Carmen Sternwood Character Analysis in The Big Sleep

General Sternwood’s younger daughter. Philip Marlowe discovers at the end of the novel that Carmen is mentally ill and killed Rusty Regan, her older sister Vivian Regan’s husband, in a fit of rage. Carmen at one point also tries to kill Marlowe, shooting at him in revenge for refusing her sexual advances. Early in the novel, Carmen poses naked for Arthur Gwynn Geiger while intoxicated and is present at his murder at the hands of the family driver Owen Taylor, who is in love with her. Marlowe describes Carmen as a “pretty, spoiled and not very bright little girl who had gone very, very wrong, and nobody was doing anything about it.” As such, she symbolizes the wider moral decay in American society as the fault of responsible authorities who neglect their duties.

Carmen Sternwood Quotes in The Big Sleep

The The Big Sleep quotes below are all either spoken by Carmen Sternwood or refer to Carmen Sternwood. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

A pretty, spoiled and not very bright little girl who had gone very, very wrong, and nobody was doing anything about it. To hell with the rich. They made me sick.

Related Characters: Philip Marlowe (speaker), Arthur Gwynn Geiger, Carmen Sternwood

Page Number and Citation: 64

Explanation and Analysis:

I’ve done all my office permits—and maybe a good deal more—to save the old man from grief. But in the long run it can’t be done. Those girls of his are bound certain to hook up with something that can't be hushed, especially that little blonde brat. They ought not to be running around loose. I blame the old man for that.

Related Characters: Taggart Wilde (speaker), Philip Marlowe, General Sternwood, Vivian Regan, Carmen Sternwood

Page Number and Citation: 114

Explanation and Analysis:

I wish old Sternwood would hire himself a soldier like you on a straight salary, to keep those girls of his home at least a few nights a week.

Related Characters: Eddie Mars (speaker), Philip Marlowe, General Sternwood, Vivian Regan, Carmen Sternwood

Related Symbols: Knights, Money

Page Number and Citation: 133

Explanation and Analysis:

I looked down at the chessboard. The move with the knight was wrong. I put it back where I had moved it from. Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn’t a game for knights.

Related Characters: Philip Marlowe (speaker), Carmen Sternwood

Related Symbols: Knights

Page Number and Citation: Book Page 156

Explanation and Analysis:

You can have a hangover from other things than alcohol. I had one from women. Women made me sick.

Related Characters: Philip Marlowe (speaker), Vivian Regan, Carmen Sternwood

Page Number and Citation: 159

Explanation and Analysis:

Carmen Sternwood Character Timeline in The Big Sleep

The timeline below shows where the character Carmen Sternwood appears in The Big Sleep. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Wealth, Status, and Social Mobility Theme Icon

...the stairs, and the butler leads Marlowe away toward General Sternwood, explaining Marlowe just met Carmen Sternwood. (full context)

...time was by a man called Joe Brody, whom the General paid off to leave Carmen alone. The General gives Marlowe the envelope with a threat inside: a note from an... (full context)

The General explains he will not talk to Carmen about it, as she would just make a face at him. Marlowe asks for more... (full context)

...have their own money. Vivian has a little from her mother, while her younger sister Carmen is not yet old enough to enter her inheritance. They both have allowances. (full context)

...woman drives up and enters Geiger’s house. Marlowe searches the newly arrived car and finds Carmen’s registration, before going back to his own car to wait. (full context)

...features East Asian decorations, similar to Geiger’s store, and Marlowe takes in every detail. Inside, Carmen is sitting on a throne-like chair, naked. She is awake but seems to not be... (full context)

...of the jug, Marlowe thinks the exotic drink matches Geiger’s usual tastes. The detective finds Carmen’s clothes and, in an attempt to bring her back to consciousness, he slaps her, dresses... (full context)

Seeing that Carmen cannot be roused, Marlowe lays her on the divan and gathers her things. Marlowe checks... (full context)

Marlowe arrives at the Sternwood mansion and leaves the unconscious Carmen in the capable hands of Mr. Norris and the maid Mathilda. The detective turns down... (full context)

...identified him because he has a criminal record and had tried to run away with Carmen the previous year. (full context)

The story goes, Carmen and Owen ran off to Yuma, but Mrs. Regan went and fetched them back. Mrs.... (full context)

...reveal sympathy for the dead boy. They discuss Owen’s past, including the attempted elopement with Carmen and his police record. Mrs. Regan says the record just means he “didn’t know the... (full context)

...Owen. She passes Marlowe an envelope, out of which the detective pulls a photograph of Carmen from the night before, naked on the chair in Geiger’s house. (full context)

Responding to Marlowe’s questions, Mrs. Regan explains Carmen was home ill last night, while she was losing at roulette at Eddie Mars’s casino.... (full context)

...time of the murder; he won’t get a chance to do so now, however, as Carmen is skulking around the front door when he arrives. She is nervous and looks tired.... (full context)

Carmen can’t keep up her smile, which keeps faltering. Her eyes are vacant. Marlowe sees that... (full context)

Marlowe asks Carmen why she is there and how much she remembers. She claims she was sick at... (full context)

Carmen asks Marlowe who else knows about the previous night. He says the police don’t, or... (full context)

Marlowe doubts Carmen’s honesty. She says she hates Joe Brody, which Marlowe points out gives her the motive... (full context)

Carmen’s laughter becomes hysterical, echoing around the house. Marlowe slaps her. She stops laughing but otherwise... (full context)

Carmen tells Marlowe she knows his real name and that he’s a detective, as Mrs. Regan... (full context)

As Carmen puts her hand on the door, they hear a car approach. They hear footsteps and... (full context)

...dressed smartly in an all gray suit. He takes his hat off when he sees Carmen. Marlowe sees that Mars is no regular “tough man.” Mars closes the door and steps... (full context)

