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The Femme Fatale:
Destructive Force or Role Model?
Edvard Munch's lithograph of Madonna, 1895-1902
In the nineteenth century there was a rise of misogynist views, similar to the ones seen in the sixteenth-century Renaissance. Male artists of the time portrayed women as sexually driven animals, which destroyed anything in their path. The term femme fatale arose at this time to describe a woman associated with sexual lust. These fatal women took the forms of vampires, biblical seducers, animals, she-males, and even mothers and ladies of society. The rise of the femme fatale was a result of the feminist movement at the time, including the introduction of birth control and women moving farther away from the domestic role. This time was also known as the Victorian era, which was extremely conservative. There was a greater concern placed on morals during this period, especially concerning the conduct of women. Many men, including male artists, played on these fears of morality and represented them in paintings and literature. Some men showed their obvious fear with women in their works, like Edvard Munch. Others, like Charles Dana Gibson, played on the reversal of gender roles in cartoons depicting women of society. Homosexual fears were also depicted in Edward Burne-Jones paintings. The mid-nineteenth century to the first part of the twentieth century saw women placed in negative sexual roles that posed a threat to male power. Again, men would employ any tool necessary to limit the power of women and discredit them.
The femme fatale is thought of as depicting a woman’s dark erotic tendencies that were dangerous not only to her victims, but herself as well. The rise of the femme fatale has been suggested to have occurred because of the “ . . . very successes of a generation of feminists.” (Vicinus, 90) Femme fatales, and other threatening women, were not only included in paintings, but also in literature. This concept of women as being destructive, was supported by Charles Baudelaire’s poem “Les Fleurs du Mal,” the works of Sigmund Freud, and the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. According to Virginia M. Allen in her book The Femme Fatale, “The femme fatale, independent of male control, and threatening of men, reflects the fears of generations of social thinkers. She was produced by men who felt threatened by the escape of some actual women from male dominance.” (Allen, 91) The adjectives most frequently used to describe a femme fatale are beautiful, erotic, seductive, and destructive. Other descriptors include: self-determined, independent, lacking human feeling, immortal, queen, goddess, and sexual. Many male artists, of this time fell into these fears and depicted women in these ways. By looking at Munch, Gibson, Burne-Jones, and others, one can see the different forms the femme fatale, and ultimately women, took in the mid to late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century.
For “troubled” artists, like Edvard Munch and other expressionists, the femme fatale took on a specific character. In Martha Kingsbury’s essay “The Femme Fatale and Her Sisters,” she includes a description of the femme fatale common for these tortured artists. She states, “The configuration in question is that of a woman seen frontally; her upright and frequently taught posture is combined with a thrown back head and lowered eyelids.” (Kingsbury, 183) She then goes on to add that concentric patterning can also be seen. This configuration of the woman symbolizes the threatening power, with the erect postures, along with the ecstasy portrayed through the heavy eyelids and thrown back head. Kingsbury states that this “ . . . signifies a loss of control in their moment of triumph.” (Kingsbury, 183) This depiction can be seen in Munch’s Madonna from 1893-1894, with the inclusion of a nude lady, erotic in her looks, with lowered eyelids, and flowing hair.
These characteristics were usually applied to mythical or religious characters, as can be seen in Munch’s Salome lithograph and Gustave Moreau’s The Apparition. Both scenes depict the seductress Salome. In Munch’s lithograph, the repetition of circles, heavy eyelids, and thrown back head are seen. John the Baptist’s head is also included as being merged with Salome’s. John the Baptist’s head appears to be a portrait of Munch himself, showing his fear of woman. The woman depicted as Salome has been identified as a female named Eva Mudocci. Munch has linked a specific woman to his fears, but in his lithograph The Kiss of Death from 1899, “ . . . the women is less specific and represents by implication all women or any woman both seductive and destructive.” (Kingsbury, 185)
There are numerous instances of recognizable femme fatale figures by other artists. These characters were often actresses “[b]ecause they exerted a compelling fascination for the public. . . playing a role in which [there] own identity might be endangered or lost.” (Kingsbury, 185) This can be seen in John Singer Sargent’s Ellen Tracy as Lady Macbeth, completed in 1889. The painting shows a tall woman raising her arms to crown herself. She has a crazed look on her face and Sargent has depicted the most powering and threatening moment of the scene. The fear men had of actresses stems from “[t]his assertion of power through loss of self on the stage [that is] analogous to the simultaneous threat and sacrifice of sexual passion, through which the femme fatale both overpowered and submitted to her victim.” (Kingsbury, 185) Men believed that actresses’ stage presence portrayed real power and was associated with the character they emulated.
