Mark Sullivan wrote:
> 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.
************** I was seeing Dickie in the role. Used him,
rejected him. Not manipulation for ulterior motives, I'll
admit. I remember that line in the movie where the girl
mentions that when Dickie pays attention to you it's like the
sun shining on you, and beyond that it's cold.
I haven't even read the book, so I was just hazarding a guess
that there might have been some element in it.
Nevertheless, the role of femme fatale deserves examination.
I am afraid I oversimplified it. The femme fatale is not
necessarily manipulative, is she? Sometimes it is just the
attraction that seals the doom, isn't it? Like Charles
Williams's RIVER GIRL?
miker
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