American authors James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler published Double Indemnity in 1943 and "Red Wind" in 1946, after the Great Depression. Both texts belong to the genre of black fiction. The two main components of noir texts are hardboiled fiction and the femme fatale. Hard-boiled fiction is stories that echo American detective stories; while the femme fatale is the depiction of women as attractive, seductive, and manipulative characters in stories. Both Cain and Chandler are authors who share similar viewpoints, but use different techniques to depict the same elements of femme fatale and hard-boiled fiction in their texts. They both incorporate the use of satire and symbolism to criticize the increasing status of women in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe Great Depression was a global financial crisis that occurred due to the stock market crash of 1929. The Great Depression gave women's rights movements a chance to pursue employment. It was the norm for women to only be responsible for household chores, to be an acceptable mother and to fulfill the duty of a wife. Due to the pressures of the Great Depression and shortly after World War II, women were able to maintain their jobs in order to support their families. Many occupations held by women included those of clerical workers, nurses, housekeepers, and teachers. The majority of men, who considered themselves the "breadwinners" or primary financial earners of their family, strongly disapproved of women obtaining paid employment because they felt that the only title women should have obtained was that of " guardian”; furthermore, their position in the still-known patriarchal system was under threat. Their jealousy comes from the fact that women receive paid work, as many men, fathers and husbands have been fired from their profession. This mentality that men had during this period can be seen in the works of author James M. Cain, Double Indemnity, and Raymond Chandler, “Red Wind”. Cain and Chandler satirizes women of this period by using the femme fatale to focus on women who use seduction as a technique to get their lovers into dire and compromising situations, which degrades the intelligence and purpose of the movement for the rights of women to achieve equality. men both economically and socially.James M. Cain, born in 1892, worked as a journalist before being drafted into the United States Army for World War I where he was deployed to France for the final year of the war . His return to the United States inspired him to continue his writing, as he became well known for his hard-boiled fiction. After publishing dark novels, he moved to Hollywood to begin writing screenplays. Cain's well-known fiction titled Double Indemnity begins when Huff, an insurance agent, visits a client, Mr. Nirdlinger, to persuade him to renew his car insurance. When he learns that Mr. Nirdlinger is not at home, he meets Phyllis, his client's wife. Cain's use of the femme fatale is represented by Mr. Nirdlinger's wife, Phyllis. Phyllis, described as extremely attractive, attracts Huff's attention and leads him to his destruction as together they have an affair and concoct a plan to assassinate Phyllis's husband with the intention of taking over the police force of insurance from her husband.After Huff falls in love with Phyllis and they murder her husband, Mr. Nerdlinger's daughter Lola is convinced that her mother died of pneumonia and that her mother's nurse Phyllis intentionally fell in love from Mr. Nirdlinger for his money. To prevent Lola from discovering the truth about her father's death, Huff realizes that he must kill Phyllis despite his love for her. Intending to trap her, his guard is let down and he wakes up in the hospital after being shot by Phyllis. Confessing his crimes, Huff falls in love with Lola, but learns that she has promised someone else. Feeling hopeless and alone, Phyllis and Huff commit suicide by jumping overboard. Red Wind incorporates a similar plot that also depicts themes of hardboiled fiction and the femme fatale. Facing unemployment due to the Great Depression, American novelist Raymond Chandler began writing noir fiction in 1932. Chandler's hard-boiled fiction, "Red Wind," begins immediately with the murder scene. Chandler begins the story with the murder scene to capture the attention of his readers. Three men: Philip Marlowe, a drunk, and a man named Waldo, sit in a bar and engage in conversation. This becomes surprising to readers when they learn that the drunkard suddenly kills Waldo and quickly flees from the crime scene. Marlowe, a detective and witness to the crime, learns that a woman named Lola was supposed to meet Waldo to get his pearls back when Waldo was blackmailing her into having an affair with her husband. Throughout the novel, Marlow helps Lola find her pearls despite the fact that the killer later attempts to murder everyone who witnesses the crime. The femme fatale is present in “Red Wind” through the character of Lola. Similar to Phyllis in Double Indemnity, Lola represents the femme fatale as she leads Marlowe to his destruction. After Lola saves Marlowe's life, his feelings for her change and he is willing to protect her no matter the cost. It is this mentality that leads him down a catastrophic path. Chandler portrays Lola as a damsel in distress who needs the help of a male character to retrieve her pearls, further supporting Chandler's message that women do not have the ability to play independent roles and heroic and that they are very reliable towards men. Cain developed the character of Phyllis throughout the text to demonstrate the femme fatale in Double Indemnity. Her seduction and attractiveness caused Huff to fall in love with her, but his greed ultimately led him to a depressive state, luring him towards danger from the start. Keyes exclaims to Huff: "This woman would even kill two more children, just to have the one child she wanted...it's pathological." In a patriarchal system where men are the breadwinners who financially provide for their families and women are the caretakers, the characters in Double Indemnity are the opposite. As Mr. Nerdlinger represents the financial income of her family, Phyllis neglects her duties as a mother and fails miserably in her role as a wife. His ignorance, selfishness and greed for money threaten the ideas of patriarchal ideals familiar to society. Through the language of the text, it is possible that Cain's disapproval of women's increasing status in society is shown in Double Indemnity as he uses satire to mock. and criticizing women for abandoning their roles as full-time homemakers to pursue careers in the workforce. This is satirized in the text as Phyllis abandons her duties to attempt to cash in her husband's insurance policy to take his money. On the other hand,..