The Art of Seduction (84 page)

by one and all, but she was far too virtuous to take a lover, although she
Master the Art of the Bold Move
•
411

could be quite coquettish. Richelieu bided his time. He befriended her,
A man should proceed to
charming her with the wit that had made him the favorite of the ladies.
enjoy any woman when
she gives him an

One night a group of such women, including the duchess, decided to play
opportunity and makes her
a practical joke on him, in which he was to be forced naked out of his
own love manifest to him
room at the palace of Versailles. The joke worked to perfection, the ladies
by the following signs: she
all got to see him in his native glory, and had a good chuckle watching him
calls out to a man without
first being addressed by

run away. There were many places Richelieu could have hidden; the place
him; she shows herself to
he chose was the duchess's bedroom. Minutes later he watched her enter
him in secret places; she
and undress, and once the candles were extinguished, he crept into bed
speaks to him tremblingly
and inarticulately; her face

with her. She protested, tried to scream. He covered her mouth with kisses,
blooms with delight and
and she eventually and happily relented. Richelieu had decided to make his
her fingers or toes perspire;
bold move then for several reasons. First, the duchess had come to like him,
and sometimes she remains
with both hands placed on

and even to harbor a secret desire for him. She would never act upon it or
his body as if she had been
admit it, but he was certain it existed. Second, she had seen him naked, and
surprised by something, or
could not help but be impressed. Third, she would feel a touch of pity for
as if overcome with fatigue.

•
After a woman has

his predicament, and for the joke played on him. Richelieu, a consummate
manifested her love to him
seducer, would find no more perfect moment.

by outward signs, and by

The bold move should come as a pleasant surprise, but not too much of
the motions of her body,
the man should make every

a surprise. Learn to read the signs that the target is falling for you. His or
possible attempt to conquer
her manner toward you will have changed—it will be more pliant, with
her. There should be no

more words and gestures mirroring yours—yet there will still be a touch of
indecision or hesitancy: if
nervousness and uncertainty. Inwardly they have given in to you, but they
an opening is found the
man should make the most •

do not expect a bold move. This is the time to strike. If you wait too long,
of it. The woman, indeed,
to the point where they consciously desire and expect you to make a move,
becomes disgusted with the

it loses the piquancy of coming as a surprise. You want a degree of tension
man if he is timid about
his chances and throws

and ambivalence, so that the move represents a great release. Their surren-
them away. Boldness is the
der will relieve tension like a long-awaited summer storm. Don't plan your
rule, for everything is to be
bold move in advance; it cannot seem calculated. Wait for the opportune
gained, and nothing lost.
moment, as Richelieu did. Be attentive to favorable circumstances. This —
THE HINDU ART OF LOVE
, will give you room to improvise and go with the moment, which will COLLECTED AND EDITED BY

heighten the impression you want to create of being suddenly overwhelmed by desire. If you ever sense that the victim is expecting the bold move, take a step back, lull them into a false sense of security, then strike. Sometime in the fifteenth century, the writer Bandello relates, a young Venetian widow had a sudden lust for a handsome nobleman. She had her father invite him to their palace to discuss business, but during the meeting the father had to leave, and she offered to give the young man a tour of the place. His curiosity was piqued by her bedroom, which she described as the most splendid room in the palace, but which she also passed by without letting him enter. He begged to be shown the room, and she granted his wish. He was spellbound: the velvets, the rare
objets,
the suggestive paintings, the delicate white candles. A beguiling scent filled the room. The widow put out all of the candles but one, then led the man to the bed, which had been heated with a warming pan. He quickly succumbed to her caresses. Follow the widow's example: your bold move should have a theatrical quality to it. That will make it memorable, and make your aggressiveness seem pleasant,
412
•
The Art of'Seduction

part of the drama. The theatricality can come from the setting—an exotic or sensual location. It can also come from your actions. The widow piqued her victim's curiosity by creating the suspense about her bedroom. An element of fear—someone might find you, say—will heighten the tension. Remember: you are creating a moment that must stand out from the sameness of daily life. Keeping your targets emotional will both weaken them and heighten

the drama of the moment. And the best way to keep them at an emotional pitch is by infecting them with emotions of your own. When Valmont

