The Art of Seduction (65 page)

people overanalyze and talk too much, any kind of action has a bracing, se-
You'll often be out in \

ductive effect.

Cloudbursts, and bivouac

It is normal in the course of a seduction to encounter resistance. The
on the bare \ Ground. . . .
more obstacles you overcome, of course, the greater the pleasure that awaits
Is lasting \ Love your
ambition? Then put away

you, but many a seduction fails because the seducer does not correctly read
all pride. \ The simple,
the resistances of the target. More often than not, you give up too easily.
straightforward way in may
First, understand a primary law of seduction: resistance is a sign that the
be denied you, \ Doors
bolted, shut in your face
—

other person's emotions are engaged in the process. The only person you \
So be ready to slip down
cannot seduce is somebody distant and cold. Resistance is emotional, and
from the roof through a
can be transformed into its opposite, much as, in jujitsu, the physical resis-
lightwell, \ Or sneak in by
an upper-floor window.

tance of an opponent can be used to make him fall. If people resist you be-
She'll be glad \ To know
cause they don't trust you, an apparently selfless deed, showing how far you
you 're risking your neck,
are willing to go to prove yourself, is a powerful remedy. If they resist be-
and for her sake: that will
offer \ Any mistress sure

cause they are virtuous, or because they are loyal to someone else, all the
proof of your love.
better—virtue and repressed desire are easily overcome by action. As the

— O V I D ,
T H E A R T O F L O V E ,

great seductress Natalie Barney once wrote, "Most virtue is a demand for TRANSLATED BY PETER GREEN

greater seduction."

There are two ways to prove yourself. First, the spontaneous action: a situation arises in which the target needs help, a problem needs solving, or,
The man says: " . . . A
simply, he or she needs a favor. You cannot foresee these situations, but you
fruit picked from one's own
must be ready for them, for they can spring up at any time. Impress the tar-
orchard ought to taste
sweeter than one obtained

get by going further than really necessary—sacrificing more money, more
from a stranger's tree, and
time, more effort than they had expected. Your target will often use these
what has been attained by
323

324
•
The Art of Seduction

greater effort is cherished

moments, or even manufacture them, as a kind of test: will you retreat? Or
more dearly than what is
will you rise to the occasion? You cannot hesitate or flinch, even for a mo
gained with little trouble.
As the proverb says:
ment, or all is lost. If necessary, make the deed seem to have cost you more

'Prizes great cannot be
than it has, never with words, but indirectly—exhausted looks, reports
won unless some heavy

spread through a third party, whatever it takes.

labor's done.'"
•
The

The second way to prove yourself is the brave deed that you plan and
woman says: "If no great

prizes can be won unless

execute in advance, on your own and at the right moment—preferably

some heavy labor's done,

some way into the seduction, when any doubts the victim still has about
you must suffer the
you are more dangerous than earlier on. Choose a dramatic, difficult action
exhaustion of many toils to

be able to attain the favors

that reveals the painful time and effort involved. Danger can be extremely
you seek, since what you

seductive. Cleverly lead your victim into a crisis, a moment of danger, or
ask for is a greater prize."

indirectly put them in an uncomfortable position, and you can play the res•
The man says: "I give
you all the thanks that I
cuer, the gallant knight. The powerful feelings and emotions this elicits can
can express for so sagely

easily be redirected into love.

promising me your love

when I have performed

great toils. God forbid that

I or any other could win

Some Examples

the love of so worthy a

woman without first

1.
In France in the 1640s, Marion de l'Orme was the courtesan men lusted
attaining it by many

labors."

after the most. Renowned for her beauty, she had been the mistress of Cardinal Richelieu, among other notable political and military figures. To win

—
A N D R E A S C A P E L L A N U S

ON LOVE,
TRANSLATED BY

her bed was a sign of achievement.

P . G . W A L S H

For weeks the rake Count Grammont had wooed de l'Orme, and finally she had given him an appointment for a particular evening. The count prepared himself for a delightful encounter, but on the day of the appoint
One day,
[
Saint-Preuil
]

ment he received a letter from her in which she expressed, in polite and
pleaded more than usual

tender terms, her terrible regrets—she had the most awful headache, and
that
[
Madame de la

Maisonfort
]
grant him the
would have to stay in bed that evening. Their appointment would have to
ultimate favors a woman
be postponed. The count felt certain he was being pushed to the side for
could offer, and he went

someone else, for de l'Orme was as capricious as she was beautiful.
beyond just words in his

Grammont did not hesitate. At nightfall he rode to the Marais, where
pleading. Madame, saying

he had gone way too far,

de l'Orme lived, and scouted the area. In a square near her home he spot
ordered him to never ever
ted a man approaching on foot. Recognizing the Duc de Brissac, he imme
appear before her again.
diately knew that this man was to supplant him in the courtesan's bed.
He left her room. Only an

hour later, the lady was
Brissac seemed unhappy to see the count, and so Grammont approached
taking her customary walk

him hurriedly and said, "Brissac, my friend, you must do me a service of
along one of those beautiful

the greatest importance: I have an appointment, for the first time, with a
canals at Bagnolet, when

Saint-Preuil leapt out from

girl who lives near this place; and as this visit is only to concert measures, I
behind a hedge, totally

shall make but a very short stay. Be so kind as to lend me your cloak, and
naked, and standing before
walk my horse a little, until I return; but above all, do not go far from this
his mistress in this state, he

place." Without waiting for an answer, Grammont took the duke's cloak
cried out, "For the last

time, Madame
—

and handed him the bridle of his horse. Looking back, he saw that Brissac
Goodbye!" Thereupon, he

was watching him, so he pretended to enter a house, slipped out through
threw himself into the

the back, circled around, and reached de l'Orme's house without being
canal, head first. The lady,

terrified by such a sight,

seen.

