Importance of Dr. Sonderborg's Hospital and Hot-Boy Hideout

This is the location of Marlowe's temporary imprisonment. It is also where he happens up on Moose Malloy lounging in one of the bedrooms reading a newspaper. On the outside, Philip Marlowe claims that the "hospital" where he is held against his will resembles a charming cottage owned by elderly people who like to garden. The description Marlowe gives on page 198 provides a valuable hint in the last line of the third full paragraph: "The late afternoon sun on it had a hushed and menacing stillness." This sentence informs the reader that external appearances can be deceiving and that the light of day can sometimes have an ominous effect on a place constructed to hold secrets.