45 Master Characters (7 page)

She deliberately uses her charm to control men and get them to do things against their nature. She's the Femme Fatale who lures nice men to crime and murder. She trusts no one. She has become jaded and disappointed with life. She only values herself for her body and feels powerful when others do her bidding. Society owes her, and she is only collecting her due.

She never dirties her own hand when she can manipulate a man into doing the dirty work for her. She will push and tease men, dangling her body in front of them like a golden carrot. Any man who strives for her will end up dead or completely ruined. Watch any film noir movie to see her in action.

Things can get ugly when she turns on a lover. Blackmail is the first thing on her mind if he's married, but she'll do anything to save face if crossed. She doesn't play victim easily and would rather die than give up her looks or power. If a younger woman tries to take over her position as the center of attention, watch out. In the words of Bette Davis in
All About Eve
, “Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.”

Cleopatra preferred to commit suicide rather than give up her power. This need for power is a defining characteristic of the Femme Fatale.

She has a pattern of excessive emotionalism and attention seeking. She has a low tolerance for problems and has rapidly changing emotions behind a face that remains stoic and unreadable. She's a ticking bomb that no one knows about until she explodes. She is sensitive to criticism and overly concerned with her appearance.

She may suggest that a man do something and then withhold sex until he does it. She uses her body as a weapon. She feels that if men are stupid enough to get sucked into her web then that's their problem. No one handed her anything as a kid. She had to manipulate people and use what God gave her to survive. She trusts no one and is driven to prove she's not a piece of meat to be thrown around.

• Feels she can trust no one.
  

• Deliberately manipulates others with her sexual promises and usually never delivers unless she has to.
  

• Has no morals.
  

• Has a kill-or-be-killed mentality.
  

• Is a great actress who can summon real tears on command.
  

• Is concerned with money and power, which equal survival to her.
  

• Is unfaithful.
  

• Doesn't take things personally when sex is involved; she can remain detached.
  

• No one ever knows when she speaks the truth.
  

• Is a chameleon who can be all things to all people.
  

• Uses her physical appearance to draw others into her web.
  

• Needs to be the center of attention.
  

• Has rapidly changing emotions behind a face that remains stoic and unreadable.
  

• Is sensitive to criticism.
  

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) in
Sex and the City

Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) in
Married With Children

Ginger Grant (Tina Louise) in
Gilligan's Island

Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) in
Twin Peaks

Erika Kane (Susan Lucci) in
All My Children

Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) in
Basic Instinct

Elvira in
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Cora Smith (Lana Turner) in
The Postman Always Rings Twice

Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in
Pretty Woman

Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) in
Risky Business

Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) in
Cabaret

Rizzo (Stockard Channing) in
Grease

Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton (Kim Novak) in
Vertigo

Cleopatra

Delilah

Salome

Marilyn Monroe

Mary, Queen of Scots

Emma Bovary in
Madame Bovary
by Gustave Flaubert

The Lady Chablis in
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt

Scarlett O'Hara in
Gone With the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell

Rebecca Sharp in
Vanity Fair
by William Makepeace Thackeray

Under the glimmer of moonlight among towering forest trees, walks the goddess Artemis. Close to her side she carries with her a silver bow and arrows. She glides through the night watching over innocent young women and seeking out a challenger to polish her skill as an expert archer. She is the chief hunter to the gods, goddesses and wild animals. As she walks beneath the moon in her wilderness, her ears are ever open for the sound of a young female, human or animal, who may need her help in childbirth or need her protection from rape. With a quick temper she punishes those who offend her. She is a goddess who chooses to live without a mate, self-sufficient. With great precision and concentration, she sets her mind's eye on a goal and pursues it until the end.

The Amazon is a feminist. She cares more about the female cause than she cares for her own safety. She wouldn't hesitate to come to the aid of another woman or child no matter what the risk is to herself. Her friendships with women are the most important relationships she has, but they are few and far between due to her androgynous attitudes. Her masculine side is just as strong as her feminine side, which sometimes leaves her confused about where she fits in with others. She doesn't keep up with fashion trends and she doesn't value the “stay at home” or the “corporate career” woman, which most women are these days.

She is a wild woman who spends as much time in nature as possible. She's never happy living in the city for long and may become frustrated with her life until she discovers her true passion for the outdoors. The solitude of walking in the crisp night air brings her back into balance, and she is never afraid of being out alone at night.

She is an “earth mother” of sorts, taking up the causes of recycling and protecting the earth's resources. She is intuitive, instinctual and loves to travel and explore exotic places. Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) in
Titanic
is a caged Amazon.

What Does the Amazon Care About?

An Amazon cares deeply about the feminine, nature and the earth. There's no love lost between her and the government when they start regulating land near natural resources. She believes the earth is for everyone. No one “owns” the land, and she'll go wherever she pleases.

She looks after women and children and passionately fights patriarchy. She feels everyone deserves to be free and independent and that women are equal to men in all situations.

Competitive sports are her favorite pastime and winning is always the goal.

What Does the Amazon Fear?

The Amazon fears losing her freedom and independence. She takes great pride in being able to take care of herself. Going to prison or becoming paralyzed would kill her spirit. She places value on being self-sufficient and looks down on others who are dependent and needy, even though she comes to their aid.

Her competitive nature makes her afraid of losing, whether it's a job or a sporting event. And she especially doesn't want to lose to a man. She's afraid she'll never hear the end of it. She enjoys proving she's the equal of any man, mostly in physical ways.

In Louisa May Alcott's
Little Women,
Jo's independence and care for her sisters are examples of her Amazon characteristics.

She's most afraid of being vulnerable. She would rather die than become a victim, especially of a sexual assault. Her spirit could never survive such a humiliation. She will fight to the death against any attacker, making her a force to reckon with.

She isn't afraid of her own death but afraid of other women and children dying when she could've helped them. She finds her identity in being the rescuer.

She's afraid of other women alienating her for her masculine attributes. She's not into makeup and hairstyles. She's a “let's go out and tear up the town” kind of gal. Female friendships are important to her but it's hard to find other Amazons to go out with. She winds up having more male friends than female friends.

What Motivates the Amazon?

Survival is her biggest motivator. She loves being left alone in the wilds to fend for herself. Her relationship with wild animals and nature makes her instinctual and primal, and she can take this instinct to the boardroom to battle men for position and power.