Down these mean streets a man must go

Much discussion of film noir focuses on the alluring yet destructive figure of the femme fatale, however in this article on The Big Sleep, Jane Moustakas focuses on Bogart's performance of private detective Philip Marlowe. Whilst outwardly appearing to be a straightforward, 'man's man', under the surface of Chandler's characterization lies an uncertainty about Marlowe's masculinity, which suggests that Marlowe's hyper-masculine image may in fact be compensating for his deep-seated insecurity.