Dispersing the myths of Femme Fatale

Dispersing the myths of Femme Fatale

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Abstract

This thesis as a study has successfully establish how the

mythical biblical femme fatale character was created, and the

circumstances that came about where she was transformed into

the epitome of evil. Its significance is profound because it

unearths a body of qualitative evidence from religious and

feminist academics, some of whom have conducted their

theological studies in a hostile environment. These academics

have recorded the ill founded and bestial metamorphous for

more than a century. They prove that beyond doubt that the

myth has be distended and distorted beyond all recognition, to

be used to censure the feminine, and uphold the ideology of

the patriarchal system.

Chapter one identifies the unsound foundations on which the

femme fatale was built on, and how religious leaders replanted

the mystery of evil, into the myth of feminine evil. Feminine

criticism of the unfair interpretations was seen as an attempt

to destabilise societies patriarchal infrastructure. To

question it was to question the word of god.

Chapter two provides a snapshot of the social, cultural and

political environment in that time of economic upheaval; and

how it was used to keep the feminine entrenched in a

subordinate state, and the antithesis of the masculine role in

the same era. It provides a trail of evidence to demonstrate

how nineteenth century philosophers and artists created a

narcissistic and perverse deformation of the character that

was used as a tool of gratification and male desire, but also

symbolically expressed men’s fears. Dispersing many of the

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manifestations of the original myths and revealing the true

motives.

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Table of Contents

Abstract...................................................i

Table of Contents.........................................ii

List of Figures Theme 1..................................iii

1.1 Introduction.........................................1

2 The influence of Religion...............................2

Who can we trust to give us a unbiased opinion?........2

What were the origins of the femme fatale?.............2

Where did the mistruths and misinterpretations begin?....3

2.1.1Searching for the truth...........................3

2.2 Women - Count Your Blessings.........................4

2.2.1Misnaming The Mystery Of Evil.....................4

2.2.2Differing Biblical Versions of Femme Fatales......5

2.2.3Anne Boleyn a femme fatale........................6

2.2.4From Greek Mythology to Weimar Society............7

3 Introduction to Victorian and fin-de-siècle.............9

3.1.1Femme Fatale And The Polarity Of Good And Evil...10

3.1.2Duality In Art, The Fallen Woman.................11

3.1.3The Awakening of Conscience......................12

3.1.4The Dark Underbelly of Victorian Perversion

Surfaces................................................12

3.1.5Circe............................................13

3.1.6Rebranding Circe as Pornokrates..................13

3.1.7Baudelaire and the Courtesan.....................14

3.1.8Dehumanising the Mythical Lilith.................15

3.2 Conclusion..........................................15

4 Figures and Captions...................................18

5 Bibliography...........................................21

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List of Figures Theme 1

Figure 1.................Garden of Eden Notre Dame Cathedral18

Figure 2.............................John Collier’s Lilith.18

Figure 3..........................The Travelling Companions19

Figure 4......................................Fallen Woman19

Figure 5...................................... Pornakrates20

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1.1 Introduction

The myths and legends that have contributed to the mythical

femme fatale began with some of the earliest known documented

texts; characters like Pandora, Jezebel, Liith et al were

labelled the femme fatale. They were used to personify the

character; all described as irresistibly beautiful monster who

rejects the control of men and their patriarchy, and

ultimately leads them to mortal danger.

Analysing the earliest texts and original records, it is

possible to establish the truths, and begin to break down the

myths that lay claim to be the foundations for the character.

Religious and feminist academics question the interpretations

that have been laid before them, and re-interpret them from a

feminist point of view, and establish if these women did in

fact fit into the mould of the archetypal femme fatale.

There is a wealth of nineteenth century literature from

respected authors like E.C.Stanton et al, that allows us to

establish what contribution the fin de siècle period in our

history contributed to the myths. They begin to open up the

metaphoric cracks and reveal that the myths were changed and

to meet a larger agenda.

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2 The influence of Religion

Despite the considerable influence that religious and

biblical texts have had on the femme fatale, they hold less

foundation to support the originating myths than one might

imagine. ‘The Word of God’ has been used to create a mythical

aura on which the femme fatale character has developed.

Religion is an emotive subject, especially if one questions the

validity of the texts.

