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| Two sides of the same coin? |
In myth as well as in fictional tales, there are descriptions of women who are seductive, luring, with an ability to make things..."magical". They have such a power and charm that takes hold of your heart and soul. Some portrays are darker than others, a few have serpents to imply that she is just as cunning, as manipulative, whilst others are more luring and almost angelic. Which one fascinates me? And which one are you is a more important question...Our history is full of stories of a succubus (a female demon or supernatural entity in folklore (traced back to medieval legend) that appears in dreams and takes the form of a woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.)
Seduction is an art that can be taught (if you don't believe me watch a film set in the 17th Century Venice, Dangerous Beauty) A woman who can seduce, has so much power beyond imagination. It isn't that men are weak and stand no chance against a woman, but it is more that when a woman seduces; her mind and body are engaged. This makes her powerful, magical and more importantly, capable of what no man can do or think of. In Victorian times, the image of the woman who seduces men had more of a negative stigma attached to it and the focus was more on highlighting the "virginity" and purity of the female. A seducer would be a sorceress, a child of the darkness, cursed and shunned by society. But secretly, every Victorian man was looking for this woman behind the innocent faces. There was nothing in these innocent faces that enticed them, intrigued them enough to want to explore, nothing was luring.
In Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urberville, we find that Tess' innocence did not really get her far. It never got her the man she really wanted and longed for. He, ironically, blamed her for being rapped by another man and thus, having lost her purity. But was purity what he was really after? Virgin, pure girl, inexperienced... or is the longing for what he cannot have? Or is it the idea of her having already experienced pleasure and having already crossed that bridge from being a girl to becoming a full woman that he couldn't tolerate and caused him to be indifferent. Why are societies, following in the foot steps of the Victorian and others, still highlighting the qualities of women that really gets them no where in life? Why are men after what they cannot have and once they have it, it is no longer of use to them? If I am magical, enchanting, passionate, fiery and powerful, will men find themselves unable to accept that with power and skill, there is passion and a kind of love that is like no other.
Miguel - How Many Drinks? (Lyrics)
