![]() ![]() The plot itself is simple: one after another, men are being killed. The Bride Wore Black pushes traditional gender roles even further, as the main character overtly uses her femininity as a weapon. Woolrich is also practically unique in the noir universe for centering so many of his novels and short stories around women-usually highly capable women working on behalf of a male in distress. This unusual structure allows brief, vivid glimpses into lives that are alternately bleak, sentimental, or comedic. ![]() Cornell Woolrich excels at this kind of “list” format, in which one character pursues a series of suspects, witnesses, or, in this case, victims. The Bride Wore Black is a twisting, darkly ironic serial killer tale that follows this woman on her deadly mission even as her identity and motive remain opaque until the end. Who is she? Why does she kill? And how many more men will have to die before she is satisfied? For the suspect is a woman, a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of her prey before vanishing into the night. Inspector Wanger is convinced that a single killer is responsible, but these murders are unlike any he has ever encountered. ![]() Like the chameleon, she takes her coloring from his ideal of her. “The really clever woman is all things to all men. ![]()
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