A comparative study of femme-fatale imagery and its significance in selected fin-de-siecle art and literature

A century ago, the Western world experienced a revolution in thought, not only in social and political reform, but also in the visual arts and literature. The role and image of Woman enjoyed a new power after centuries of subjugation. During the fin de siècle, a unique image of Woman was portrayed in the work of Gustav Klimt, an artistic prophet, who displayed Woman as the archetypal femme fatale. Klimt utilized the femme-fatale image to confront traditional society with its hypocrisy and to initiate change by presenting sociological and psychological truth, as well as sexual frankness. Klimt's visual images contributed to a greater understanding of the femme fatale's metaphysical power and allure.; To determine the extent of power that femme-fatale characters exert over male protagonists, this study examines literary works from ten turn-of-the-century, international female and male authors for their presentations of femmes fatales. As a result, a new definition of fatal woman emerges. Not always lethal, the femme fatale personifies characteristics of beauty and power that are distinctively recognizable. The continuum of femme-fatale types, ranging from latent to lethal, is presented in a graphic chart.; This study compares the fin-de-siècle selections of the archetype and presents the importance of their symbolic iconography. Though not exhaustive, the work considers the significance of a redefined femme fatale and its implications for post-modern culture. The resulting paradigm produces in the twentieth century a femme fatale whose role expands to take on new meaning, not only in the literature of the century, but also in the contemporary art form—film. Since the fin-de-siècle, Hollywood films have followed the turn-of-the-century literary tradition to depict and further develop the iconographic image of Woman as powerful. The study closes with a consideration of two prize-winning, turn-of-the-millennium novels: Toni Morrison's Paradise and Michael Cunningham's The Hours. These novels reveal postmodern femme-fatale images that symbolize both the power and the plight of Woman in today's society.