Double Indemnity

The final chapter relies heavily on impressionistic imagery and vivid descriptions of Phyllis, but cannot describe Phyllis and Huff’s final moments because of the narrative perspective. How might the narrative differ if Cain chose to frame it in a different way, such as in third person or with multiple perspective characters? Think about how a specific scene might be conveyed differently if it was told from a different perspective. Why might Cain have chosen first-person confessional specifically?

Phyllis rationalizes her need to murder as a love of Death. Why do you think Phyllis’s self-understanding and the description of her by others are so different? What would the significance of her lying (or not lying) about her motivations mean?

Phyllis is presented as a woman with almost mystical powers of seduction. Keyes, on the other hand, is a man obsessed with statistics, science, and empirical measurements. What do you make of this difference of characterization between the two? Why is the femme fatale heavily related to mysticism while the detective is a man of rationality and science?