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Femme Fatale
A femme fatale (plural: femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. The phrase is French for "deadly woman". Her characteristic weapon, if needed, is frequently poison, which also serves as a metaphor for her charms.
Eve/ Chavvah/ Hawwa/ Hiywan: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."
Mata Hari a.k.a. Margaretha Geertruida "Grietje" Zelle : Dutch-Frisian exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for espionage during World War I who was believed to be a spy for French military.
Salome: "And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb"
Lilith: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Sonnet, "Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,And her enchanted hair was the first gold.And still she sits, young while the earth is old,And, subtly of herself contemplative,Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,Till heart and body and life are in its hold.The rose and poppy are her flower; for whereIs he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scentAnd soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?Lo! As that youth's eyes burned at thine, so wentThy spell through him, and left his straight neck bentAnd round his heart one strangling golden hair."
Gustav Klimt: The Friends, Franz Von Stuck: The Sin and Salome, and Gustave Moreau: Salome and the Apparition of the Baptist's Head
Femme Fatale
A femme fatale (plural: femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. The phrase is French for "deadly woman". Her characteristic weapon, if needed, is frequently poison, which also serves as a metaphor for her charms.
Eve/ Chavvah/ Hawwa/ Hiywan: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."
Mata Hari a.k.a. Margaretha Geertruida "Grietje" Zelle : Dutch-Frisian exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for espionage during World War I who was believed to be a spy for French military.
Salome: "And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb"
Lilith: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Sonnet, "Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,And her enchanted hair was the first gold.And still she sits, young while the earth is old,And, subtly of herself contemplative,Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,Till heart and body and life are in its hold.The rose and poppy are her flower; for whereIs he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scentAnd soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?Lo! As that youth's eyes burned at thine, so wentThy spell through him, and left his straight neck bentAnd round his heart one strangling golden hair."
Gustav Klimt: The Friends, Franz Von Stuck: The Sin and Salome, and Gustave Moreau: Salome and the Apparition of the Baptist's Head