Prove Yourself • 325

Grammont knocked at the door, and a servant, mistaking him for the
began to cry and to run in
duke, let him in. He headed straight for the lady's chamber, where he found
the direction of her house,
her lying on a couch, in a sheer gown. He threw off Brissac's cloak and she
where upon arriving, she
fainted. As soon as she

gasped in fright. "What is the matter, my fair one?" he asked. "Your
could speak, she ordered
headache, to all appearance, is gone?" She seemed put out, exclaimed she
that someone go and see
still had the headache, and insisted that he leave. It was up to her, she said,
what had happened to
Saint-Preuil, who in truth

to make or break appointments. "Madam," Grammont said calmly, "I know
had not stayed very long in
what perplexes you: you are afraid lest Brissac should meet me here; but
the canal, and having
you may make yourself easy on that account." He then opened the window
quickly put his clothes back
on, hurried to Paris where

and revealed Brissac out in the square, dutifully walking back and forth
he hid himself for several
with a horse, like a common stable boy. He looked ridiculous; de l'Orme
days. Meanwhile, the
burst out laughing, threw her arms around the count, and exclaimed, "My
rumor spread that he had
died. Madame de la

dear Chevalier, I can hold out no longer; you are too amiable and too ec-
Maisnnfort was deeply
centric not to be pardoned." He told her the whole story, and she promised
moved by the extreme
that the duke could exercise horses all night, but she would not let him in.
measures he had adopted
They made an appointment for the following evening. Outside, the count
to prove his sentiments.
This act of his appeared to

returned the cloak, apologized for taking so long, and thanked the duke.
her to be a sign of an
Brissac was most gracious, even holding Grammont's horse for him to
extraordinary love; and
mount, and waving goodbye as he rode off.

having perhaps noticed

some charms in his naked

presence that she had not

seen fully clothed, she

Interpretation.
Count Grammont knew that most would-be seducers give
deeply regretted her cruelty,
and publicly stated her

up too easily, mistaking capriciousness or apparent coolness as a sign of a
feeling of loss. Word of this
genuine lack of interest. In fact it can mean many things: perhaps the per-
reached Saint-Preuil, and
son is testing you, wondering if you are really serious. Prickly behavior is
he immediately resurrected
himself and did not lose

exactly this kind of test—if you give up at the first sign of difficulty, you
time in taking advantage of
obviously do not want them that much. Or it could be that they themselves
such a favorable feeling in
are uncertain about you, or are trying to choose between you and someone
his mistress.
else. In any event, it is absurd to give up. One incontrovertible demonstra-— C O U N T BUSSY-RABUTIN, tion of how far you are willing to go will overwhelm all doubts. It will also
HISTOIRES AMOUREUSES DES

GAULES

defeat your rivals, since most people are timid, worried about making fools of themselves, and so rarely risk anything.

When dealing with difficult or resistant targets, it is usually best to im
To become a lady's
provise, the way Grammont did. If your action seems sudden and a sur-
vassal . . . the troubadour
prise, it will make them more emotional, loosen them up. A little
was expected to pass
roundabout accumulation of information—a little spying—is always a

through four stages, i.e.:

good idea. Most important is the spirit in which you enact your proof. If
aspirant, supplicant,
postulant, and lover.

you are lighthearted and playful, if you make the target laugh, proving
When he had attained the

yourself and amusing them at the same time, it won't matter if you mess
last stage of amorous
up, or if they see you have employed a little trickery. They will give in to
initiation he made a vow of
fidelity and this homage

the pleasant mood you have created. Notice that the count never whined
was sealed by a kiss.
•
In
or grew angry or defensive. All he had to do was pull back the curtain and
this idealistic form of
reveal the duke walking his horse, melting de l'Orme's resistance with
courtly love reserved for the
aristocratic elite of chivalry,

laughter. In one well-executed act, he showed what he would do for a
the phenomenon of love
night of her favors.

was considered to be a state

326
•
The Art of Seduction

of grace, while the

2.
Pauline Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon, had so many affairs with dif
initiation that followed,
ferent men over the years that doctors were afraid for her health. She could
and the final sealing of the
not stay with one man for more than a few weeks; novelty was her only
pact
—o
r equivalent of

the knightly accolade
— pleasure. After Napoleon married her off to Prince Camillo Borghese, in
were linked with the rest of
1803, her affairs only multiplied. And so, when she met the dashing Major
a nobleman's training and
Jules de Canouville, in 1810, everyone assumed the affair would last no
valorous exploits. The

hallmarks of a true lover
longer than the others. Of course the major was a decorated soldier, well
and of a perfect knight
educated, an accomplished dancer, and one of the most handsome men in
were almost identical. The
the army. But Pauline, thirty years old at the time, had had affairs with
lover was bound to serve
dozens of men who could have matched that resume.
and obey his lady as a

knight served his lord. In

A few days after the affair began, the imperial dentist arrived chez
both cases the pledge was of
Pauline. A toothache had been causing her sleepless nights, and the dentist
a sacred nature.
saw he would have to pull out the bad tooth right then and there. No