Joseph J. Gabriele | Author of Dangerous Illusions

FEMME FATALE

Q & A from The New York Public Library: The Femme Fatale

Atreus Books interviews author Joseph J. Gabriele about his new novel, crime fiction, and the enduring power of the femme fatale.

ATREUS: The femme fatale is without question one of the fascinating characters in literature and film—and as a number of reviewers have written, you’ve certainly given us an extraordinary femme fatale in Dangerous Illusions. What is it that inspired you to create such a character?

GABRIELE: The character of the femme fatale has always intrigued me. Femmes fatales are among the most provocative, complex, flawed, and morally ambiguous characters in fiction and drama. They force us to ask what drove them to take such actions, to commit such crimes, to do the unthinkable, the unspeakable. Since I was writing a novel of murder, theft, and betrayal, how could I resist the powerful allure of the femme fatale?

ATREUS: Now for a femme fatale definition. . . . How exactly would you define femme fatale?

GABRIELE: Seductress, siren, temptress, vamp. These are a few of the words that come to my mind when thinking of the meaning of femme fatale. Yet each seems to fall short in capturing the fatalism inherent in the phrase. Literally translated, femme fatale means ‘deadly woman’, ‘disastrous woman’, or ‘fatal woman’. However, Webster’s New World gives the definition of femme fatale more generally as ‘an alluring woman, especially one who leads men to their downfall or ruin.’

ATREUS: Today, the term femme fatale is virtually synonymous with noir fiction and film noir. Will you share with me some of your favorite femmes fatales from classic crime fiction or the silver screen?

GABRIELE: I must confess, many of my favorite femmes fatales in film noir—Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon, Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep, Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity—happen to be based on memorable characters created by some of the best crime writers, in this case Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain. It’s always quite interesting to observe the transformation that occurs from book to screen.

As a tribute to some of the memorable portrayals of the femme fatale in cinema, I’ve created a gallery of a number of actors who have played unforgettable femmes fatales, or who I wish would be given the opportunity to play a great femme fatale.

ATREUS: Then are we to attribute your initial attraction to the femme fatale to the long relationship between crime fiction and film noir?

GABRIELE: My fascination with the femme fatale probably didn’t start with modern crime fiction and film noir. I’ve always believed the origins of the femme fatale can be traced back much further to some of the most compelling characters and archetypes in literature, mythology, religion, and art, from Lilith, Eve, and Salome to Helen of Troy, Clytmenestra, and Medea—and who can forget Lady Macbeth?

ATREUS: What do you think gives the femme fatale such enduring power?

GABRIELE: We are often left wondering what we would have done if we were in her position. Would we have done otherwise? Perhaps the femme fatale wasn’t entirely justified in her actions, but can we see why she might have been driven to do what she did? Can we understand how she dared to break the laws of god and man and ultimately shatter the most sacrosanct of taboos?

What would you do if your husband murdered—well, sacrificed—your daughter to launch his military campaign and then returned home from war in all his glory and plunder on the arm of a woman he had taken as a sex slave? Would you welcome him with open arms or ensnare him in a net and stab him through the heart with a dagger?

I will never forget watching these events unfold before my eyes at the Vivian Beaumont Theater during a production of Agamemnon at Lincoln Center. This was the dilemma Clytemnestra faced as she watched Agamemnon return home from the Trojan War. I watched Clytemnestra slay her husband, aided and abetted by her lover, and she became for me in that moment the quintessential femme fatale.

ATREUS: This sounds like an unforgettable production.

GABRIELE: Yes, and I experienced it in the midst of studying the Oresteia. It was a transformative event in my life. The extraordinary Priscilla Smith played Clytemnestra and a very young and very talented Diane Lane played Iphigenia. I remember the amphitheater seating unexpectedly parting, dramatically making way for Agamemnon as he returned home at the head of a triumphal parade, replete with fire and incense, the thunderous chanting of a Greek chorus, and the deafening drums of war. It was the convergence of classical literature, modern theater, and a classic femme fatale.

