  Mystery
This week: Beware the femme fatale Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: "Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids."
~ Gillian Flynn |
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A femme fatale is a female character who uses her beauty and sexuality to cause trouble for male characters. The femme fatale, which is French for "fatal woman" is a common character in literature and film. In mystery stories, she is often seen in hardboiled detective stories and film noir crime dramas.
The character archetype of the femme fatale can be found in ancient mythology and folklore in the form of creatures such as succubi, sirens, vampires, and enchantresses. These characters used magic to control and manipulate men, but the modern femme fatale relies on her "feminine wiles" alone.
Occasionally a femme fatale may be portrayed as innocently unaware of her power over men. A couple of examples of this type are Rina Lazarus of Faye Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus novels and Teddy Carella of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. These characters are not evil or manipulative. Both of them are fiercely devoted to their husbands, and the husbands consider themselves extremely lucky to have them.
The femme fatale is more often depicted as a calculating character who deliberately seduces and manipulates men for her own gain. Her motive may be money, position, power, or all three. Examples of this type include Brigid O'Shaunessy of "The Maltese Falcon" and Lady Irene Adler, one of the few people who ever outwitted Sherlock Holmes.
An extreme form of the femme fatale is the "black widow," a woman who charms wealthy older men, marries them, and then kills them for their money. In some other stories a femme fatale dominates the story even after her own death. Rebecca of Daphne duMaurier's novel of the same name and Laura Palmer of Twin Peaks are examples of the last type. Both were the main characters of their stories, even though they were dead before the story began.
Traditional, chauvenistic male characters are most likely to fall in to the femme fatale's trap. Men who value a woman only for her physical attractiveness may assume she isn't intelligent enough to take advantage of them in any way. A man who sees women as delicate flowers to be protected will be easy prey for a "damsel in distress" act. If these men do fall victim to the femme fatale, they may be unwilling to come forward and admit they were fooled by a mere woman. In some cases, the victim may have actually fallen in love with the femme fatale and will be unable to see her for what she is.
In most cases, other women may have no problem seeing through her innocent act. The man's mother, sisters, or female friends may try to tell the victim that she is not what she seems with no success.
The traditional character of the femme fatale is based on the notions that men are helpless to resist a beautiful woman, and that any woman who is aware of her physical charms is somehow evil. A more modern version might involve a woman who is basically a good person, but uses her beauty and seductive power to outwit a male criminal who has a weakness for pretty ladies.
Something to try: Write a mystery story that involves a femme fatale. |
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Mystery: May 11, 2016 Issue [#7636]
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