The Art of Seduction (15 page)

and open to experience, and this receptiveness is extremely attractive. In

"What have you there?"

the presence of children we become less rigid, infected with their open-
asked Apollo.
•
In answer,
ness. That is why we want to be around them.

Hermes showed his newly-

invented tortoise-shell lyre,

Undefensive lovers have somehow circumvented the self-protective
and played such a
process, retaining the playful, receptive spirit of the child. They often
ravishing tune on it with
manifest this spirit physically: they are graceful, and seem to age less rapidly
the plectrum he had also
invented, at the same time

than other people. Of all the Natural's character qualities, this one is the
singing in praise of
most useful. Defensiveness is deadly in seduction; act defensive and you'll
Apollo's nobility,
bring out defensiveness in other people. The undefensive lover, on the
intelligence, and generosity,
other hand, lowers the inhibitions of his or her target, a critical part of se-
that he was forgiven at
once. He led the surprised

duction. It is important to learn to not react defensively: bend instead of
and delighted Apollo to
resist, be open to influence from others, and they will more easily fall under
Pylus, playing all the way,
your spell.

and there gave him the

remainder of the cattle,

which he had hidden in a

cave.
•
"A bargain!" cried

Apollo. "You keep the

cows, and I take the lyre. "

58
•
The Art of Seduction

•
"Agreed," said Hermes,

Examples of Natural Seducers

and they shook hands on

it.
• . . .
Apollo, taking

1
. As a child growing up in England, Charlie Chaplin spent years in dire
the child back to Olympus,

told Zeus all that had
poverty, particularly after his mother was committed to an asylum. In his
happened. Zeus warned

early teens, forced to work to live, he landed a job in vaudeville, eventually
Hermes that henceforth he
gaining some success as a comedian. But Chaplin was wildly ambitious, and
must respect the rights oj
so, in 1910, when he was only nineteen, he emigrated to the United States,
property and refrain from

telling downright lies; but
hoping to break into the film business. Making his way to Hollywood, he
he could not help being
found occasional bit parts, but success seemed elusive: the competition was
amused. "You seem to be a
fierce, and although Chaplin had a repertoire of gags that he had learned in
very ingenious, eloquent,

and persuasive godling," he
vaudeville, he did not particularly excel at physical humor, a critical part of
said.
•
"Then make me
silent comedy. He was not a gymnast like Buster Keaton.
your herald, Father,"

In 1914, Chaplin managed to get the lead in a film short called
Making
Hermes answered, "and I

will he responsible for the a Living.
His role was that of a con artist. In playing around with the cos
safety of all divine
tume for the part, he put on a pair of pants several sizes too large, then
property, and never tell lies,
added a derby hat, enormous boots that he wore on the wrong feet, a walk
though I cannot promise
ing cane, and a pasted-on mustache. With the clothes, a whole new charac
always to tell the whole
truth." • "That would not
ter seemed to come to life—first the silly walk, then the twirling of the
be expected of you," said

cane, then all sorts of gags. Mack Sennett, the head of the studio, did not
Zeus with a smile. . . .
find
Making a Living
very funny, and doubted whether Chaplin had a future
Zeus gave him a herald's

staff with white ribbons,
in the movies, but a few critics felt otherwise. A review in a trade magazine
which everyone was ordered
read, "The clever player who takes the role of a nervy and very nifty
to respect; a round hat
sharper in this picture is a comedian of the first water, who acts like one of
against the rain, and

winged golden sandals
Nature's own naturals." And audiences also responded—the film made
which carried him about
money.

with the swiftness of the

What seemed to touch a nerve in
Making a Living,
setting Chaplin apart
wind.

