As I have been working on the final draft of our assignment, I kept coming back to the idea of femme fatale and how she is the downfall for the male character. What I keep wondering is why can’t the male character just leave her alone to begin with? In The Last Seduction (Dahl, 1994), Bridget turns Mike down several times, but he keeps pursuing her. She eventually goes home with him and then continues to use him throughout the film until she ruins his life at the end. All of this could have been avoided if he would have just respected her initial rejection. She never asked him to pursue her; he could have just left her alone right from the start. Is this a flaw in our society where some guys are taught that they can eventually turn a no into a yes?

I couldn’t figure out what the allure was to these dangerous women that eventually led to male character’s demise. In Women in Film Noir by Janey Place, she said, “Self-interest over devotion to a man is often the original sin of the film noir woman and metaphor for the treat her sexuality represents to him.” (p. 47).   I assume this can be applied to femme fatale woman. Is her overt sexuality what draws him in? Does her self-interest make him continue to pursue her with the hope she might conform to society norms and make her devotion to him?  Why can’t he just let her be?