Mentioned earlier were some of the adjectives used to describe the femme fatale. One of these was the term “immortal.” This can be seen in the numerous depictions of women as vampires during the time. Allen in her book The Femme Fatale, states that “. . . there is a dimension of meaning of the femme fatale suggesting that even though she might die, she will not be obliterated. She will rise again to claim another victim, perhaps as one of the living dead, a vampire.” (Allen, 2) The woman as someone who inflicts death and pain through her kiss is another interpretation of the femme fatale’s fatal sexual power over men. Edvard Munch, along with other artists, created nightmarish scenes where women overtook men by giving them the kiss of death. In Alessandra Comini’s essay “Vampires, Virgins, and Voyeurs in Imperial Vienna,” she states, “The kiss, the embrace, the constant physical proximity could take on restless or nightmarish proportions for the artist. . .” (Comini, 215) This is seen in Munch’s Vampire. The scene is dark, with only one light source coming from the lower left hand corner, which creates shadows. The moment Munch depicts the femme fatale, shown as a vampire, is when she delivers her deadly kiss.
In addition to the dark, depressing paintings depicting femme fatales, during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, there were also cartoons depicting the fear men had of women overpowering them. This can be seen in Charles Dana Gibson’s female figures. His works do not show literary characters, but women from popular culture. The Gibson girls are shown as being dominant and manipulative, always holding the upper hand. Femme fatales were often portrayed as taking on the male role. Kingsbury shows the Gibson girls’ power over men by stating, “[s]he ruled her father’s life as the daughter he must marry off. . . and ruled her many suitors as the goals they so desired. . .” (Kingsbury, 195) The fear of women taking over the men’s role in society was further heightened by the changing fashions at the time.
In the late nineteenth century women’s fashion seemed to mimic the tailored look of men’s clothes. Kingsbury states, “. . .skirts became increasingly narrow in front and on the side. . . Above such a slender straight-hung skirt, the torso became larger in proportion. Broader shoulders and large sleeves. . .All of this, worn with strikingly upright posture and thrown-back shoulders, represent a degree of mannishness in woman’s fashion.” (Kingsbury, 195) This was made even more apparent with the appearance of tailored shirtwaists, neckties, and other manly costume details. This fashion blurred the lines of gender distinction, and thus caused great fear in women at the time, as they slowly left the domestic scene and entered the male world, both in role and fashion.
Male and female bodies were also being blurred in art as well. In J.B. Bullen’s book The Pre-Raphaelite Body: Fear and Desire in Painting, Poetry, and Criticism, he dedicates a chapter to Edward Burne-Jones and the types of bodies he portrays. Bullen states that the question of gender originated in the 1860s and continued on throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. This coincides with the rising power of women in the social and political scenes at the time. Burne-Jones is considered to be a Pre-Raphaelite, which is a style of art that came under extreme criticism because it questioned the distinction between masculinity and femininity, therefore threatening the man’s role as being dominant. Bullen describes Burne-Jones characters as “. . . female figures [that] were perversely masculine and his unmanly male figures were degenerate.” (Bullen, 154) At the time Burne-Jones painted, masculinity was thought of as being brave and muscular, and not as weak or degenerate. Women were supposed to be dainty and not the “improper female,” who had masculine qualities.
