Title: Evil By Design: The Creation and Marketing of the Femme Fatale Author: Elizabeth K. Menon Publisher: University of Illinois Press Publish Date: 2006 Pages: 339 Genres:: History, Non-Fiction, Political Studies, Pop culture Reviewer: Chris R. Morgan

Rating:

It is not common for a college-level textbook to convey interesting things such as sexiness, intrigue or cultural interpretation where many, elite and otherwise, saw no call for interpretation before. However, where there's a thesis there's a way and Elizabeth Menon, an assistant art professor, unearth countless French publications from the 19thcentury and wholly dissected their views of femininity. Menon's study is properly organized, well written, complex and, as an academic study should but not often does, elicits provocative ideas. Let's not forget all the sexy, old-timey pictures and etchings as well. 

Menon's purpose is to trace the roots of the femme fatale, a common pop culture term bandied about in reference to extremely vile, yet extremely curvy women who take men off their path of righteousness but usually redeems herself by getting killed or somewhere along those lines. Menon's sources vary on a wide spectrum. She uses sleazy salon paintings to cult examples of high art—most notably Charles Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal. 

With these sources, she examines the symbols how they related to views of womanhood as feminist thought was coming into social mindsets. Images of women with black cats, serpents, certain flowers and so forth projected, according to Menon, a concept of womanhood that was more deceptive rather than liberated. In addition, Menon gives modern readers a look into the sexuality and sexual politics of one of the more sexually and politically notorious countries in Western civilization. An interesting part of the book is where Menon looks at perceptions of vices. Alcohol, cigarettes, etc. were marketed as aphrodisiacs around that time. One may recall a well-known poster for France's most exotic elixir, absinthe, with the angelic woman holding up the iconic green glass. 

Menon's prose is what one would expect from an academic text, which isn't entirely a detractor. Given that she's writing for those of that level of intellectual fortitude, it makes sense to have language that is weighty and thoughtful. It is more lively, however, when compared to other scholarly text, of course much of this is lent to the racy subject matter in which a little fancifulness is useful. This book will not resonate with a great many readers. Though it helps to be both—but not always at the same time—sexually reasoned and sexually curious, it helps even more to have a great deal of intellectual yearning, not to mention a helping more of francophilia.