Who can we trust to give us a unbiased opinion?To ensure an impartial body of research, this paper

references respected and knowledgeable scholars and biblical

analysts from diverse religious backgrounds, as well as

feminist campaigners and authors. Despite being separated by

almost one and a half centuries, their archaeological

methodology of analysis unearths startling evidence, and

questions many of the founding religious texts that have been

accepted without question. They remain credible due to their

ability to contextualise, rationalise, question, and in some

cases undermine the mythical verses that have generated the

suspect interpretations that have created, and demonised the

mythical character - femme fatale.

What were the origins of the femme fatale? Femme fatales hold a high place in our psyche, their

irresistible beauty is significant yet superficial, it is the

biblical references add depth, providing firm foundations on

which the character was built. When we examine the artistic and

literary movements of the late nineteenth century, can identify

the sources of many of these myths and scriptures.

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Hebrew Linguistic and Biblical lecturer, Carolyn Blyth has

written extensively on the subject, providing a contemporary

analysis of the original Hebrew texts, which many subsequent

versions of religious texts are based upon. She provides a

logical deconstruction of the topic. She identifies Eve, Lilith

and Delilah, Judith and Salome et al, as the most influential

feminine figures contained in the original Hebrew texts.

Blyth successfully argues that the mythical femme fatale

character came to the fore in artistic texts and literary

movements of ‘Romanticism, Modernism, Aestheticism, Symbolism

and Art Nouveau of the late nineteenth century’ (Blyth, 2012),

but these artistic movements caused the character to become

alienated and removed from the original stories, for which

there is weak justification for condemnations of evil.

Where did the mistruths and misinterpretations begin?

Blythe argues, that “ [Eve] … in Genesis 2-3 is no more

sexually aware or erotically charged than either Adam or the

serpent”; “ [Salome] does nothing more salacious than dance for

her uncle Herod at his birthday celebrations; … [the] pious

Jewish widow we read about in the book of Judith is a far cry

from Franz von Stuck's naked knife-wielding sexual warrior”

(Blyth, op.cit). This raises concern of how, and why the original

texts have either been misinterpreted, or deliberately altered

in subsequent biblical revisions; works of art and poetry,

particularly in the 19th Century.

The misrepresentations rarely bathe the feminine in glory, yet

the personification has been used to reshaped societies view of

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where women are placed in a socio-cultural, legal and religious

context, particularly during the fin-de-siècle era.

Blyth says “[What] is especially fascinating about these

representations of biblical women as femme fatales is the fact

that they differ quite significantly from the actual

depictions… within the biblical traditions” (Blyth, op.cit). Her

observations are significant because of the spiritual place

these characters hold in our psyche. Their mythical aura has

been an inspiration for artistic expression centuries. The

interpretations change but the underlying message is one of

danger, mistrust and evil.

Blyth is concerned about the message that has been

disseminated, she clearly feels that no basis for this

condemnation.

2.1.1 Searching for the truth

Respected and influential religious, feminist campaigner and

author Mrs Elizabeth Cady Stanton provides us with an insight

into the mind-set of a well-educated woman who lived during the

most critical period, that hugely influenced and moulded what

we accept as archetypal properties of the femme fatale

character (Feminine Quarternity, 2015). Her publication The

Woman's Bible (Stanton, 1895) is relevant, as it was also

reviewed by a committee of over twenty male and female

international members, assuring us that these views were not

insular to one person, section of society or geographical

region.

The timing of the book was also important because the biblical

texts were profoundly re-revised during the fin-de-siècle.

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Stanton’s motives for biblical examination were focussed on the

feminist argument; the ‘Word of God’ was being used to provide

a framework for patriarchy, but it also ignited the first wave

of feminism.

2.2 Women - Count Your Blessings

Challenging the unequivocal interpretations of the biblical

texts that were used to enforce for patriarchal control,

Stanton wrote ‘…[Clergymen] told them…[women] owed all the

blessings and freedom they enjoyed to the Bible… it clearly

marked out their circumscribed sphere of action…their demands

for political and civil rights were irreligious, dangerous to

the stability of the home, the state and the church’. (Ibid, p.

90). The church was now engaged in demonising women, and

suppressing any notions of equality.

