A Feminine Perry Smith

            In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is about two men who murder a family in cold blood. Dick Hickock is a stubborn, bombastic, “real masculine type”, smooth talking petty criminal; whereas Perry Smith is sensitive, thoughtful, creative and high intelligent. These two opposing personalities create an image of the stereotypical male and female roles but with two men instead of a man and a woman.

The first scene of Perry is with a guitar and a set of road maps. The guitar appears to function as an image and symbol of femininity. It is later mentioned that Dick feels “totally masculine” when around Perry which is one of the key traits that attracts Dick to Perry. In another scene, the contents of the criminal’s car are examined. Perry’s main possession is the guitar and Dick’s is a twelve gauge pump-action shotgun. Perry is seen as artist, sensitive and intelligent and his possessions mirror this. Dick on the other hand is bombastic and very masculine type of person.  Even their names, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, farther contribute to their opposing gender roles. Dick Hickock's name  is quick on the tongue, has rough edges, and is filled with hard “k” sound and sharp “i”s. Perry Smith is a softer name. Perry’s feminism is most clearly seen in Dick’s constant addressing him as “sugar”, “honey” and “baby”. Perry never takes charge and always what Dick says, even if he does not agree. All of these examples are congruent with the stereotypical female image of that time.

There are many scenes in this novel that indicate that Perry had homosexual tendencies. Perry states that he was “attracted to” Dick because Dick was so “authentically tough” invulnerable and “totally masculine”. This was a huge contrast to Perry himself. Perry, though he had dates several girls, had never married and his behavior towards Dick seems to imply he is attracted to Dick in a more than friendly way. When Perry describes Dick, he uses words that suggest a physical attraction such as “smooth” and “smart”. He repeatedly uses these kinds of words, leading to the conclusion that he admires Dick in a physical or sexual way. At one point, Capote even encourages this idea of Perry’s femininity when he continuously references Perry’s feminine, quiet voice and is loopy and neat handwriting. At another time, Capote describes the detective’s reaction to Perry’s signature: “The ornateness of it, the mannered swoops and swirls, surprised him”. After the murder, when Dick and Perry traveled to Mexico, they stayed at a well-known gay resort. Even if Perry is not completely gay, he is defiantly conflicted. Earlier Mrs. Hickock had made a snap judgment of Perry, of his oily hair and perfume, which alienated him from her household. These traits marked Perry as different and symbolically divorced from the family and the middle-class values that they upheld so carefully.

Perry’s feminine side adds dimension to his character. He is not just a killer. He was smart, artistic and creative. He had a rough childhood and constantly viewed as different when he reached adulthood. If he had been accepted as an individual he may not have turned into a killer. Unlike Dick, he did have a softer side, he cared but no one cared for him. He was alienated by so many people he slowly got to the point where he snapped. His intention was not to kill the Clutters, they were just there when Perry lost it. Perry’s feminine side showed a glimpse of who he would have been, had he not been corrupted by being pushed to the outside by everyone he ever knew.

Perry’s feminine side, though unwelcome in that time, was a better person than Dick’s socially acceptable masculine personality. There were times when he was true to himself and times when he became lost. This is the perfect example of gender roles and the sex of a person. One does not have to parallel the other. If Perry had been free to express his gender role, the murder in cold blood may have never happened.