The Misogynistic Representation of Women in 'Double Indemnity'

The representation of women in Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) is, like many femme fatale archetypes, misogynistic in nature. The femme fatale is a defining feature of film noir, and Phyllis Dietrichson is no exception. A common critique of the femme fatale is that it is derived from the fear of feminism and plays into the same age-old hysteria as witch trials. An independent woman is seen as a danger, using sex and womanhood to manipulate men.

In Double Indemnity, Phyllis is portrayed as a villainous yet sensual woman who stops at nothing to get what she wants from a man. She seduces Neff, an insurance agent, and convinces him to help her kill her husband – so she can gain the “double-indemnity” clause from the insurance policy. She potentially could have killed her husband’s late wife, and she plots to kill his daughter Lola.

In this sense, women are misrepresented in Double Indemnity and other film noirs. If a woman is not portrayed as a submissive housewife, she is portrayed as an emasculating villainess. A common theme in 19^th and 20^th century literature is the independence of women who are breaking free from the restraints of their patriarchal husbands and male-dominated society. In the male-dominated world of film noir, however, there is only a “good” girl who stays in line or a femme fatale who will use the power of seduction to make you kill her husband.