Blyth and Stanton’s arguments, that Eve, Lilith et al’s crimes

were impossible to validate or attribute to anyone, because ‘it

is impossible to attribute the writings of the bible to anyone…

writings of the New Testament were not really written or

published by those whose names they bear’ (Ibid, p. 159). The

point was made using historical fact.

Encapsulating the irony of the situation.

Finally Stanton underlined the irony that if women doubted

what they were being told, that ‘The apostle took it for

granted that all men were wise enough to give to women the

necessary information on all subjects’ (Ibid, p. 158), these

were very people who were suppressing them. The patriarchal

system was sending a message; you must pay for the sins of the

past, you cannot question this, if you up for rights or you

will be labelled inherently dangerous, reckless, a nonbeliever,

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a destroyer. Which coincidentally equally apply to the

archetypal femme fatale. The scriptures, on which the basis of

feminine subservience was based on, were impossible to

validate.

2.2.1 Misnaming The Mystery Of Evil

The feminist movement was now spreading on an international

scale, Mary Daly wrote, ’In the Christian tradition it

continues to colour the functioning of the theological

imagination” (Daly, 1985), and the patriarchal response was

also delivered on an international scale; Berdyaev, Orthodox

religious and political philosopher wrote the startling comment

that "[There] is something base and sinister in the female

element" (Ibid, p45).

Another sinister attribute characteristic was associated with

the feminine, who was by now appearing to have all the

archetypal qualities of the femme fatale. The correlating

certitude was that the continual contamination of the myths are

emanating from ‘gods representatives’. Daly underlined this

point perfectly; ‘the myth takes on cosmic proportions since

the male's viewpoint is metamorphosed into God's viewpoint… it

misnames the mystery of evil, casting it into the distorted

mould of the myth of feminine evil’ (Ibid, p47). Daly et al

rightly questioned the right of religious leaders to label the

feminine as evil, sinister and to shroud it in mystery. By

doing so, she duly dispersed the myths and laid the blame at

the door of the people were trying to put forward their own

agenda, shrouded in the name of religion.

Was The Evidence Scientifically Safe?

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The story of Eve is based on the story that she took the

apple from the tree of knowledge; this assumption itself can be

questioned. Stanton applied scientific reasoning by quoting

referencing Professor Daniel Cady Eaton (Yale) who confirmed

that apple simply do not grow at that latitude (Stanton, 1895,

p.24). A more climate-orientated fruit was used in the Greek

mythical story of Proserpine; she eats six seeds from a

‘pomegranate’. Like Eve, she is punished and is condemned to

six months of the year in Hades and the other six months on

Earth. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s (1874)[1] pre-Raphaelite

painting shows the pomegranate in Proserpine's left hand.

2.2.2 Differing Biblical Versions of Femme Fatales

The earliest recorded Elohistic and Iahoistic (Ibid, p.18)

versions of the biblical texts directly contradict each other

on the sequencing of ‘The Creation’. This introduces the notion

that Eve was not Adam’s first wife, but Lilith. Carvings on

Notre Dame Cathedral (1136) show Lilith, Eve and Adam in the

Garden of Eden (Figure 1), indicating that the church recognised

that there was another female in the Garden of Eden. The

inconsistencies are further highlighted if the ones beliefs

follow the texts in the ancient Talmud and Zohar Judaism, these

texts claim that Eve and Lilith are in fact ‘both’ Eve, that

good Eve is Eve, and ‘the other’ Eve is Lilith (Carvalho,

2009). This scenario appears to echo the scene on the walls of

Notre Dame Cathedral, which of course is not Jewish.

Were they all evil?

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If we accept that Lilith scenario, it is claimed she was in

fact the first wife of Adam, punished for not being subservient

enough, and for being unfaithful by copulating with the

Archangel Samael, condemned and punished with the tail of a

serpent, the outcome is still the same. The feminine has been

mistrusted, condemned and punished forever since. Whichever

version of the texts one believes, it is clear that both women

were labelled evil, the biblical femme fatale.

What Was The Real Impact?

The mythical label goes far beyond simple slanderous

labelling, the effect had long reaching consequence on women’s

lives, the association of evil, and its repeated dissemination

has affected much more than the mystery of femme fatale.

