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For other uses, see Femme fatale (disambiguation)

A femme fatale is a stock character, usually a villainous woman, who uses the malign power of sexuality in order to ensnare the hapless hero. The phrase is French for "deadly woman" or "fatal woman". She is typically portrayed as sexually insatiable. Although typically villainous, femmes fatales have also been known to be antiheroines in some stories and sometimes even repentant heroines. Today, the archetype is generally seen as a character who constantly crosses the line between good and evil, but despite any allegiance, acts rather unscrupulously. A femme fatale is a nexus of evil: whether it be her own, that of a lover, of a third party, or some combination thereof, varies, but generally arises when a woman's traditional role as subservient lover comes into conflict with other goals. For this reason a modern feminist woman may have quite a different evaluation of a so-called femme fatale in movies or fiction than a male companion. Consider the qualities of a beautiful woman wielding power by proxy (from her father or family), or who posseses it in her own right -- but will lose it if she marries:

  • A man may declare his "love" for her, but his true objectives differ from what he states out loud, not only by subterfuge but because he may develop affection for the woman he initially sees as only as a pawn in a political struggle.
  • Similarly, initially captivated by the woman's beauty, he may be shocked at the means she goes to pursue her political or commercial objectives, even though the same measures taken by a man would not cause comment.
  • Under these conditions, a woman of power, being offered romance, needs to treat it with great suspicion, and as noted above even a true lover's intentions may change under pressure from his family or her own. Since a woman of power typically surrenders both her personal political power and romantic power to her husband, she has to put her potential partners under severe stress.

Part of the traditional femme fatale's power is to emotionally enslave her lover without his realising it. What makes her a tragic character is that the reason behind her methods and actions cannot be explained, even by the femme fatale herself. Her personality is a mystery to others -- part of her attraction -- and an abyss to herself.

History

The femme fatale has existed, in one form or another, in folklore and myth in nearly all cultures. Some of the earliest examples include the Sumerian goddess Ishtar and the Biblical Delilah. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the femme fatale became ubiquitous in Western culture and can be found in the works of Oscar Wilde, Edvard Munch, and Gustav Klimt. This may have been a reaction to women's movements and the changing role of women at the time. With the introduction of film noir in the 1940s, the femme fatale flourished in pop culture. Examples include espionage thrillers, and in a number of adventure comic strips, such as The Spirit by Will Eisner, or Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff.

The femme fatale is sometimes portrayed as a sort of sexual vampire; her dark appetites were thought to be able to leech away the virility and independence of her lovers, leaving them shells of their former selves. On this account, in earlier American slang femmes fatales were often called "vamps", short for "vampire". A classic portrayal of a femme fatale is given in Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet in the character of Justine.

In opera and musical theater, the femme fatale is usually played by a dramatic mezzo-soprano and is sometimes the foil or the enemy of the ingenue and/or the damsel in distress.

Some argue that the figure has a male counterpart. Some examples could be Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, many of the heroes in Lord Byron's books, or James Bond. A possible name of any male "femme fatale" might for example be "homme fatal".

Although often depicted in ancient texts as a symbol of corruption, in more recent times the femme fatale is often portrayed in fiction as a symbol of free will for women and unrestrained passion.

There has been greater attention to sexist and male-biased points of view in older fiction in recent centuries. Many women state that many of the so-called villainous women in literature are merely seeking more self improvement or satisfaction, which has raised questions about the view of women as subservient and unworthy of free will in the eyes of some men in history. A big point of debate is the subject of Lilith, the mythological first wife of Adam before Eve. In most texts depicting Lilith, many point out that her only real crime against Adam and God was voicing her own opinion. She is sentenced to hell, and God creates a new woman for Adam in the form of Eve.

Eve, however, is considerably more subservient to Adam than Lilith was, who showed signs of desiring more equal treatment. This text has infuriated many women for centuries, who argue that the passage is extremely male-biased. Many people (including those with religious beliefs) question the validity of such a religious statement of subservience, questioning whether or not any god would wish such an unfair fate upon all women. It has been suggested by many that religious books are heavily influenced by male values of the time, such as men's believed superiority over women.

In modern times the Femme Fatale has enjoyed a better image. Even Femme Fatales in older texts have been at times looked upon in a different, more sympathetic, light.

In modern media, the Femme Fatale archetype can actually be seen quite often. Popular examples of this character type are the movies Nikita and Moulin Rouge, to name a few, and a number of assorted media from video games to comic books. Elektra, a character from the Marvel Comics universe is arguably a femme fatale and is quite a well known character in comic circles, as is Catwoman from the various Batman stories. The female Ninja, the Kunoichi depicted in countless media are very well known and legendary for being trained in femme fatale like methods, using their sexuality as fluidly as their deadly assassination skills.

Famous femmes fatales

Both fictional and factual are listed.

Modern Fictional characters

"Femme fatales" in Mythology

Historical figures

Films

Games

References

Bram Dijkstra has written two books that discuss the Femme fatale-stereotype at great length:
  • Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-De-Siecle Culture, ISBN 0195056523
  • Evil Sisters: The Threat of Female Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Culture, ISBN 0805055495

The Velvet Underground have a song off their album The Velvet Underground and Nico titled "Femme Fatale".

Senses Fail refer to a Femme Fatale in their song "Let it enfold you"

See also

External links

Femmes fatales | Lists of fictional characters | Stock characters | French words

Femme fatale | Mujer fatal | Femme fatale | Tè-bhuairidh | Femme fatale | פאם פאטאל | Femme fatale | ファム・ファタール | Femme fatale | Роковая женщина | Femme fatale | Femme fatale

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Femme fatale".

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