from the horde of other comedians working in silent film, was the almost

—ROBERT GRAVES,

THE GREEK MYTHS,
VOLUME I

pathetic naiveté of the character he played. Sensing he was onto something, Chaplin shaped the role further in subsequent movies, rendering him more and more naive. The key was to make the character seem to see the world through the eyes of a child. In
The Bank,
he is the bank janitor who day
A man may meet a woman
and be shocked by her
dreams of great deeds while robbers are at work in the building; in
The
ugliness. Soon, if she is Pawnbroker,
he is an unprepared shop assistant who wreaks havoc on a
natural and unaffected, her
grandfather clock; in
Shoulder Arms,
he is a soldier in the bloody trenches of
expression makes him

overlook the fault of her
World War I, reacting to the horrors of war like an innocent child. Chaplin
features. He begins to find
made sure to cast actors in his films who were physically larger than he was,
her charming, it enters his
subliminally positioning them as adult bullies and himself as the helpless in
head that she might be
loved, and a week later he
fant. And as he went deeper into his character, something strange hap
is living in hope. The
pened: the character and the real-life man began to merge. Although he
following week he has been
had had a troubled childhood, he was obsessed with it. (For his film
Easy
snubbed into despair, and

Street
he built a set in Hollywood that duplicated the London streets he had
the week afterwards he has

gone mad.
known as a boy.) He mistrusted the adult world, preferring the company of

— S T E N D H A L ,
LOVE,

the young, or the young at heart: three of his four wives were teenagers

when he married them.

More than any other comedian, Chaplin aroused a mix of laughter and sentiment. He made you empathize with him as the victim, feel sorry for
The Natural
•
59

him the way you would for a lost dog. You both laughed and cried. And

"Geographical" escapism

audiences sensed that the role Chaplin played came from somewhere deep
has been rendered
ineffective by the spread of

inside—that he was sincere, that he was actually playing himself. Within
air routes. What remains is
a few years after
Making a Living,
Chaplin was the most famous actor

"evolutionary" escapism
—

in the world. There were Chaplin dolls, comic books, toys; popular songs
a downward course in one's
development, back to the

and short stories were written about him; he became a universal icon. In
ideas and emotions of

1921, when he returned to London for the first time since he had left it, he

"golden childhood," which

was greeted by enormous crowds, as if at the triumphant return of a great
may well be defined as
general.

"regress towards

infantilism," escape to a

personal world of childish

The greatest seducers, those who seduce mass audiences, nations, the
ideas.
•
In a strictly-
world, have a way of playing on people's unconscious, making them react
regulated society, where life
follows strictly-defined

in a way they can neither understand nor control. Chaplin inadvertently hit
canons, the urge to escape
on this power when he discovered the effect he could have on audiences by
from the chain of things
playing up his weakness, by suggesting that he had a child's mind in an adult

"established once and for

all" must be felt

body. In the early twentieth century, the world was radically and rapidly
particularly strongly. . . .
•

changing. People were working longer and longer hours at increasingly
And the most perfect of
mechanical jobs; life was becoming steadily more inhuman and heartless, as
them
[
comedians
]
does this
the ravages of World War I made clear. Caught in the midst of revolution-
with utmost perfection, for
he
[
Chaplin
]
serves this

ary change, people yearned for a lost childhood that they imagined as a
principle . . . through the
golden paradise.

subtlety of his method

An adult child like Chaplin has immense seductive power, for he offers
which, offering the

spectactor an infantile

the illusion that life was once simpler and easier, and that for a moment, or
pattern to be imitated,
for as long as the movie lasts, you can win that life back. In a cruel, amoral
pscyhologically infects him
world, naivete has enormous appeal. The key is to bring it off with an air
with infantilism and draws
him into the "golden age"

of total seriousness, as the straight man does in stand-up comedy. More im-
of the infantile paradise of
portant, however, is the creation of sympathy. Overt strength and power is
childhood.
rarely seductive—it makes us afraid, or envious. The royal road to seduction —SERGEI EISENSTEIN, "CHARLIE

is to play up your vulnerability and helplessness. You cannot make this ob-THE KID," FROM
NOTES OF A
vious; to seem to be begging for sympathy is to seem needy, which is en-
FILM DIRECTOR

tirely anti-seductive. Do not proclaim yourself a victim or underdog, but reveal it in your manner, in your confusion. A display of "natural" weakness will make you instantly lovable, both lowering people's defenses and making them feel delightfully superior to you. Put yourself in situations that make you seem weak, in which someone else has the advantage; they are the bully, you are the innocent lamb. Without any effort on your part, people will feel sympathy for you. Once people's eyes cloud over with sentimental mist, they will not see how you are manipulating them.

