miker, while I agree that "manipulation through sexual
attraction is the key" to a femme fatale (nice turn of
phrase, by the way), I'm not sure that applies to The
Talented Mr. Ripley. While Ripley was certainly sexually
attracted to Dickie Greenleaf, I don't believe Dickie
manipulated Tom. As a matter of fact, for the most part he
seemed oblivious to Tom's attraction. Very slight spoiler --
When he did become aware (or at least his fiancee did), he
rejected Tom, with fatal consequences. However, Tom doesn't
really fit the mold either. He may have mooched off Dickie,
but he didn't really manipulate him. So if he was a femme
fatale, he was a pretty incompetent one, as he was not able
to attract his prey.
Mark
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