Excitement

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

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• From The Annotated Lolita (1991)

  In later months I could laugh at my inexperience when recalling the obstinate boyish way in which I had concentrated upon that particular inn with its fancy name; for all along our route countless motor courts proclaimed their vacancy in neon lights, ready to accommodate salesmen, escaped convicts, impotents, family groups, as well as the most corrupt and vigorous couples. Ah, gentle drivers gliding through summer’s black nights, what frolics, what twists of lust, you might see from your impeccable highways if Kumfy Kabins were suddenly drained of their pigments and became as transparent as boxes of glass! The miracle I hankered for did happen after all. A man and a girl, more or less conjoined in a dark car under dripping trees, told us we were in the heart of The Park, but had only to turn left at the next traffic light and there we would be. We did not see any next traffic light—in fact, The Park was as black as the sins it concealed—but soon after falling under the smooth spell of a nicely graded curve, the travelers became aware of a diamond glow through the mist, then a gleam of lakewater appeared—and there it was, marvelously and inexorably, under spectral trees, at the top of a graveled drive—the pale palace of The Enchanted Hunters. A row of parked cars, like pigs at a trough, seemed at first sight to forbid access; but then, by magic, a formidable convertible, resplendent, rubious in the lighted rain, came into motion—was energetically backed out by a broad-shouldered driver—and we gratefully slipped into the gap it had left. I immediately regretted my haste for I noticed that my predecessor had now taken advantage of a garage-like shelter nearby where there was ample space for another car; but I was too impatient to follow his example. “Wow! Looks swank,” remarked my vulgar darling squinting at the stucco as she crept out into the audible drizzle and with a childish hand tweaked loose the frock-fold that had stuck in the peach-cleft—to quote Robert Browning. Under the arclights enlarged replicas of chestnut leaves plunged and played on white pillars. I unlocked the trunk compartment. A hunchbacked and hoary Negro in a uniform of sorts took our bags and wheeled them slowly into the lobby. It was full of old ladies and clergymen.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  It was their coup that had indirectly brought de Gaulle to power; surely, they imagined, he was coming to thank them, and to reassure them that Algeria would remain French. When he arrived in Algiers, thousands of people filled the city's main plaza. The mood was extremely festive—there were banners, music, and endless chants of "Algérie française," the French-colonial slogan. Suddenly de Gaulle ap- peared on a balcony overlooking the plaza. The crowd went wild. The general, an extremely tall man, raised his arms above his head, and the chanting doubled in volume. The crowd was begging him to join in. In- stead he lowered his arms until silence fell, then opened them wide, and slowly intoned, in his deep voice, "Je vous ai compris"—I have understood you. There was a moment of quiet, and then, as his words sank in, a deaf- ening roar: he understood them. That was all they needed to hear. De Gaulle proceeded to talk of the greatness of France. More cheers. He promised there would be new elections, and "with those elected repre- sentatives we will see how to do the rest." Yes, a new government, just what the crowd wanted—more cheers. He would "find the place for Algeria" in the French "ensemble." There must be "total discipline, without qualifica- tion and without conditions"—who could argue with that? He closed with a loud call: "Vive la République! Vive la France!" the emotional slogan that After Operation Sedition, we are being treated to Operation Seduction. —MAURICE KRIEGEL- VALRIMONT ON CHARLES DE GAULLE, SHORTLY AFTER THE GENERAL ASSUMED POWER My mistress staged a lock- out. . . . \ I went back to verses and compliments, \ My natural weapons. Soft words \ Remove harsh door-chains. There's magic in poetry, its power \ Can pull down the bloody moon, \ Turn bach the sun, make serpents burst asunder \ Or rivers flow upstream. \ Doors are no match for such spellbinding, the toughest \ Locks can be opeu-sesamed by its charms. \ But epic's a dead loss for me. I'll get nowhere with swift-footed \ Achilles, or with either of Atreus' sons. \ Old what's- his-name wasting twenty years on war and travel, \ Poor Hector dragged in the dust— \ No good. But lavish fine words on some young girl's profile \ And sooner or later shell tender herself as the fee, \ An ample reward for your 253 254 • The Art of Seduction had been the rallying cry in the fight against the Nazis. Everyone shouted it back. In the next few days de Gaulle made similar speeches around Algeria, to equally delirious crowds.

