Double Indemnity | Objects, Setting & Important Places

Double Indemnity Objects/Places

Nirdlinger House

Dubbed "The House of Death" by the newspapers, because of Phyllis's notoriety for killing her husband, it has "blood-red drapes," the significance of which Walter shrugs off because red drapes are popular with these types of houses throughout the area.

Accident Insurance Policy The insurance policy that is at the crux of Double Indemnity is an accident insurance policy on the life of H.S. Nirdlinger, Phyllis's husband. As Walter insists on informing the reader, accident policies, unlike other types of policies, like automobile insurance and house insurance, are not "bought," they are "sold." One of the appeals of accident policies is that in the event of accidental death, most of them have a double-indemnity accidental death clause; that is, the policy pays double if the insured dies of an accident. That is because accidental deaths in a statistical sense are relatively rare. This policy covers other kinds of accidents as well such as the accident in which Nirdlinger suffers a broken ankle. One of the "holes" in the murder scheme is that no claim was submitted in respect to this accident, a suspicious circumstance because if the victim took out the policy, why didn't he submit a claim? Since he had ample opportunity to do so, one of the answers to this question is that he didn't know the policy existed.

The Crutches When Nirdlinger has his accident, he's forced to use crutches, and Walter cleverly turns this seeming obstacle into two advantages. First, he employs one of the crutches as the murder weapon to break Nirdlinger's neck. Second, he employs them by using them himself in his impersonation so that it will be remembered that "Nirdlinger" got on the train.

The Blue cCoupe

Lola's boyfriend, Sachetti, owns a blue coupe, and the car is a significant plot object in the story. The coupe is used as collateral for the $250 loan that Walter arranges for Sachetti early in the story. Then, after Walter decides to get rid of Phyllis and hatches a plan to steal the blue coupe, it is the use of this car that probably tips Phyllis off and lets her know how to spot Walter first so that she can ambush him.

Walter's Rate Book

Every insurance salesman has a rate book that contains rates, tables, and information concerning how to calculate the duration and costs of varieties of policies. Walter's rate book...
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