ABSTRACT
This chapter opens the boundaries of the notion of femme fatale to consider the ways in which death and jouissance are inherent in a number of figures young girls and women identify with. I examine the Evil Queen of children’s fairy tales as a cautionary figure for young girls about the dangers of unbridled jouissance, before turning to the character of the melancholic feminine represented in female pop musicians. Kristeva’s understanding of melancholia and the suppression of the feminine guides this analysis. These figures serve as a fantasy figure through which young girls and women can identify and reject, and inevitably mourn this aspect of their femininity. This figure, however, also takes up residence in male fantasy, which I explore in some more contemporary representations of the femme fatale in film, before turning to the ways in which this figure is erected in the discourse of some online men’s groups. However, the femme fatale character also provides an opportunity to discuss the ways in which death and jouissance may be implicit in notions of becoming-Other. I also consider why the figure of the femme fatale may not be as popular in neoliberal capitalism because of her inherent refusal of the injunction to enjoy.
