The+Dangerous+Female

__Femme Fatale in Myth__
//Pandora (from greek mythology)//

**__Femme Fatale in Legend__**
//Cleopatra//

__The Dangerous Female in Films__
International con artist/thief Laure Ash helps pull off a diamond robbery in Cannes during the annual film festival. She double-crosses her partners-in-crime and makes off with the diamonds to Paris where she accidently assumes the identy of a distraught woman who commits suicide and then leaves the country. Seven years later, Laure (now called Lily Watts) re-surfaces as the wife of the new American ambassador to France where a certain Nicolas Barto, a Spanish photographer, takes her picture which sets the stage for a motion of events as the evil Laure resorts to low, underhanded means to protect her former identity by emotionally and financially destroying Nicolas while evading her former partners-in-crime still looking for her to reclaim the stolen diamonds.

Charles Schine (Clive Owen) lives a stressful life, where he copes with a worn down marriage and he working hard to fulfill the demands and treatment for his daughters kidney problem. On his train ride to work in Chicago, he meets a charming woman named Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston). Sparks fly as they begin conversing. Eventually they start meeting for lunch, dinner, and drinks. This sets them up for a love affair in which they check into a cheap hotel for the night. But before they begin their rendezvous a theif barges into the room, beats Charles, takes his money, and rapes Lucinda. In fear of hurting his family he is reluctant to go to the police and therefore doesn't. But soon he learns that everything had been set up by the women he had thought was with him against the theif. He then follows every step Lucinda takes in her next setup attempt and busts the plot before another man is harmed.

__The Dangerous Female__ The dangerous female archetype, often referred to as a femme fatale, is a character who loves to reel her victims in and make false impressions upon them in order to gain things such as power and wealth, sometimes revenge. She starts out by charming and seducing them with her beauty and sexual allure, to captivate her subject’s attention, enabling her to start gaining control. Through misleading information and manipulation, her subject often becomes pushed to the point of extreme obsession or exhaustion, making them incapable of making rational decisions. She then quickly takes what she has set out to get and leaves her victim dazed and bewildered. The dangerous female archetype occurs popularly in modern films as well as in myth and legend.

One example of the Dangerous Female archetype is Pandora, a well known figure from Greek mythology. Pandora was created by Zeus after the rebellious Prometheus had stolen fire from the heavens to give to the human race to use. She had been draped in rich silks and lustrous gold’s, causing many to be seized by wonder. But behind her appearance she was given a shameful mind and a deceitful nature. Prometheus had been warned by the gods not to accept any gifts from Zeus. But when Pandora comes to him with a jar of gifts he becomes captivated and accepts. When Pandora opens the jar she releases the seven deadly sins into the world but quickly puts the lid on before hope can escape.

A second example from the Dangerous Female archetype would be the legendary Cleopatra. In 51 B.C. she became the queen of Egypt. It was said that she was able to speak at least 8 languages. Because she was not attractive, she used charm as her weapon through her character, conversation, and her strong ambition. The Egyptians saw her as Iris, the great mother goddess, while the Greeks saw her as Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. She wore a special mixture of fragrance as her perfume to not only make men become captivated, but to “make the wind lovesick.” In tradition, she married her brother Ptolemy and they became rulers, although Ptolemy remained powerless against Cleopatra. Because of this, the Alexandrian government wanted to overthrow her, so she moved back to Egypt. To do this, she was rolled up in a carpet and smuggled through the border. When unrolled she fell before Caesar who had instantly fallen in love with her. He was 53 and she was 22. Caesar then put her on the throne with him and soon after was assassinated. Caesars general, Marc Antony met Cleopatra and fell in with her. Antony went with Octavion to fight Caesars long time enemies and was given the eastern half of Rome. Antony invited Cleopatra with him who eventually dominated his every move, forcing him to put her in power and give her gifts. He gave her lands in 6 different places but still she wanted more. Herrod, the ruler of Jerusalem, was appalled that Cleopatra was so close to his lands. Cleopatra attempted to seduce Herrod. He eventually gave in and gave her gifts, but only to make it easier to escort her back to the border of Egypt. But instead she went with Antony back to Alexandria. Rome cancelled Antony’s powers and declared war on them after discovering Antony had given Cleopatra the throne of Egypt and the rule over Rome in his death will. They went back to Egypt where they lived for a brief time. Antony had fatally injured himself after falling on his sword, causing Cleopatra to commit suicide.

The dangerous female archetype in films today often chase after money or power. //Derailed// and //Femme Fatale// are 2 film examples. In the movie //Derailed// Charles Schine (Clive Owen) lives a stressful life, where he copes with a worn down marriage while working hard to fulfill the demands and treatment for his daughter’s kidney problem. On his train ride to work in Chicago, he meets a charming woman named Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston). Sparks fly as they begin conversing. Eventually they start meeting for lunch, dinner, and drinks. This sets them up for a love affair in which they check into a cheap hotel for the night. But before they begin their rendezvous a thief barges into the room, beats Charles, takes his money, and rapes Lucinda. In fear of hurting his family he is reluctant to go to the police and therefore doesn't. But soon he learns that everything had been set up by the women he had thought was with him against the thief. He then follows every step Lucinda takes in her next setup attempt and busts the plot before another man is harmed. In the movie //Femme Fatale,// international con artist/thief Laure Ash (Rebecca Romijn) helps pull off a diamond robbery in Cannes during the annual film festival. She double-crosses her partners-in-crime and makes off with the diamonds to Paris where she accidently assumes the identity of a distraught woman who commits suicide and then leaves the country. Seven years later, Laure (now called Lily Watts) re-surfaces as the wife of the new American ambassador to France where a certain Nicolas Barto, a Spanish photographer, takes her picture which sets the stage for a motion of events as the evil Laure resorts to low, underhanded means to protect her former identity by emotionally and financially destroying Nicolas while evading her former partners-in-crime still looking for her to reclaim the stolen diamonds.

This archetype explains how many people in society and in the human race become so attracted to physical appearance, lust, and charm that they become blinded to the evils that are sometimes hidden within and that physical attraction often over powers ones mind. This archetype also explains that some people will go to extreme measures to gain power and wealth. The dangerous female gives a hint to the potential power a woman may hold.

__WORKS CITED:__ "Femme Fatale." __Wikipedia__. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 28 Oct 2007 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femme_fatale>.] Yudkin, Gila. "Cleopatra: Femme Fatale of the Holy Land." __Pilgramage Panorama__. 2007. 28 Oct 2007 <[|http://www.itsgila.com/headlinerscleo.htm>.]