Referring to The Fall of Adam and Eve, Daly said ‘[The] myth

has in fact affected doctrines and laws that concern women's

status in society and it has contributed to the mind-set of

those who continue to grind out biased, male-centred ethical

theories’ (Daly, 1985).

2.2.3 Anne Boleyn a femme fatale

We have established that there has been a considerable

influence in the religious texts on the femme fatale character.

There have been many re-writings and revisions of gods word but

this has not only been a male centred task.

Could Boleyn been partly responsible?

In the early 16th century by a woman, Ann Boleyn was

responsible for many revisions and translations, She so devout

and passionate about her work that she referred to her biblical

revisions in her last recorded words in her ill fated gallows

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speech (Ives, 1999, p. 272). It is worthy of note that Anne

Boleyn, herself has also been described as a femme fatale [3].

The devout Christian, and was instrumental in re-shaping the

church and religion in England, a contribution that has lasted

to this day. “She contrived the advancement of clergy and the

appointment of bishops, including Cranmer, who proved the

spearhead of the English Reformation. Few people can have had

so great an effect in such a short time”[3].

If we take this at it’s word, it would imply that Stanton, who

said ‘‘[W]hatever the Bible… it does not exalt and dignify

woman…[The] spirit is the same in all periods and languages,

hostile to her as an equal’ (Stanton, 1895. p. 13), may have

felt that Boleyn was included in the statement. If so, it would

imply that woman may have in some way contributed to the

hostility ravaged on women by the bible.

2.2.4 From Greek Mythology to Weimar Society

Another claim to the first woman on earth is Greek

Mythologies Pandora, and like Eve, her crime was to seek

knowledge, this time relating to the contents of a box, as a

result she joins the annals of ‘first’ women connected with

releasing the evils on earth. Let us temporarily leap forward

several thousand years to a more recent, early 20th

interpretation of the mythical story was Pabst’s Pandora’s Box

(1929). The underlying connection to the myth is symbolic,

except to say her situation gets worse as she goes through each

stage of her life.

Was this cynical opposition to emancipation?

Carefree Lulu is first presented as a prostitute (straight and

lesbian). She is sold cheaply to work as a white slave

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(brothel) in Egypt after a run of bad luck on the roulette

wheel. Lulu, and the film itself is symptom of male desire,

each shot is set up to cater for the male gaze (Doane, 1991.

p142-162). In Greek Mythology, Pandora she is not an evil

woman, nor is she responsible for the fall of man. Her

portrayal in the movie leaves a trail of sex, death,

destruction, and of broken men. “Pandora’s Box puts into play

the signifiers of sexual transgression— incest, androgyny,

lesbianism, prostitution— it partakes of the pervasive sexual

cynicism of the Weimar period. The script was influenced by

Nietzsche; who was opposed to the women’s emancipation movement

(Doane, op.cit).

Could symbolic evidence be used for a 20th century trial?

Doane questions the prosecutions case is based on a symbolic

connection of Greek Mythology and Weimar Law. She concludes

that the case could never be settled on a legal basis. The

narrative is played out in an era when Weimar society accepted

the extremes of sexual indiscretion as a symbol of openness,

‘Young ladies proudly boasted that they were perverted; to be

suspected of virginity at sixteen would have been considered a

disgrace” (Doane, op.cit).

The film gives us an insight into the a world that Lulu’s

appeared to be operating within the acceptable limits of Weimar

society that saw women being associated with the depths of

depravity, and very resistant to emancipation. Once again the

characteristics of mystical femme fatale have not escaped the

male makeover, despite being presented in another art form,

like many other artworks, bares little resemblance to the

originating fable.

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3 Introduction to Victorian and fin-de-

siècle

In this chapter, it is important to contextualise the era

within which society was functioning. It will touch lightly on

the religious, cultural, social and economic factors personally

that touched every day lives. It defined the different sectors

and social classes people operated in. In order to disperse the

myths we need to understand how they were created.

The industrial revolution’s effect on society.

The pace of change in the economy from the mid 19th century

was moving fast, dominated by the industrial revolution. The

cities were filling up with workhouses and arcades of iron and

glass, separating social classes. It had a huge effect on the

rural economy, farm work was being mechanised at a blistering

pace, creating an economic migration to the cities, where the

new factories were producing goods to satisfy a world market.