Mars asks if Geiger is home. Marlowe says he and Carmen are business acquaintances who found the door open and stepped inside; they don’t know where... (full context)

...Mars, who asks Marlowe’s name. The detective responds truthfully and claims he had come with Carmen to talk to Geiger about settling a blackmail dispute. Marlowe asks Mars why he had... (full context)

...shouts, “That goddamned little hot pants!” Marlowe can see Brody has jumped to thinking of Carmen, so the detective responds that he knew Brody had the photos from that night. (full context)

...Brody begins to deny having the photos, but Marlowe says he must have known that Carmen was there, meaning Brody was also there, or at least got the camera’s plate holder... (full context)

Brody demands money for the naked photos of Carmen from the night Geiger was shot. Marlowe refuses. Brody asks how the detective found him... (full context)

...which they deny, insisting they weren’t there the previous night. Marlowe says he could talk Carmen out of her accusation that Brody is behind the murder if Brody were to give... (full context)

As Brody opens the door, he is instantly sent walking backward: Carmen is on the other side and is pointing a gun at his face. As Agnes... (full context)

Carmen and Brody ignore Agnes and Marlowe’s fight, and Carmen demands her photos from Brody. She... (full context)

Brody tries and fails to grab Carmen’s gun, which she then shoots through a window pane. Brody falls to the floor, tripping... (full context)

Marlowe makes Brody hand over the photos and the negatives. The detective pockets them and Carmen leaves, flirting with Marlowe as she goes. She kisses him on the mouth as she... (full context)

When Marlowe goes back into Brody’s apartment, he sees that Carmen’s little gun has blown the window out. On the gun’s grip reads “Carmen from Owen.”... (full context)

...Agnes’s exasperation. The detective says they all need to agree on a story, firstly that Carmen was not involved. Brody is still evasive about how he acquired the photos of Carmen,... (full context)

...to that death. Marlowe thinks he can—he suggests that Owen killed Geiger in jealousy over Carmen, took the photo, and then Brody chased after Owen to take the photo back. (full context)

The door buzzer rings again. Looking at his guns on the table, Brody thinks that Carmen must be back. He strides over to the door, gun in hand. As he opens... (full context)

With Carmen’s gun in his hand, Marlowe asks the figure for a light, and recognizes the good-looking... (full context)

Marlowe tells the room of policeman everything that had happened, apart from Carmen threatening Joe Brody and Eddie Mars showing up at Geiger’s house. (full context)

Marlowe puts all the evidence on the table: Geiger’s blackmail letter, Carmen’s photos, and Geiger’s blue notebook. Looking at Geiger’s note, Wilde opines that Geiger was probably... (full context)

...and Wilde himself has often done much to help the “old man,” but his daughters (Carmen and Mrs. Regan) are wild and it’s their father’s fault. Wilde adds the General is... (full context)

...to fight, so he leaves. Left in peace, Marlowe gets into his apartment and cleans Carmen’s gun. (full context)

...to Mr. Norris. He leaves a message for Mrs. Regan that he has all of Carmen’s nude photos. The butler sounds relieved. (full context)

Mrs. Regan tells Marlowe that she worries about her sister Carmen all the time, and often keeps things from General Sternwood so he won’t know that... (full context)

...he can sense that something is not right. He turns on the light, and sees Carmen in his bed. (full context)

Marlowe turns on more lights and moves a knight on his chessboard. Meanwhile, Carmen is giggling from the bed. She tells him she is naked. She sweeps away the... (full context)

Exasperated, Marlowe tells Carmen to get dressed. He explains he has a professional duty to General Sternwood. Marlowe looks... (full context)

Walking into the kitchen to make a drink, Marlowe promises Carmen she can have a drink if she dresses herself. When he returns she is still... (full context)

...surrounded by his few possessions, which nevertheless carry emotional meaning, Marlowe becomes angry. He threatens Carmen to dress and leave or he’ll throw her out naked. She storms out, and Marlowe... (full context)

...is not as weak as he looks. Marlowe walks out the front door, and sees Carmen sitting on the front steps. He approaches her and returns her gun. (full context)

Carmen asks Marlowe to teach her to shoot, down by the old oil wells. Marlowe asks... (full context)

Marlowe gives Carmen the gun and goes to set up a tin can as a target. He tells... (full context)

With the gun pointed at his chest, Marlowe laughs and walks toward Carmen. She fires four times before he gets to her, and a fifth time close to... (full context)

...by the maid Mathilda. Mrs. Regan calls him a “brute” for killing Canino and terrifying Carmen into a fit. Marlowe asks how Carmen is doing, and Mrs. Regan replies that she... (full context)

Marlowe tells Mrs. Regan he returned Carmen’s gun to her, and Mrs. Regan falls silent. He explains they went down to the... (full context)

Marlowe tells Mrs. Regan that Carmen fired all five bullets in her gun at him, but he had swapped them for... (full context)

Instead, Marlowe is talking about when Rusty went missing. When Carmen shot him in anger too, anger for being turned down. Marlowe describes finding Carmen in... (full context)

Unable to respond, Mrs. Regan remains silent. Marlowe tells her just to take Carmen away to an institution where she’ll be safe. Mrs. Regan confesses, to hiding Rusty’s body... (full context)

Marlowe repeats his order, to take Carmen away. Mrs. Regan agrees, asking what he will do, as Eddie will want to kill... (full context)

The Big Sleep

Carmen Sternwood Character Analysis

Carmen Sternwood Quotes in The Big Sleep

Chapter 12 Quotes

Chapter 18 Quotes

Chapter 21 Quotes

Chapter 24 Quotes

Chapter 25 Quotes

Carmen Sternwood Character Timeline in The Big Sleep