The Maltese Falcon

Nearly every character in The Maltese Falcon is motivated by greed and self-interest. This is most evident in O’Shaughnessy, Cairo, and Gutman, who are all willing to lie, steal, and murder if it means getting their hands on the falcon. When Spade enters the action, the trio already has an established history of double-crossing and backstabbing one another to ensure all the profits for themselves. O’Shaughnessy has already turned on Gutman—who originally hired her to acquire the falcon—and Cairo—who she enlisted to help steal the falcon—when she kills Miles Archer as part of a plan to frame her last remaining ally, Thursby, to get him out of the picture as well. Cairo, who is in America on behalf of Kemidov—the man he helped O’Shaughnessy steal the falcon from in the first place—quickly changes allegiances again when he thinks it means he’ll get a piece of the profits. And lastly, Gutman, whose name and physical description employ fat phobia to suggest villainy and gluttony, is readily willing to sacrifice Wilmer, whom he claims to love like a son, for the falcon. For all three of them, their greed and self-interest perpetuates feelings of distrust and trumps any sense of loyalty to other people.