When you think of a femme fatale, what comes to mind? A woman who is dressed seductively, wooing a detective to take on her case in a gritty crime drama? You’d be correct. However, the femme fatale archetype can come in many variations than the typical cinema noir version. You are more likely to find a femme fatale in a mystery novel, so that’s the type of novel we’ll explore. 
 
A femme fatale is defined as a character type that “embodies beauty, mystery, seduction, and danger.” There is some literary research saying that there are four types of femme fatales, including Diana, Venus, Amazon, and Sappho. This archetype comes up in many books, so when you’re looking for your next book at your used bookstore in Israel, check out some of these books that explore the femme fatale archetype. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is a gritty novel that takes place in Sweden. It’s about an investigative reporter named Mikael Blomkvist, who is accused of libel against a very rich man named Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Blomkvist enters into a deal with a man named Henrik Vagner, who asks Blomkvist to solve the mystery surrounding Vagner’s missing daughter in exchange for proof that Wennerstrom is a crook. Our femme fatale, Lisbeth Salander, is a hacker professional with a job at a security company that is investigating both Blomkvist and Wennerstrom. She accepts a joint venture with Blomkvist to find the missing Vagner daughter and finds herself drawn to the sympathetic nature of the daughter’s case. 
 
Lisbeth Salander embodies the femme fatale archetype in many ways. She is a tattooed, rebellious young woman who is always an inch away from violence. She’s odd and socially defunct but also a genius. Lisbeth is the victim of violence as well as the bringing of violence many times throughout the book, both in sexual and non-sexual ways. She is completely outside the framework of a male definition and is essentially a male’s worst nightmare. 
 
In the context of the 4 types of femme fatales, I would consider Lisbeth to be between Diana and Sappho. She’s both a “huntress of fortune” and an “independent new woman.” Lisbeth is an extreme example of a badass femme fatale in the mystery novel that is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn is a gripping, dark, twisty novel about mental illness with an Alfred Hitchcock flair. The novel follows a woman named Anna Fox, a recluse in New York City who is unable to venture outside. She spends her time spying on her neighbors and drinking wine. When the Russells move in across the street, Anna sees something she shouldn’t have seen. Her world crumbles. But what is real, and what did she imagine? Who is in danger?
 
Anna Fox represents the femme fatale because of the danger that surrounds her through her own mental illness. Can she really believe what she saw? Or is she making it up completely? Anna is passionate about old classic thriller movies, which of course, tend to have a femme fatale. Anna becomes the femme fatale from the movies she loves so much.  I believe that Anna represents the Sappho femme fatale because her efforts are focused on her inner mind rather than externally.
 
If you like The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn, be sure to check out the movie by Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window, for more fun with neighborhood spying. 

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

In the novel Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, Jane, a single mom, has just moved into town. She brings with her a little boy and her secrets. On the first day of school, she meets a woman named Madeline, who remembers everything and is rather unforgiving. She also meets Celeste, who is a beautiful woman but very nervous. Jane becomes their friend, though everyone must work to keep their secrets to themselves. But when a playground rumor grows into a bigger problem, no one can tell the secrets from the lies. 
 
Once you have a secret, you’re bound to be dangerous. Whether it's your own or someone else’s, keeping that secret can become all-consuming. The woman in Big Little Lies must dance around their secrets while dealing with the strange circumstances of the neighborhood. All three women become femme fatales because of the danger of being each other’s friend. I would say that the four women are a combination of all four types of femme fatales, embodying each one. 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware follows Lo Blacklock, who is a journalist for a travel magazine. She gets an assignment to spend a week on a luxury cruise with only a few cabins to stay in. At first, everything seems to go swimmingly. At least until the weather changes and Lo witnesses something she can barely comprehend– a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? No one from the cruise is missing. But Lo believes that there is something terribly wrong on the ship and sets out to find out what it is. 
 
Lo is the femme fatale in this instance, being the one who brings the mystery up to the rest of the ground, determined to make sense of what she saw. But she’s in danger because of her prying. Lo is the victim of gaslighting throughout the entire novel, which means to have someone force you to question your own memory. Lo takes anti-depressants, which makes her vulnerable to being questioned regarding her sanity. I would consider Lo to be a Sappho, as she’s mainly inner-focused. 
 
The femme fatale is a fascinating concept and is present in much of our media once you begin to notice it. If you’re interested in further femme fatales, check out this list of the 25 most dangerous femme fatales in film noir. 
 

By Nicole Madigan