The Femme Fatale

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The Femme Fatale
The Femme Fatale
Representations Of Eve

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

Paul Rudd BSSC 2001/2003
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A Representation of Power
The Femme Fatale is an enduring representation of
a powerful woman as seen by Western society. This
representation is so pervasive that it is now a
commonly occurring stereotype that can be found
in many different media, literary and art texts.
She is always a powerful woman, able to
manipulate the people around her to get her own
way. She is generally dominating and
authoritative. She is never submissive.
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The Femme Fatale
She is often depicted dressed in animal skins
particularly those of predators, such as tigers
and leopards. This is because she is portrayed as
a predator herself a cat that often toys with
her prey. She will stop at nothing to get her own
way even murder. In this way, the femme fatale
represents societys traditional fear of powerful
women

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Consider the following clues. She is wearing
animal skins, and particularly the furs of
predatory cats (leopards). She is assertive and
confident in her posture and facial expression.
She is wearing fishnet stockings lingerie is a
common part of her costuming. She is looking
directly at the camera.

• Representations
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• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Do you think this image is of a femme fatale?
Why/why not?

• Representations
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• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Most people would probably say No. Consider the
following visual clues. She has an expression of
confusion or worry that is more submissive than
assertive. She is wearing clothing made from a
soft, pastel material. Her pose is reminiscent
of a young girl defensive and insecure.

• Representations
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• Eve

She is sitting on the floor.
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The Femme Fatale
The Undoing Of The Man
The femme fatale is often portrayed as the cause
of a mans downfall, as well as her own. She is
often shown seducing a man and using her
feminine guile to hold him in bondage to her.
But this was historically seen as being
unnatural. Throughout history, people believed
that women were meant to be subordinate to men.
If a woman was too powerful, then she inevitably
caused trouble. By seeking to dominate, she
defied her own nature and inevitably was
destroyed. Similarly, if a man allowed himself to
be dominated by her, he was bound to end up in
strife usually with the law

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
With a haughty pose and a defiant air, this model
recreates the stereotyped femme fatale of the
fifties a period of history when this
stereotype was particularly common. Often a
femme fatale is dressed in flame- red, or red and
black clothes. Bright red lipstick and nails are
also common visual clues. She is also often
represented as a spider the so-called black
widow. Her web is one of deceit and intrigue

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
A femme fatale often makes an appearance in
advertising particularly for products that are
specifically designed to make a woman more
appealing or desirable! Some perfume and clothing
retailers rely heavily upon this representation.

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Supporting Her Man
Most literature and media texts have,
historically, portrayed a male as the central
character of their narrative. This male-centric
view has dominated literature and art for
millennia. Female characters were (and often
still are) defined as being either good (in that
they served the interests of the hero) or bad (in
that they thwarted the interests of the hero).
The maternal figure, the supportive heroine, the
tragic maiden who needs to be rescued are all
historically portrayed as good women. The
temptress, the shrew and the witch have nearly
always been viewed as being bad. These are
stereotypes.

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Has there been a more famous exponent of the
femme fatale representation? How many other
famous actors (or characters) can you think of
that have played the part of the femme fatale?
Make a list and compare it with your group or
class!

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Again we can see the femme fatale being used in
advertising this time to sell beer. The name of
the product, Tiger is reason enough to trot out
this enduring stereotype. The caption in the box
at the bottom says it all Discover the Tiger.

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
She is always the centre of attention Here is a
classic example of the femme fatale again,
found in a piece of advertising.

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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The Femme Fatale
Eve As The First Femme Fatale
Critics often argue that the representation of
the femme fatale derives from the Biblical
narrative of Adam and Eve. Eve tempted Adam to
eat the apple which led to them being expelled
from the Garden of Eden. Do you think this
argument is valid? If so, what do you think this
reveals about societys attitudes towards women
when the Bible was written? Have many things
changed in our own society?

• Representations
• Of
• Eve

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Lately there has been a strong movement to attack
the social forces that perceive powerful women as
being bad. Here, Jerry Hall is depicted as a
femme fatale, with the tiger skin coat and all.
And yet, she confronts the stereotype by being
pictured breastfeeding her son. Is this still an
image of a femme fatale? What do you think?
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The Femme Fatale
Homework Exercise Find an image of a femme
fatale in either a magazine or in a newspaper.
Paste it into your workbook and write a 100 150
word report on why you think that this image is
of a femme fatale. Make sure you write down the
name of the publication from which you cut out
the picture, the date it was printed, and the
page number. Due next class.

• Representations
• Of
• Eve