• From Fear of Flying (1973)

  You’re the one who thinks it matters if there are calls from Miracle Foam.” “Just tell me what corner to meet you on in hell and I’ll come. I swear I will. Just tell me what corner.” “Don’t you know?” “No. Honestly I don’t. Please tell me.” “I think you’re trying to make a fool of me.” “Brian, darling, I only want to see you. Please let me see you.” “You can see me right now in your mind’s eye. Your blindness is of your own making. You and King Lear.” “Are you in a phone booth? Or a bar? Please tell me.” “You already know!” The conversation went on like this for some time. Brian hung up on me twice and then called back. Finally he agreed to identify the phone booth he was in, not by name but by a sort of guessing game. I had to participate in it by eliminating the possibilities. This took another twenty minutes and several nickels. Finally it turned out he was at the Gotham Bar. I dashed out and took a cab down to meet him. I learned that he had spent the day taking Puerto Rican and black kids for boat rides on Central Park Lake, buying them ice cream, giving money away to people in the park, and planning his escape from hell. He had not actually walked on the water but he had thought about it quite a lot. Now he was ready to change his life. He had discovered he was possessed of a fund of superhuman energy. Other mortals needed sleep. He did not. Other mortals needed jobs and degrees and all the paraphernalia of everyday life. He did not. He was going to embark on the destiny which had always awaited him—saving the world. I was to help him. To tell you the truth, none of this talk really displeased me very much. It rather excited me. The idea of Brian quitting market research and my quitting graduate school and our going off together to save the world was perfectly OK with me. I had always urged him to quit market research, in fact. I had tried to lure him to go off to Europe with me and just wander for a while. But Brian had always protested. He had gone into market research as if it were the last great crusade. As we walked through the city that Saturday night, it was his behavior which disturbed me far more than his wild talk. He wanted us both to close our eyes and cross streets against the lights (to prove we were gods).

• From Sex at Dawn (2010)

  “Sex at Dawn is a page-turner. It’s like a novel. You can’t put it down—it is so much fun to read…. It’s a fascinating book. I felt like this book was written for me!” —Susie Bright, legendary sex-positive feminist and author “I have not read such delightful, convincing, and readable science writing since the dearly lamented Stephen Jay Gould. This book is funny, absorbing, clear-eyed, and deeply anti-patriarchal in a way that feels incidental to the facts rather than rising from any agenda—which I find utterly, gleefully vindicating and deeply satisfying…. It made me laugh out loud every ten pages. Just as importantly, this book made me proud to be human.” —Haddayr Copley-Woods, Aqueduct Press “Sex at Dawn is the best, most fascinating, most unsettling, yet ultimately inspirational book on the evolutionary nature of human sexuality that’s out there!” —Susan Block, Ph.D., sexologist, author, radio and television host “An exciting book…. Whether people agree with it or not: these are issues that will need debating over and over before we will arrive at a resolution.” —Frans de Waal, Ph.D., author of The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society “Turns everything you thought you knew about sex on its head. Funny, engaging, and superbly written, this book explores the science behind what many of us suspected all along: human beings are not naturally monogamous.” —Julie Holland, M.D., author of Weekends at Bellevue “Sex at Dawn manages to be both enormously erudite and wildly entertaining—even, frequently, hilarious. Ryan and Jethá slip effortlessly across millions of years, from the savanna of prehistoric Africa to the contemporary bedroom, presenting cutting-edge research with clarity and wit.” —Tony Perrottet, author of The Sinner’s Grand Tour “This is a provocative, entertaining, and pioneering book. I learned a lot from it and recommend it highly.” —Andrew Weil, MD, Program Director, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine “Sex at Dawn is not a tome on why people should cheat on their partners. Think of it as a new, wide-ranging sampling of research and ideas to get us to rethink our notion of human beings as sexual beings…. It helps put the ‘human’ back in ‘human sexuality.’ As suitable for an open-minded book club as the veteran sex therapist seeking new ways to rethink common challenges faced in clinical practice.” —Eric Marlowe Garrison, Contemporary Sexuality Credits Cover design by Andrea Cardenas Copyright SEX AT DAWN. Copyright © 2010 by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. FIRST HARPER PERENNIAL EDITION PUBLISHED 2011. * * *

