Spiders or Virgins: Portrayals of Women in the Noir Films Laura, Out of the Past, and Double Indemnity
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film studies
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date published 11/04/2008
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SummaryIn her article “Women in Film Noir” Janey Place states that women characters in noir films are divided into two archetypes: “the spider woman, the evil seductress who tempts man and brings about his destruction” and “the virgin, the mother, the innocent, the redeemer.” This essay will examine and interpret the construction of three female characters in three noir films in terms of the visual motifs used in the presentation of the characters’ actions and dialogue. The characters examined will be Laura (Gene Tierney) in the film Laura (1944), Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) in the film Double Indemnity (1944), and Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) in the film Out of the Past (1947). Does Place’s judgment hold true for these three characters? Can these characters be divided into two archetypes? This essay will show that Laura, Phyllis, and Kathie embody at times both of Place’s archetypes—each character changes from innocent virgin to spider woman. And it will be shown how these characterizations are achieved using cinematic techniques. Laura, however, is the only character of the three films to change back to innocent virgin by the end of the narrative.
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