This portrayal of women possessing masculine qualities is another example of the femme fatale and also served as a warning to men about the negative powers women possessed. This depiction of women as masculine was shunned because it involved “. . . the empowerment of women. Once given the freedom that men possess, women break out of their domestic roles, they quit the modest precincts of home. . .” (Bullen, 167) It was also disturbing during this time that many women were leaving their domestic world and entering the political arenas. The images of women as femme fatales was a way to keep women at home, arousing fear in women so they would not leave the safety of their domestic sphere. This portrayal of men as degenerate also dealt with the fear of homosexuality, which also threatened men’s power just as much as women did. In Burne-Jones’ works The Golden Stairs and Laus Venris, one can see how the men are androgynes with little gender distinction. This blurring of the gender line greatly disturbed man who wanted complete control and wished to retain women in an inferior role as being mother of the house, because it was safe and expected.
Men believed that women should be limited to the domestic sphere, as this was the “safest” for them. In fact, most depictions of the femme fatale are rarely shown in a domestic scene or with children. According to Kingsbury, “[o]nce married and a mother she disappeared from consideration. . . The implication seemed to be that a woman’s erotic power was extinguished by its very fulfillment—indeed, a femme fatale with children is unimaginable.” (Kingsbury, 195) However in Renoir’s Madame Renoir and Son Pierre: Maternite from 1885, the female figures gazes out of the viewer with heavy eyelids and has circling patterns, common in Munch’s works. According to Kingsbury “[t]he women’s great size bodes power as well as heaviness, and they often radiate a cool sense of control. Their relaxation seems to result from confidence in that power, as well as from languor.” (Kingsbury, 199) This painting is not only of a mother and child, but could also be considered as a depiction of the femme fatale in the domestic role, making man unsafe in every sphere.
The femme fatale was also depicted as a woman who took on the qualities of animals. Fernand Khnopff’s Caress, from 1896, depicts this. The painting references the story of Oedipus at the point when he solves the riddle of the sphinx. The sphinx has a head of a woman, who snuggles up to the young boy. The sphinx’s paw rests on the lower abdomen, which many have said is a reference to Sigmund Freud’s prevailing ideas at the time. Freud had theories that young boys had fears about male castration upon first site of female genitals. This is seen in Khnopff’s image through the anxious face of the boy and the paw near the crotch. When one compares Ingres’ painting of Oedipus from 1808, one can see the inclusion of human intelligence that Ingres includes and Khnopff leaves out. Khnopff’s has made the beast the femme fatale, who will destroy the young male through animal passion.
Although my focus has been primarily on women being depicted as femme fatales, especially in characterization of concentric patterns, lowered eyes, and a thrown back head, Munch and Sargent both portrayed men in the same way. Both Munch’s painting from 1895 titled Self-Portrait with a Burning Cigarette and the portrait of the artist Paul Hellu done by Sargent, include the imagery used by the artists in their depictions of women at the time. Each one consists of a leaning back head, lifted chins, lowered eyes, and a body lost in the background. Both men are portrayed with a cigarette and Kingsbury states that this is significant because it “ . . . can be taken as characterizations of unusually sensitive men (artists) in deep reveries.” (Kingsbury, 187-190) Does this make the men a power of destruction, or is it an outlet for sensitive men who feel trapped not only by women, but by masculinity as well?
The femme fatale took on many forms in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Not only was the femme fatale a dark seductive force, but also could be women of society or mothers. The femme fatale even took on the qualities of an animal that could destroy men with their beast-like passion. This caused extreme fear in men, because it questioned their “powerful role” and their sexuality. Edvard Munch, Charles Dana Gibson, Edward Burne-Jones, and others, all depicted women as femme fatales. The femme fatale was adopted during this time because of women’s rising social status. Men feared women sexually and politically. They were paranoid that women would overpower them and this can is in the repetition of the femme fatale in art and literature. Despite the misogynistic views of the time, women made advancements that helped changed women’s social and political status. Women used the femme fatale demeanor to make progress in women’s rights. They did not need to adopt the femme fatale’s lethal qualities, but were instead inspired by a character that had freedom and used her erotic power. According to Allen, “[s]he offered one of the few role models for women in the nineteenth century that combined freedom with fascination and erotic intrigue.” (Allen, 191) Some women might have feared the femme fatale, but this male creation inspired many women to gain their independence from a male-dominated society.