“With all the modern appliances of steam and electricity, and

the new inventions in machinery, the cultivation of the soil is

fast coming to be a recreation and amusement” (Stanton, 1895,

p. 31), a good situation for the wealthy, but not so good for

the farm workers.

It was a dream situation in a capitalist society, increased

productivity through mechanisation, and an uncompetitive labour

market driving down wages. The rich industrialists must have

felt like the masters of the universe.

This environment was pivotal for femme fatale, in times of

prosperity the fine art market blossoms, giving birth to

wonderful artists with new ideas, like the Pre-Raphaelites et

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al. It also turned the feminine into a commodity, to be

controlled by the patriarchal system, and as a result, the

feminist movement who responded.

Why did the church sanctioned prostitution?

Firstly we will consider the feminine living in this society.

Marriage was largely arranged, guided by finance rather than

love; this created a huge market for prostitution. It has been

estimated that there were tens of thousands of prostitutes in

central London alone. The religious and political institutions

were complicit in allowing prostitution to flourish, Stanton

wrote, “a Christian chaplain is commanded to see that she

performs her duty… the maiden must partake of the Holy

Eucharist before she will be granted a license as a prostitute”

(Ibid, p.207). They were also subject to the barbaric

Contagious Diseases Act, which had been passed in Parliament.

The transportation to the colonies white women for prostitution

was known to exist (also part of the narrative in Pandora’s

Box). Prostitution was not attributed to the harsh economic

conditions; it was a life-style choice “Nymphomaniacs were

driven to prostitution to satisfy their desires (Schrenk-

Notzing, 1895).

There were clear double standards.

Meanwhile, at home, the wife considered the bedrock of the

family unit, to be kept safe while their husbands ran their

businesses. If a married woman got into a situation with a

male, she was classed as a ‘fallen woman’ , the consequences

were life changing, so severe it was likely that she would have

to resort to prostitution for economic survival, medical checks

and all... Professor Lynda Nead highlighted this unfair

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treatment, “…[male] sexual desire was accepted as an

unavoidable, fact of nature, whereas active female sexuality

was immediately defined as deviant and dangerous” (Nead, 2014).

3.1.1 Femme Fatale And The Polarity Of Good And Evil

Art of the era delivered symbolic and codified messages,

identifying the femme fatale. The Travelling Companions (Figure 4),

Egg (1862), depicts two almost identical female travelling

companions in a train carriage, on-route to the coastal town of

Menton, a microclimate is known for its early orange and lemon

harvest in February, it is a short way from Monte Carlo in the

South of France framed by the carriage windows. The ladies are

clad in identical outfits; perhaps they are twins? The look

like a mirror image, donned in their grey satin voluminous

dresses with thin black lace neck chokers. One is napping, her

eyes closed, her hair down and flowing, her gloves have been

removed, a button appears to be open on her top, and there is a

basket of oranges beside her. The other woman is reading a

book, hands covered with gloves, top buttoned up, her hair

neatly tied tight, and a basket of flowers beside her.

The subtle art of symbolism.

The Victorian art lover would have deciphered the

hieroglyphics. Loose hair represented a woman suspected of

adultery. Wearing gloves indicates status, cleanliness and

purity. The basket containing the fruit, the orange is

predominantly a symbol of fertility; if it is depicted in

Paradise (which Menton surely is), it is the fruit of the

‘Fall’. The open book being read depicts the book of life,

learning, spirit of wisdom, truth and mercy. Her basket blossom

flowers are a symbol of young life. The basket without flowers

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a symbol that she has been ‘de-flowered’. For one woman it is

a spiritual adventure, designed to explore the Self until

serenity is achieved [4], for the other it is a journey to the

fall.

Rationalising the duality of good and evil.