ATREUS: So, though you love the femme fatale in crime novels and film noir, you’ve been inspired by this iconic character in many other literary settings?

GABRIELE: Oh, yes. Whether in fiction, film, or drama, the past is colored with so many dynamic women who have changed the course of literature and the arts. I can’t imagine our world without the femme fatale.

Ask the Author

Goodreads recently invited Joseph J. Gabriele to participate in their ‘Ask the Author’ program, where readers in the Goodreads community can ask questions and receive answers about books they’ve read.

Here are the answers to a few of the initial questions he received:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book? — Goodreads

From the world around me. . . . In the writing of Dangerous Illusions, I felt compelled to capture New York, as it is now, in all of its remarkable complexities and contradictions and I wanted to reveal it in a way that would resonate with people who have lived here their entire lives, or for a chapter of their lives, as well as those who have not yet had a chance to experience New York.

How do you get inspired to write? — Goodreads

Perhaps the greatest source of inspiration for what I write comes from what I observe. I often find myself captivated by the details of my surroundings—the colors, the shapes, the sounds, the scents, the textures and patterns—and, of course, the people—their expressions, their interactions, their mannerisms, what they say and what they don’t say, what they wear and what they don’t wear. . . . There are so many aspects of life that have captured my imagination and curiosity, and so many subjects—from literature and music to the visual arts and architecture—and all of them are sources of inspiration.

What’s the best thing about being a writer? — Goodreads

The exhilaration that comes with the act of creation, the satisfaction of honing the words until they are ‘right’ and express what began in my imagination, as well as the privilege and freedom of working on the very things I am most passionate about, and—ultimately—the feeling of engagement that comes when a reader truly connects with the writing.

Will you be writing another book like Dangerous Illusions? I’ve read this 3 times already but am curious as to if you will write another like it? — Krystal, Goodreads

Krystal, I’m delighted to hear that you’ve read Dangerous Illusions three times—what a lovely compliment, thank you—and equally delighted by your question since I’m currently in the midst of writing two novels that will complete The Dangerous Illusions Trilogy. I’ve always loved novels—as well as plays—where characters reappear in subsequent works, but where each work is its own complete story and very much its own tale. As we learn in the first novel, knowledge is dangerous, and in Book II we will experience the dramatic and unpredictable consequences that result from that knowledge. For now, what I can share with you about Book III is that it will be a classic and outrageous tale of revenge.

Please feel free to post any questions or share any comments you may have at Ask the Author: Joseph J. Gabriele on Goodreads.

Bryant Park

New York Places: Bryant Park

Bryant Park—with its lanes of London Plane Trees—one of many New York locations found in Dangerous Illusions.

View Bryant Park and many other New York Places that appear in Dangerous Illusions in Joseph J. Gabriele’s Gallery of New York Places.

For more information about Dangerous Illusions: A Novel of Murder, Theft & Betrayal by Joseph J. Gabriele | Atreus Books | Hardcover ISBN: 9781940521640 | eBook ISBN: 9781940521633, visit: http://www.dangerousillusions.com.

Dorothy Sayers

Masters of Mystery & Suspense: Dorothy Sayers

“The great advantage about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.” ― Dorothy Sayers

Dorothy Sayers and other influential Mystery & Suspense authors can be viewed in Joseph J. Gabriele’s Gallery of Crime Writers.

For more information about Dangerous Illusions: A Novel of Murder, Theft & Betrayal by Joseph J. Gabriele | Atreus Books | Hardcover ISBN: 9781940521640 | eBook ISBN: 9781940521633, visit: http://www.dangerousillusions.com

New York Public Library

New York Places: New York Public Library

The facade of the New York Public Library, one of many New York locations found in Dangerous Illusions.

View the New York Public Library and many other New York Places that appear in Dangerous Illusions in Joseph J. Gabriele’s Gallery of New York Places.