wanted the Presidents to become calm, angry, or tender, he showed that emotion first, and she mirrored it. People are very susceptible to the moods of those around them; this is particularly acute at the latter stages of a seduction, when resistance is low and the target has fallen under your spell. At the point of the bold move, learn to infect your target with whatever emotional mood you require, as opposed to suggesting the mood with

words. You want access to the target's unconscious, which is best obtained by infecting them with emotions, bypassing their conscious ability to resist. It may seem expected for the male to make the bold move, but history is full of successfully bold females. There are two main forms of feminine boldness. In the first, more traditional form, the coquettish woman stirs male desire, is completely in control, then at the last minute, after bringing her victim to a boil, steps back and lets him make the bold move. She sets it up, then signals with her eyes, her gestures, that she is ready for him. Courtesans have used this method throughout history; it is how Cleopatra worked on Antony, how Josephine seduced Napoleon, how La Belle Otero amassed a fortune during the Belle Epoque. It lets the man maintain his masculine illusions, although the woman is really the aggressor.

The second form of feminine boldness does not bother with such illusions: the woman simply takes charge, initiates the first kiss, pounces on her victim. This is how Marguerite de Valois, Lou Andreas-Salomé, and Madame Mao operated, and many men find it not emasculating at all but very exciting. It all depends on the insecurities and proclivities of the victim. This kind of feminine boldness has its allure because it is more rare than the first kind, but then all boldness is somewhat rare. A bold move will always stand out compared to the usual treatment afforded by the tepid husband, the timid lover, the hesitant suitor. That is how you want it. If everyone were bold, boldness would quickly lose its allure.
Master the Art of the Bold Move
•
413

Symbol:
The Summer Storm. The hot days follow one another,
with no end in sight. The earth is parched and dry. Then there

comes a stillness in the air, thick and oppressive
—
the calm
before the storm. Suddenly gusts of wind arrive, and

flashes of lightning, exciting and frightening. Allow-

ing no time to react or run for shelter, the rain

comes, and brings with it a sense of

release. At last.

Reversal

If two people come together by mutual consent, that is not a seduction. There is no reversal.

Beware the Aftereffects

Danger follows

in the aftermath of a successful se-

duction. After emotions have reached a pitch,

they often swing in the opposite direction
—
toward

lassitude, distrust, disappointment. Beware of the long,

drawn-out goodbye; insecure, the victim will cling and claw,

and both sides will suffer. If you are to part, make the sacrifice
swift and sudden. If necessary, deliberately break the spell you
have created. If you are to stay in a relationship, beware a flag-
ging of energy, a creeping familiarity that will spoil the

fantasy. If the game is to go on, a second seduction is

required. Never let the other person take you for

granted
—
use absence, create pain and con-

flict, to keep the seduced on ten-

terhooks.

Disenchantment

Seduction is a kind of spell, an
enchantment.
When you seduce, you are not quite your normal self; your presence is heightened, you are playing more than one role, you are strategically concealing your tics and insecurities. You have deliberately created mystery and suspense to make the victim experience a real-life drama. Under your spell, the seduced gets to feel
In a word, woe to the
transported away from the world of work and responsibility.

woman of too monotonous

You will keep this going for as long as you want or can, heightening the
a temperament; her
monotony satiates and

tension, stirring the emotions, until the time finally comes to complete the
disgusts. She is always the
seduction. After that,
disenchantment
almost inevitably sets in. The release of
same statue, with her a
tension is followed by a letdown—of excitement, of energy—that can even
man is always right. She is
so good, so gentle, that she

materialize as a kind of disgust directed at you by your victim, even though
takes away from people the
what is happening is really a natural emotional course. It is as if a drug were
privilege of quarreling with
wearing off, allowing the target to see you as you are—and being disap-
her, and this is often such a
great pleasure! Put in her

pointed by the flaws that are inevitably there. On your side, you too have
place a vivacious woman,
probably tended to idealize your targets somewhat, and once your desire is
capricious, decided, to a
satisfied, you may see them as weak. (After all, they have given in to you.)
certain limit, however, and
You too may feel disappointed.
Even
in the best of circumstances, you are
things assume a different
aspect. The lover will find

dealing now with the reality rather than the fantasy, and the flames will
in the same person the
slowly die down—unless you start up a second seduction.

pleasure of variety. Temper

You may think that if the victim is to be sacrificed, none of this mat-
is the salt, the quality
which prevents it front

ters. But sometimes your effort to break off the relationship will inadver-
becoming stale.
tently revive the spell for the other person, causing him or her to cling to
Restlessness, jealousy,
you tenaciously. No, in either direction—sacrifice, or the integration of the
quarrels, making friends
again, spitefulness, all are

two of you into a couple—you must take disenchantment into account.
the food of love. Enchant-
There is an art to the post-seduction as well.

ing variety? . . . Too

Master the following tactics to avoid undesired aftereffects.

constant a peace is produc-

tive of a deadly ennui.