The image is one of beauty and grace, but it contains a form of

duality, a woman who can be erotically destructive, and another

a symbol of divinity. When combined they form the archetypal

femme fatale. Edith Zach presents this situation as typical of

this era, she says it “…[is] represented in many works of the

19th century dealing with the femme fatale: two females who

represent the polarity of good and evil” (Zach, 2013, Ch 1),

which confuses and leaves the male trying to rationalise these

extremes, ‘trying to find his way between the two worlds”

(Zach, op.cit). Even if this duality untrue, and she is not

worldly wise, her fate could be perilous. 'the faults of women

are visited as sins, the sins of men are not even visited as

faults' (Craig, 2009)

3.1.2 Duality In Art, The Fallen Woman.

Egg captured the duality of Victorian society with regard to

chastity with a trilogy he exhibited in 1858. There were three

miniatures, no title but a subtitle displayed: 'August the 4th -

Have just heard that B - has been dead more than a fortnight,

so his poor children have now lost both parents. I hear she was

seen on Friday last near the Strand, evidently without a place

to lay her head. What a fall hers has been!'. Eggs trilogy

mirrored the consequences should a woman ‘fall’ from grace.

Nina Auerbach sums up the hopeless dilemma of the situation,

“These words smack of pride as well as pity at the fallen

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woman’s abasement and the society that engineered it so

effectively…recurs again and again in Victorian treatments of

the fallen woman” (Auerbach, 1984).

Was art a form of propaganda?

Shocking its audience, the first of the three plates show an

apple lying beside the prostrate woman. On the wall behind, a

painting depicts god-expelling Eve from the Garden of Eden, a

small portrait of the woman hangs below. A mirror reflects an

open door. A mirror reflects an open door on the other side of

the room; from the home she will be expelled. The two children

in the room, playing with their toys and looking mystified,

increase the emotion of the situation. The femme fatale,

distorted myth of Eve been once again has now taken, as a moral

guide to the way society should behave. [5]

3.1.3 The Awakening of Conscience

It is said that Hunt's painting, 'The Awakening of Conscience'

was the inspiration for Egg’s Fallen Woman. It is a salient

reminder to the fin-de-siècle (kept) woman, It shows the girl

in a situation where she has been disturbed, perhaps during her

liaison with her lover. The dropped glove on the floor is a

metaphor for the vulnerability she feels, she is in a state of

'Victorian' undress. She wears rings on all of her fingers,

with the exception of the third finger, left hand. The painting

was originally displayed along side another painting ‘The Light

of the World”, which showed Jesus holding a lamp and knocking

at the door. The light shines into the Awakening of Conscience

from the side, matching both paintings in design as well as

reinforcing the message. Symbolically, the analysis from the

Tate Gallery is thought provoking, it upholds the theories put

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forward earlier regarding the powerful male, and of the dangers

of falling fowl of their favour.

Did the Pre-Raphaelites try to introduce morality to an immoral

situation?

The Tate’s [5] description, “The mirror image represents the

woman's lost innocence” may equally apply to Egg’s Travelling

Companions. “The cat toying with the broken-winged bird under

the table symbolises the woman's plight”, implying that the

male (cat) feels powerful enough to decide her fate, it is

probably only a matter of time before, “A man's discarded glove

warns that the likely fate of a cast-off mistress was

prostitution”, and finally the tangled wool on the floor

“symbolises the web in which the girl is entrapped”. Hunt

wanted to reflect in his art, the socio-cultural and economic

issues that young women faced. The painting depicts one of the

fallen who has been trapped in the situation where she must

comply with her lover's needs, or face a perilous situation

that would most likely result in death, given the disease and

conditions of the era.

3.1.4 The Dark Underbelly of Victorian Perversion

Surfaces

In times of prosperity, the rich created a huge market for

fine art, in reality there were none of trappings that people

display today to demonstrate their power, influence and wealth.

It was a status symbol to have ones portrait painted by a

famous contemporary artist, or to own an original artwork,

“Painters became rich as their work was bought by wealthy

merchants and manufacturers. Opulent private collections were

formed” (WAG).

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The Romantic Art had been used as a tool to enforce the

strict patriarchal system, but there was also a market that

appealed to the more masculine market, one that still contained

many of the symbols of the fin-de-siècle era, was now

portraying the feminine as a more aggressive devouring animal.

She was now being represented as a degenerative temptress, part

woman part animal (connotations in bestiality), vampires,

hermaphrodites, and man-eating creatures. Once again, the

religious and mythical stories of the past were being re-

written.

