Carmen

I heard someone respond today in class to the question do you think Carmen is the murderer, saying, “there is no way that dumb blond killed anyone.” Well, they were wrong. If you relate this book to stories around this time period, it is pretty obvious that she most likely is the killer. Many stories from this time period reflect the nature of the “vixen.” A sex symbol that seems innocent to some degree and captures the attention of the main character, which is usually a “tough guy” or in this case, “the knight.” Later on in the story you find this “helpless woman” is actually the mastermind behind most of the crime, murder, etcetera while the main character has been blinded by the woman’s charm, innocents, lust, or whatever else. Let me just state, that Carmen is completely insane. She keeps a childlike, innocent mask on while she giggles and sucks her thumb through the movie. She is seen as unintelligible, which seems to be true for the most part. Her sister Vivian seems to have a little more of the brains compared to her sister and Carmen would have never been able to cover the murder as long as she did if it wasn’t for her help. Unseen by all, she has the heart of a murderer, but she is loved and desired by most men. Unfortunately, seen by feminist, this character is everything they despise.

-Erin L.