Week 14 Reading Notes: The Big Sleep (Chandler) Ch. 23-32

Chapter 23

Vivian approaches the masked man and Marlowe hiding behind the tree. The man attempts to rob her at gunpoint for her winnings. Marlow recognizes the man’s laugh, and comes out from behind the tree with a pipe that he pretends is a gun. He gets the bag back and lets the man be on his way after taking his gun. Marlowe tells Vivian why he was visiting Eddie Mars, and asks Marlowe to walk her to her car. They get to the car, where Vivian’s date is passed out drunk in the car. Marlowe agrees to take Vivian home. Along the way they stop to drink some coffee and Marlowe asks her what  Mars has on her, to which she replies that he probably sent that man to rob the winnings she just took from his personal money. He asks her again what Mars has on her but she doesn’t respond. They drive drive down to the water at Vivian’s request, and when they get there she makes a move and they kiss for  a while and when she implies that she wants to go back to his house, he asks her yet again what Eddie Mars has on her and she gets angry. Marlowe then tells her how he thinks the robbery was staged since she was not even shaken up. Marlowe then takes Vivian home and they part ways.

Chapter 24

Marlowe returns home to find Carmen Sternwood lying naked in his bed. He takes a look at his chessboard a difficult problem and moves his knight. He denies her advances, and as she shows off her body he tells her that he has already seen that before. He tells her that he will not sleep with her because he is working for her father and it would be unprofessional. He looks back at the chessboard and sees that his move with the night was wrong and moves it back, saying “knights had no meaning in this game, it wasn’t a game for knights”. This is a reference to the beginning of the book where Marlowe is looking at a painting of a knight rescuing a damsel. Marlowe seems to think of himself as a knight, and this time saving the damsel from herself. He then realizes that this world he is in has no place for a knight in shining armor, however he still chooses not to take advantage of her, and she finally leaves.

Chapter 25

Marlowe wakes up the next morning feeling “hungover from women”. He gets ready to leave for his office, and sees the car that has been following him parked outside. When Marlowe arrives at his office he approaches the man and tells him that if he wants to talk, to come up to his office after he eats breakfast. The man takes this meeting, and his name is Harry Jones. He offers to sell Marlowe some information for $200. He gives him the information, which is that Mars’ wife Mona did not run off with Regan, but was actually being kept in a safe house by Mars. He talks about how Mars has a hired gun named Canino who has been seen with Vivian. He also says that Agnes knows where Mars is keeping Mona and will tell Marlowe after he gives Harry the money.

Chapter26

Marlowe heads to his meeting with Harry  that evening. As he approaches, he hears voices inside and realizes that Canino is there with Harry. Canino was sent by Mars to see why Harry has been following Marlowe, to which he replies that he was attempting to blackmail Marlowe with information about Carmen being there when Brody was murdered. Canino asks Harry where Agnes is, and when he doesn’t say canino pulls a gun on him, causing him to spill the address. After he tells, canino gives him a drink, and after the drink Harry falls to the floor dead, poisoned with cyanide. Marlowe discovers by calling the address given that Harry gave Canino the wrong address. Marlowe really admires Harry for protecting Agnes and “drinking his cyanide like a gentleman”. Agnes calls Marlowe, and they decide to meet up.

Chapter 27

Marlowe and Agnes meet and exchange money for information. Agnes tells Marlowe that she saw Canino driving Mona around and that Marlowe can find her near off a highway near the foothills, next door to a garage and paint shop owned by Art Huck.  The two part ways, and Marlowe heads to the place she described to him. On his way there he accidentally ran over some tracks on the road and got two flat tires. He looked up and saw the light of the garage that he was looking for. He approached the garage with a gun, knocked on the door and was told that they are closed by Art, but let’s him in when Canino gives the ok. He is invited in and offered a drink by Canino, this one has no cyanide. Marlowe believes he has the upper hand since Canino does not know him, however before he knows it, without a signal or warning, the two men attack Marlowe and beat him unconscious.

Chapter 28

Marlowe comes to and he is handcuffed and tied up in a room with none other than Eddie Mars wife Mona. She is beautiful and Marlowe is instantly attracted to her. She is wearing a silver wig, and this is what Marlowe calls her. He finds out that she is not here held captive and that she is in love with Mars despite the man that he is. She tells him that Mars did not murder Regan. She eventually unties him but cannot undo his handcuffs since Canino has the key. He asks her to come with him but she says no. As he is about to leave the two share a kiss

Chapter 29

Marlowe leaves the house and heads to his car. He knows exactly what Canino will be planning on doing, not knowing that Marlowe has been set free. He gets a gun from his car and returns to the house, hiding in a ditch as the car pulls up and Canino walks inside. Marlowe turns on the car to lure canino out, and he shoots at the car immediately. Marlowe pretends like he has been shot and killed, and Canino laughs. Unsure if he is really dead, canino walks out of the house with Silver-wig as his shield and eyes to see if she sees him. She lies and says that she sees Marlowe and after he shoots three more times Marlowe has the drop on him and shoots and kills him. Silver-wig got the handcuffs off of him and the chapter ends.

Chapter 30

Cut to Marlowe at the missing persons bureau talking to captain Gregory. Marlowe tells him the whole story of what has happened, and Gregory tells him that it was not good for him to take matters into his own hands, and that he should leave the Sternwood’s alone from now on. Marlowe agrees and says that he is done with the case. Marlowe then drives home and finds himself unable to sleep thinking about everything, and he can’t help but think that Gregory is hiding something from him. He then receives a call from the Sternwood’s butler who tells him that the General has requested a meeting with him. He arrives to see the General looking very ill. He is upset with Marlowe because he never asked him to look for Regan, he paid him to do a job and feels betrayed because Marlowe took it upon himself to look for Regan. They have a discussion about the whole situation, and eventually the general offers $1,000 to find Regan and make sure he is ok.

Chapter 31

As Marlowe leaves the house, he runs into Carmen and gives her her gun back. She then asks him to teach her how to shoot. He tells her he can’t do it there and she tells him she knows where they can go, and points to the old oiled pumps in front of their land. Marlowe agrees and drives down there with her. He asks for the gun back until they get there. Once they get there he gives her the gun and goes to set up some cans to shoot at. As he turns around she is showing her sharp teeth and pointing the gun at him, and he laughs and walks toward her. She shot four times to no avail, since he had put blanks in the gun. As he grabs her she passes out and doesn’t wake up until they are in the car on the way back to their house. As she comes too she asked what happened.

Chapter 32

Marlowe returns to the house and confronts Vivian about what her sister has done. He explains the entire story that he has figured out. Carmen is mentally ill, and killed Regan for rejecting her advances just like she planned on killing Marlowe. Vivian wanted to protect her sister so she hired canino to dispose of the body, since she never really loved Regan. Knowing this, Eddie Mars made up the whole plan of pretending like his wife ran away with Regan, all so that he could blackmail Vivian and get a lot of money from either her or her father. That is where all of the other blackmail attempts come in, it was all planned by Mars to see if he could squeeze the money out of the General.  Vivian hid all of this not only for her sister, but to protect her father from knowing the truth on his death bed. Marlowe tells Vivian to take Carmen somewhere where she can be fixed within three days otherwise he will come out with the truth. After he leaves Marlowe reflects on death, or “the Big Sleep” and how nothing really matters once you are dead, not how or why or where you were dead, but just that you are dead. The book ends with Marlowe having a drink and thinking about silver-wig, whom he never saw again.