3.1.5 Circe

The fin-de-siècle artists and sculptors saw Circe the

Mythical Greek Goddess as a rich vein of inspirational

material. Much had been poetically scribed about her. The

legend says that she was an intoxicatingly beautiful woman, who

resided on the island of Aeaea. Discovering sailors in

distress, she offered them refuge and refreshment. If they

accept her offerings they become besotted, soon after they were

turned into docile animals like swine, and kept in a sty. In

Homer’s Odyssey, Circe transforms all of Odysseus' men into

swine, but she has a change of heart and changes them back into

humans, letting them go on their way.

She was less than perfect.

Mackennal chose the mythological goddess for his ‘New

Statue’, femme fatale was a popular topic across Europe. He

produced it as a large piece; its sensual details and the

nature of its structure held many an admiring gaze, drawn to

her youthful beauty. Authors, Van Ghent & Robinson (Dijkstra

1988) thesis on Keats penned of Circe ““She practiced the black

magic of changing the human form into that of a beast, and in a

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final ecstasy of evil, transformed all of the beasts in her sty

of old lovers into one huge writhing snake” (Ibid, p. 130).

Baudelaire, Swinburne and Gustave Flaubert willingly penned

Romantic poetry about Circe. She had retained her Romantic

roots, but the mythical qualities were to be changed, almost

beyond recognition.

3.1.6 Rebranding Circe as Pornokrates

The goddess re-appears, morphed into Pornokrates (Figure 6),

a figure of a blindfolded woman wearing high shoes, long black

satin gloves and stockings. She is led by the same Circe motif,

a pig a leash, guiding her. There is debate about the meaning

of her demeanour, one view is that ‘the pig with the golden

tail represents the image of luxury and lucre steering the

woman, whose only excuse is her blindness; for others, it is

the image of man, bestial and stupid, kept in check by the

woman’ (Dijkstra 1988), Dukstra commented on the art, ‘She was

the human animal viciously depicted by Rops as ‘Pornokrates’,

ruler of Proudhon’s (Prichard, 2011) Pornocracy, the creature

blindly guided by a hog, the symbol of Circe, the bestial

representation of all sexual evil (Dijkstra, op.cit).

3.1.7 Baudelaire and the Courtesan.

“She advances towards us, glides, dances, or moves about with

her burden of petticoats, which play the part at once of

pedestal and balancing-rod;

her eye flashes out from under her hat, like a portrait in

its frame.

She is the perfect image of the savagery that lurks in the

midst of civilization.

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She has her own sort of beauty, which comes to her from Evil

always devoid of spirituality, but sometimes tinged with

weariness which imitates true melancholy.

She directs her gaze at the horizon, like a beast of prey;

the same wildness, the same lazy absent-mindedness, and also,

at times, the same fixity of attention.

She is a sort of gipsy wandering on the fringes of regular

society, and the triviality of her life, which is one of

warfare and cunning, fatally grins through its envelope of

show.” (Baudelaire, 1995, p.16)

There is a striking similarity to the view that woman was

driven by ruthless pursuit of consumerism, and the one depicted

by Rops’s Pornokrates. When Baudelaire wrote ‘The Painter of

Modern Life (Baudelaire, op.cit), he was describing women who

frequented The Arcades, the streets of glass in Paris and

London that were frequented by prostitutes of all classes. On

this occasion he was referring to the courtesan, a high-class

prostitute, a femme fatale. His description displays many of

the mythical qualities of the femme fatale; 19th century

authors considered it an intriguing topic, perhaps the most

famous being The Lady of the Camellias (Fils, 1848) which would

later become the opera La Traviata. The (simplified) plot is a

warning of the dangers of falling in love with a courtesan.

A stupid idiot but smart enough to outwit men?

There seemed to be no hesitation in his demeaning commentary

about women, just as Rops had been in his art. Baudelaire

describes women as a manifestation, “She is a kind of idol,

stupid perhaps, but dazzling and bewitching.”(CB, P30), and as

if to underline the point; he continues to writing about

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cosmetics and fashion.  (Note: Walter Benjamin wrote The

Arcades (Paris) many years later when they were falling into

decay, describing the same people who went there as ‘yeast of

the streets’),

3.1.8 Dehumanising the Mythical Lilith.

The link between Adam, Eve, Lilith and the serpent was made

in Genesis, it provided inspiration for countless works of art,

carvings and poems throughout the mid 19th century and early

20th-century. In Rossetti’s sonnet Eden Bower, Lilith who was

reputed to be Adams first mate did not display the passivity

that Rossetti found so attractive in [his] women.

