Femme fatale

How it is used

Use as a critical label for a fictional stereotype; examine whose viewpoint makes the woman seem dangerous.

Example sentences

1. The detective describes her as a femme fatale before learning anything about her motives.

   The early label may reveal the detective's assumptions rather than her actions.

2. The novelist reverses the femme fatale pattern by letting the woman expose the deception.

   The character uncovers danger instead of being its seductive source.

Common collocations

• femme fatale figure
• femme fatale stereotype

Related terms

• stock characterA familiar character type that appears repeatedly in stories, with well-known traits and a predictable role.
• feminist criticismAn approach to literature that examines how texts represent women and gender, how power works between the sexes, and why women writers have been ignored.

More terms: Character and Characterization

• character
• protagonist
• antagonist
• characterization
• round character
• flat character
• dynamic character
• antihero
• foil
• tragic flaw
• composite character
• static character