ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to follow in the work of two important writers of the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, Algernon Swinburne and Gabriele D'Annunzio, the metamorphosis of the literary depiction of the femme fatale, whose predecessors populate Shakespeare's plays in the characters of Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra and perhaps even Juliet. Maupassant's descnption of the femme fatale as a passionate, burning animal as well as the mention of blood offers a convenient transition into a discussion of Gabriele D'Annunzio's evolution of the femme fatale, for no writer has offered a richer portrayal of her passion or bloodlust than the Italian aesthete. The extended metaphor here probably explores the relationship between D'Annunzio and Princess Maria Gravina which was developing around this time. The commentary will offer some germane observations about both Swinburne and D'Annunzio and the importance of the changing character of the femme fatale in their writings.