2.
Emma Crouch, born in 1842 in Plymouth, England, came from a respectable middle-class family. Her father was a composer and music professor who dreamed of success in the world of light opera. Among his many children, Emma was his favorite: she was a delightful child, lively and flirtatious, with red hair and a freckled face. Her father doted on her, and promised her a brilliant future in the theater. Unfortunately Mr. Crouch had a
60
•
The Art of Seduction

Prince Gortschakoff used

dark side: he was an adventurer, a gambler, and a rake, and in 1849 he
to say that she
[
Cora

abandoned his family and left for America. The Crouches were now in dire
Pearl
]
was the last word in
straits. Emma was told that her father had died in an accident and she was
luxury, and that he would

have tried to steal the sun
sent off to a convent. The loss of her father affected her deeply, and as the
to satisfy one of her whims.
years went by she seemed lost in the past, acting as if he still doted on her.

—GUSTAVE CLAUDIN, CORA

One day in 1856, when Emma was walking home from church, a wellPEARL CONTEMPORARY

dressed gentleman invited her home for some cakes. She followed him to his house, where he proceeded to take advantage of her. The next morning this man, a diamond merchant, promised to set her up in a house of her
Apparently the possession of
own, treat her well, and give her plenty of money. She took the money but
humor implies the
left him, determined to do what she had always wanted: never see her
possession of a number of

typical habit-systems. The
family again, never depend on anyone, and lead the grand life that her fa
first is an emotional one: the
ther had promised her.
habit of playfulness. Why

With the money the diamond merchant had given her, Emma bought

should one be proud of

being playful? For a double
nice clothes and rented a cheap flat. Adopting the flamboyant name of
reason. First, playfulness

Cora Pearl, she began to frequent London's Argyll Rooms, a fancy gin
connotes childhood and

palace where harlots and gentlemen rubbed elbows. The proprietor of the
youth. If one can be playful,

one still possesses something
Argyll, a Mr. Bignell, took note of this newcomer to his establishment—

of the vigor and the joy of
she was so brazen for a young girl. At forty-five, he was much older
young life
. . . •
But there
than she was, but he decided to be her lover and protector, lavishing her
is a deeper implication. To
with money and attention. The following year he took her to Paris, which
be playful is, in a sense, to

be free. When a person is
was at the height of its Second Empire prosperity. Cora was enthralled by
playful, he momentarily
Paris, and of all its sights, but what impressed her the most was the parade
disregards the binding

of rich coaches in the Bois de Boulogne. Here the fashionable came to take
necessities which compel

him, in business and morals,
the air—the empress, the princesses, and, not least the grand courtesans,
in domestic and community
who had the most opulent carriages of all. This was the way to lead the
life. . . .
•
What galls us is
kind of life Cora's father had wanted for her. She promptly told Bignell that
that the binding necessities

do not permit us to shape
when he went back to London, she would stay on alone.
our world as we please. . . .

Frequenting all the right places, Cora soon came to the attention of
What we most deeply
wealthy French gentlemen. They would see her walking the streets in a
desire, however, is to create
bright pink dress, to complement her flaming red hair, pale face, and freck
our world for ourselves.
Whenever we can do
les. They would glimpse her riding wildly through the Bois de Boulogne,
that, even in the slightest
cracking her whip left and right. They would see her in cafes surrounded
degree, we are happy. Now
by men, her witty insults making them laugh. They also heard of her
in play we create our own

world. . . .

exploits—of her delight in showing her body to one and all. The elite of

— P R O F E S S O R H . A .