” It was Lilith the wife of Adam:

(Eden bower’s in flower.)

Not a drop of her blood was human,

But she was made like a soft sweet woman…

Inspired by Rossetti’s John Collier painted the Rossetti’s

Lilith (1892) (Figure 2), adorned with an enormous snake cuddled

around her erect and naked body, it is apparent that there was

a display of tenderness and affection. Rossetti, who died in

1882 would have appreciated the interpretation, given that he

was very much in love with his wife, Elizabeth Siddal who

modelled for Rossetti’s ‘Lady Lilith’ paintings. She suffered

an early death (1862), following an overdose of laudanum

(Parkstone 2015).

Was this the ultimate duality?

There is tenderness in John Colliers mythical Lilith, once

again there is a duality, a perverse implication of bestiality

and tenderness, It would not be unreasonable to interpret the

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snake as a phallic symbol. This was a period when many artists

took inspiration from the poets. Dijkstra makes the connection

between the female and the serpent as an age-old masculine

fascination of bestiality; he argues that fin-de-siècle culture

did not view ‘normal’ sexuality as a linear heterosexuality.

(Dijkstra 1988)

3.2 Conclusion

This dissertation did not set out to become a standard bearer

for feminism, but it was found to be the most reliable source

of unbiased opinion because of their diverse backgrounds. It

identifies the origins of the femme fatale as religious and

biblical characters, but also evidences that there were so many

versions of the original femme fatales; it would be impossible

to identify which were true. The correlating factor of all the

mythical femmes fatales is that their original crimes were over

exaggerated, and over punished.

A cynical and relentless process took place that connects all

women to the alleged original femme fatale sins; it taught them

that they also must pay for these sins. If they questioned the

validity of this treatment, they were questioning the word of

god. Moreover, women were told to be thankful.

Academics and authors have been instrumental in dispelling many

of the myths, but the period of the industrial revolution was

pivotal, and its oppression had two major impacts on society.

It funded an art market that systematically went through a

process of re-writing the original femme fatale myths,

displacing them with perverse manifestations. Secondly, the

church and the patriarchal machine supported the new

interpretations. They then associated women with the new

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manifestations, made them responsible for paying the price

these new and perverse sins and thus cleared their collective

conscience.

On one front, the subtle codification of symbolism was used, on

the other influential religious leaders, philosophers, poets,

artists, politicians stood on their metaphorical soap boxes and

preached the evil attributed to women. The injustice ignited

resistance, creating the first wave of feminism.

This study has shown that many of the of the finest works of

art delivered the messages demonising women symbolically,

depicting the polarity of good an evil, qualities found in the

archetypal femme fatale. Ultimately they all led back to Eve,

Lilith, Pandora et al. the myth had lost sight of its origins,

it had taken on a life of its own.

There was something perverse about the treatment of the

mythical characters. Circe, was transformed by artists into the

most derogatory icon, a blindfolded woman, naked except for

stockings being led by a pig with a golden tail. Similarly,

Pandora came in for similar treatment. The metaphor layers

another mythical mistruth that bares little resemblance to the

original story.

The original myths had been lost in the fog of propaganda, but

historical reference and art have left a trail of evidence,

enabling a gap analysis between the ‘weak’ mythical origins and

fin-de-siècle reinventions has revealed the mythical mistruths,

and they have been duly dispersed. It reveals the motives were

to prop up 19th century patriarchy, and that influential

religious leaders, philosophers, poets, artists, politicians

and the authorities used the myths as a justification for

control, discipline, suppression and exploitation. The

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patriarchal system was ruthless and unforgiving if women

strayed from its path, or had the tenacity to challenge it,

they were a classified as danger to stability.

The myths have been duly dispersed; they were re-invented for a

misogynistic agenda.

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4 Figures and Captions

Figure 1. Garden of Eden Notre Dame Cathedral

Figure 2. John Collier’s Lilith.

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Figure 3. The Travelling Companions

Figure 4. Fallen Woman

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Figure 5. Pornakrates

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5 Bibliography

It has been noted that brief states, “A Harvard Style

bibliography and captions need to be included in the essay but

are not included in the word count”.

_________________________________

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