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Lady Lilith, Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
1873, Oil on Canvas.
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While working on my formal analysis for the painting Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, I
was introduced to the idea of the femme fatale in Victorian culture. Although this character type has been used since ancient texts, the use of it during the Victorian period was specified
by the strict gender expectations of women at the time, as well as the anxiety over the changing
gender roles of women in society. Gender issues have always been something that fascinates me,
so I decided to pursue this topic a little further.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Cruel Intentions, 1999.
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Angelina Jolie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 2005.
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I wanted to look more into how the femme fatale character is portrayed in culture today, and
what causes the portrayal of these women as such. The femme fatales of cinema are the best
examples to examine, since we can understand the personality and actions of these women
thoroughly, rather than strictly their setting and their physical looks. Some examples that come to
mind are Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions, Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, and Angelina
Jolie in a plethora of movies. These contemporary femme fatales are much of what their
Victorian counterparts were. They use their sexuality as a form of power, and seduce individuals
to get what they desire. They are manipulative and emotionless, and in some cases, fatal. Some
of the femme fatales created portrayed by the Pre-Raphaelites, such as Lady Lilith and Venus
Verticordia, have background stories that create a strong tie to
their contemporary counterparts, but that is not true
for all. A major difference of the modern femme fatales is their place in society. Many of their
Victorian counterparts are fictional or mythological characters, whose single role is to seduce and
take advantage. They are often shown in little to no clothing, or clothing that would be
unacceptable in public, and are in the act of seduction. The contemporary femmes are often
placed within society, and have to hide their sexuality and deceitfulness to conform in public.
This could be due to a need for modern society to create another layer of deceptiveness for these femme fatales. Revealing dress and sexuality are not as significant of an issue as
they were during the Victorian period.
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Venus Verticordia, Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
1868, Oil on Canvas.
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The distinction created by societies on the portrayal of women in media is a topic that I would
like to look into further. I would like to know what the reasons are for the interest in the femme
fatale character, as well as other types that are pervasive in our culture that were also used by the
Pre-Raphaelites. The aspects that I touched on barely scrape the surface of the comparison
between Victorian and modern femme fatales.
Images:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4364544/tt0356910
http://www.dorsetmuseums.co.uk/russell-cotes-art-gallery-and-museum
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