[Opinion] Muse and Femme Fatale

It is common sense that a man of power and wealth tends to enjoy many relationships with females. The saying, “A hero is highly likely to be a Don Juan,” is a compliment to men who are equipped with those abilities rather than a criticism. It is not a thing for a man to feel charged falsely. Likewise an accomplished woman with beauty can have multiple male partners. They can be categorized into two types. One type is a “Muse,” who inspires artistic and creative intuitions to men, and the other is “Femme Fatale” who leads men to destruction. Monica Bellucci, a female actor, has mysterious features which include both aspects of Muse and Femme Fatale.

The Western European courtiers, Lu Salome and Patty Boyd, are the representative Muses; Salome beat the hearts of famous intellectuals such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Maria Rilke, and Gigmud Freud, and Boyd received numerous passionate courtships from George Harrison, a member of the Beatles, and Eric Clapton, the god of guitar. The comment that “Anybody who dates Salome is supposed to write a world-class book” stuck to the rear of Salome. Harrison and Clapton, the two musical geniuses, offered Patty Boyd their immortal music pieces such as “Let It Be,” “Layla,” and “Wonderful Tonight.” Kim Hyang-ahn, who passed away a little while ago in New York at age 88, was a Muse as well as wife of genius poet Lee Sang and painter Kim Hwan-gi.

Femme Fatale is an incarnate who has a lethal glamour and is able to drive a man in love with her to death. It is represented with long laid hair, snow-white skin, moist red lips, and sensual eyes. Females such as Salome, Judith, Delilah who appeared in the Bible, Cleopatra, Carmen, and women of matchless beauties in Chinese history such as Concubine Yang and Daji belong to the Femme Fatale type. In modern time, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna are on the top of the Femme Fatale list. Men can do nothing besides falling over their love trap, they can not resist them.

Muse and Femme Fatale are popular sources for movies. Julie Christie in “Dr. Zhivago”, Erica Marozsan in “Gloomy Sunday”, and Gwyneth Paltrow in “Shakespeare in Love” belong to the Muse type. On the other hand, Sharon Stone in “Basic Instinct,” Juliet Binoche in “Damage,” and Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge” belong to the Femme Fatale type. The two types are on the opposite sides in terms of characteristics, but they share one common feature; they make men melt. Being asked, “Which type would you choose?” one female celebrity answered, “I wish I could live like a Muse in daytime but a Femme Fatale at night.” What a clever answer!

Editorialist Oh Myung-chul oscar@donga.com