Uniformity kills love, for

as soon as the spirit of

Fight against inertia.
The sense that you are trying less hard is often
method mingles in an affair
of the heart, the passion

enough to disenchant your victims. Reflecting back on what you did dur-
disappears, languor super-
ing the seduction, they will see you as manipulative: you wanted something
venes, weariness begins to
then, and so you worked at it, but now you are taking them for granted.
wear, and disgust ends the
After the first seduction is over, then, show that it isn't really over—that
chapter.
you want to keep proving yourself, focusing your attention on them, luring — N I N O N D E L ' E N C L O S ,
LIFE, LETTERS AND EPICUREAN

them. That is often enough to keep them enchanted. Fight the tendency to
PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE

let things settle into comfort and routine. Stir the pot, even if that means a
L'ENCLOS

417

418 • The Art of Seduction

Age cannot wither her, nor
return to inflicting pain and pulling back. Never rely on your physical
custom stale \ Her infinite
charms; even beauty loses its appeal with repeated exposure. Only strategy
variety: other women cloy \
and effort will fight off inertia.
The appetites they feed;

but she makes hungry \

Where most she satisfies.

— W I L L I A M SHAKESPEARE,

Maintain mystery.
Familiarity is the death of seduction. If the target
A N T O N Y AND CLEOPATRA

knows everything about you, the relationship gains a level of comfort but loses the elements of fantasy and anxiety. Without anxiety and a touch of fear, the erotic tension is dissolved. Remember: reality is not seductive.
Cry hurrah, and hurrah
Keep some dark corners in your character, flout expectations, use absences
again, for a splendid

to fragment the clinging, possessive pull that allows familiarity to creep in.
triumph
— \
The quarry I
Maintain some mystery or be taken for granted. You will have only yourself
sought has fallen into my

toils. . . . \ Why hurry,
to blame for what follows.

young man? Your ship's

still in mid-passage, \ And

the harbor I seek is far Maintain lightness.
Seduction is a game, not a matter of life and death.
away \ Through my verses,

it's true, you may have
There will be a tendency in the "post" phase to take things more seriously
acquired a mistress, \ But
and personally, and to whine about behavior that does not please you. Fight
that's not enough. If my
this as much as possible, for it will create exactly the effect you do not want.
art \ Caught her, my art

must keep her. To guard a
You cannot control the other person by nagging and complaining; it will
conquest's \As tricky as
make them defensive, exacerbating the problem. You will have more con
making it. There was luck
trol if you maintain the proper spirit. Your playfulness, the little ruses you
in the chase, \ But this task

will call for skill. If ever I
employ to please and delight them, your indulgence of their faults, will
needed support from \
make your victims compliant and easy to handle. Never try to change your
Venus and Son, and
victims; instead, induce them to follow your lead.
Erato
—
the Muse \ Erotic

by name
—
it's now, for my

too-ambitious project \ To

relate some techniques that Avoid the slow burnout.
Often, one person becomes disenchanted but
might restrain \ That fickle
lacks the courage to make the break. Instead, he or she withdraws inside. As
young globetrotter,

Love. . . . \ To be loved

an absence, this psychological step back may inadvertently reignite the
you must show yourself
other person's desire, and a frustrating cycle begins of pursuit and retreat.
lovable
— \
Something
Everything unravels, slowly. Once you feel disenchanted and know it is
good looks alone \ Can

never achieve. You may be
over, end it quickly, without apology. That would only insult the other per
handsome as Homer's
son. A quick separation is often easier to get over—it is as if you had a
Nireus, \ Or young Hylas,
problem being faithful, as opposed to your feeling that the seduced was no
snatched by those bad \
longer being desirable. Once you are truly disenchanted, there is no going
Naiads; but all the same,