Dictionary definition: An irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren.
The femme fatale, French for “fatal women,” is a character whose importance in Romantic literature and whose journey through modern-day adaptations is almost unparalleled. Existing historically in both biblical figures as early as Eve’s representation of the fall of man, and mythical creatures such as the Sirens, the femme fatale’s appearance in romantic and Gothic literature can be clearly seen in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Christabel” as well as John Keats’ “Lamia” and “La Belle Dame sans Merci.”
The femme fatale is a being of sexuality and femininity, enchantment and mystery. The femme fatale is often seen as destructive and transforming, and one is unable to get away from her without some sort of drastic change occurring. She is tied up in seduction and power, and a disruptive emotion that can be tied to addiction, which lends itself well to the addiction narrative of “Christabel.”
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