Paris society began to court her, particularly the older men who had grown OVERSTREET,
INFLUENCING

tired of the cold and calculating courtesans, and who admired her girlish
HUMAN BEHAVIOR

spirit. As money began to pour in from her various conquests (the Duc de Mornay, heir to the Dutch throne; Prince Napoleon, cousin to the Emperor), Cora spent it on the most outrageous things—a multicolored carriage pulled by a team of cream-colored horses, a rose-marble bathtub with her initials inlaid in gold. Gentlemen vied to be the one who would spoil her the most. An Irish lover wasted his entire fortune on her, in only eight weeks. But money could not buy Cora's loyalty; she would leave a man on the slightest whim.

Cora Pearl's wild behavior and disdain for etiquette had all of Paris on
The Natural
•
61

edge. In 1864, she was to appear as Cupid in the Offenbach operetta
Or-All was quiet again. (Genji
pheus in the Underworld.
Society was dying to see what she would do to
slipped the latch open and
tried the doors. They had

cause a sensation, and soon found out: she came on stage practically naked,
not been bolted. A curtain
except for expensive diamonds here and there, barely covering her. As she
had been set up just inside,
pranced on stage, the diamonds fell off, each one worth a fortune; she did
and in the dim light he
not stoop to pick them up, but let them roll off into the footlights. The
could make out Chinese
chests and other furniture

gentlemen in the audience, some of whom had given her those diamonds,
scattered in some disorder.
applauded her wildly. Antics like this made Cora the toast of Paris, and she
He made his way through
reigned as the city's supreme courtesan for over a decade, until the Franco-
to her side. She lay by
herself, a slight little figure.

Prussian War of 1870 put an end to the Second Empire.

Though vaguely annoyed

at being disturbed, she

People often mistakenly believe that what makes a person desirable and se-
evidently took him for
the woman Chujo until he

ductive is physical beauty, elegance, or overt sexuality. Yet Cora Pearl was
pulled back the covers.
not dramatically beautiful; her body was boyish, and her style was garish • . . .
His manner was so
and tasteless. Even so, the most dashing men of Europe vied for her favors,
gently persuasive that
devils and demons could

often ruining themselves in the process. It was Cora's spirit and attitude that
not have gainsaid him.
enthralled them. Spoiled by her father, she imagined that spoiling her was • . . .
She was so small
natural—that all men should do the same. The consequence was that, like a
that he lifted her easily. As
child, she never felt she had to try to please. It was Cora's powerful air of
he passed through the doors
to his own room, he came

independence that made men want to possess her, tame her. She never pre-
upon Chujo who had been
tended to be anything more than a courtesan, so the brazenness that in a
summoned earlier. He
lady would have been uncivil in her seemed natural and fun. And as with a
called out in surprise.
Surprised in turn, Chujo

spoiled child, a man's relationship with her was on her terms. The moment
peered into the darkness.
he tried to change that, she lost interest. This was the secret of her astound-
The perfume that came
ing success.

from his robes like a cloud

of smoke told her who he

Spoiled children have an undeservedly bad reputation: while those who
was. . . .
[
Chujo
]
followed
are spoiled with material things are indeed often insufferable, those who are
after, but Genji was quite
spoiled with affection know themselves to be deeply seductive. This be-
unmoved by her pleas.
•

"Come for her in the

comes a distinct advantage when they grow up. According to Freud (who
morning," he said, sliding
was speaking from experience, since he was his mother's darling), spoiled
the doors closed.
•
The
children have a confidence that stays with them all their lives. This quality
lady was bathed in
radiates outward, drawing others to them, and, in a circular process, making
perspiration and quite
beside herself at the

people spoil them still more. Since their spirit and natural energy were
thought of what Chujo,
never tamed by a disciplining parent, as adults they are adventurous and
and the others too, would
bold, and often impish or brazen.

be thinking. Genji had to

feel sorry for her. Yet the

The lesson is simple: it may be too late to be spoiled by a parent, but it
sweet words poured forth,
is never too late to make other people spoil you. It is all in your attitude.
the whole gamut of pretty
People are drawn to those who expect a lot out of life, whereas they tend
devices for making a
woman surrender. . . .
•