’ Cypress Club, a “rambling frame mansion” (93) that was once the home of a wealthy man, declined to a hotel, and then finally ended up as an illegal casino. The club has about it “a general air of nostalgic decay” (93); the ballroom is “still a beautiful room,” but there is “roulette in it instead of measured, old fashioned dancing.” (97)
It is within this seedy world that the unlikely hero of Marlowe must maneuver. Marlowe comes across as heroic because he has kept his standards in a world where it is very easy to drop them. Throughout the novel, Marlowe’s code of conduct is displayed and trialed. The central theme of this code is professional pride. Marlowe believes in completing the job he has been hired for, even refusing upfront payment even though it would have been appreciated. After the robbery attempt outside Mars’ club, Vivian offers herself to Marlowe, Marlowe kisses her but refuses to go further.
“Kissing you is nice, but your father didn’t hire me to sleep with you…. The first time we met I told you I was a detective. Get it through your lovely head. I work at it, lady, I don’t play at it.” (128). He offers a similar explanation to Carmen Sternwood when he rejects her advances: “It’s a question of professional pride…. I’m working for your father. He’s a sick man, very frail, very helpless. He sort of trusts me not to pull any stunts.” This professional ethic causes Marlowe to pursue his employer’s interests, and look for Rusty Regan, even though the General said not to.
The setting of Marlowe’s world is in stark contrast to that of those that employ him and of those he pursues. Marlowe’s shabby office filled with “rust red carpet, not very young, five green filing cases, three of them full of California climate… three near walnut chairs, the usual desk with the usual blotter, pen set, ash tray and telephone, and the usual squeaky swivel chair behind it” (40) help to set him apart from the rest of the characters encountered in the novel. Marlowe’s run down office gives the reader the impression that with Marlowe, what you see is what you get, offering an alternative to the others living behind a fa. This is stated bluntly by Vivian when she meets Marlowe there “You don’t put on much of a front” (40).
This comment is highly ironic, because if it weren’t for Marlowe being so upfront and unassuming, she and her family would be in even more trouble. Marlowe counters in his typically sarcastic manner, “Neither do the Pinkertons… you can’t make much money in this trade, if you’re honest. If you have a front, you’re making money – or expect to” (41). Marlowe describes himself as “painfully” honest, a synonym for being “painfully” poor.
Chandler’s highly detailed descriptions of settings allow him to express what could not be said by speech alone. An extra level of detail can bee observed once aspects of the setting, such as weather or standards of living, are examined closely. The setting can help express emotion in a novel concerned with characters that are not used to, and should not be looked upon as secondary to the speech.