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Lure them with an irresistible pleasure or adven- ture (8: Create temptation) and they will follow your lead. Choose the Right Victim Everything de- pends on the target of your seduc- tion. Study your prey thoroughly, and choose only those who will prove susceptible to your charms. The right victims are those for whom you can fill a void, who see in you something exotic. They are often isolated or at least somewhat unhappy (perhaps because of re- cent adverse circumstances), or can easily be made so—for the completely contented person is almost impossible to seduce. The perfect victim has some natural quality that attracts you. The strong emotions this quality inspires will help make your seductive maneuvers seem more natural and dynamic. The perfect victim allows for the perfect chase. Preparing for the Hunt T he young Vicomte de Valmont was a notorious libertine in the Paris of the 1770s, the ruin of many a young girl and the ingenious seducer of the wives of illustrious aristocrats. But after a while the repetitiveness of it all began to bore him; his successes came too easily So one year, during the sweltering, slow month of August, he decided to take a break from Paris and visit his aunt at her château in the provinces. Life there was not what he was used to—there were country walks, chats with the local vicar, card games. His city friends, particularly his fellow libertine and confidante the Marquise de Merteuil, expected him to hurry back. There were other guests at the château, however, including the Prési- dente de Tourvel, a twenty-two-year-old woman whose husband was tem- porarily absent, having work to do elsewhere. The Présidente had been languishing at the château, waiting for him to join her. Valmont had met her before; she was certainly beautiful, but had a reputation as a prude who was extremely devoted to her husband. She was not a court lady; her taste in clothing was atrocious (she always covered her neck with ghastly frills) and her conversation lacked wit. For some reason, however, far from Paris, Valmont began to see these traits in a new light. He followed her to the chapel where she went every morning to pray. He caught glimpses of her at dinner, or playing cards. Unlike the ladies of Paris, she seemed unaware of her charms; this excited him. Because of the heat, she wore a simple linen dress, which revealed her figure. A piece of muslin covered her breasts, let- ting him more than imagine them. Her hair, unfashionable in its slight dis- order, conjured the bedroom. And her face—he had never noticed how expressive it was. Her features lit up when she gave alms to a beggar; she blushed at the slightest praise. She was so natural and unself-conscious. And when she talked of her husband, or religious matters, he could sense the depth of her feelings. If such a passionate nature were ever detoured into a love affair. . . .

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Making your targets feel that you are leading them past either kind of limit is immensely seductive. People yearn to ex- plore their dark side. Not everything in romantic love is supposed to be tender and soft; hint that you have a cruel, even sadistic streak. You do not respect age differences, marriage vows, family ties. Once the desire to transgress draws your targets to you, it will be hard for them to stop. Take them further than they imagined—the shared feeling of guilt and complicity will create a powerful bond. The Lost Self I n March of 1812, the twenty-four-year-old George Gordon Byron pub- lished the first cantos of his poem Childe Harold. The poem was filled with familiar gothic imagery—a dilapidated abbey, debauchery, travels to the mysterious East—but what made it different was that the hero of the poem was also its villain: Harold was a man who led a life of vice, disdain- ing society's conventions yet somehow going unpunished. Also, the poem was not set in some faraway land but in present-day England. Childe Harold created an instant stir, becoming the talk of London. The first printing quickly sold out. Within days a rumor made the rounds: the poem, about a debauched young nobleman, was in fact autobiographical. Now the cream of society clamored to meet Lord Byron, and many of them left their calling cards at his London residence. Soon he was showing up at their homes. Strangely enough, he exceeded their expectations. He was devilishly handsome, with curling hair and the face of an angel. His black attire set off his pale complexion. He did not talk much, which made an impression of itself, and when he did, his voice was low and hypnotic and his tone a little disdainful. He had a limp (he was born with a clubfoot), so when an orchestra struck up a waltz (the dance craze of 1812), he would stand to the side, a faraway look in his eye. The ladies went wild over By- ron. Upon meeting him, Lady Roseberry felt her heart beating so violently (a mix of fear and excitement) that she had to walk away. Women fought to be seated next to him, to win his attention, to be seduced by him. Was it true that he was guilty of a secret sin, like the hero of his poem? Lady Caroline Lamb—wife of William Lamb, son of Lord and Lady Melbourne—was a glittering young woman on the social scene, but deep inside she was unhappy.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Increasingly interested in filmmaking, Warhol cast his friends in his movies. In effect he was offering them a kind of instant celebrity (their "fifteen minutes of fame"—the phrase is Warhol's). Soon people were competing for roles. He groomed women in particular for stardom: Edie Sedgwick, Viva, Nico. Just being around him offered a kind of celebrity by association. The Factory became the place to be seen, and stars like Judy Garland and Tennessee Williams would go to parties there, rubbing elbows with Sedgwick, Viva, and the bohemian lower echelons whom Warhol had befriended. People began sending limos to bring him to parties of their own; his presence alone was enough to turn a social evening into a scene— even though he would pass through in near silence, keeping to himself and leaving early. In 1967, Warhol was asked to lecture at various colleges. He hated to talk, particularly about his own art; "The less something has to say," he felt, "the more perfect it is." But the money was good and Warhol always found it hard to say no. His solution was simple: he asked an actor, Allen Midgette, to impersonate him. Midgette was dark-haired, tan, part Chero- kee Indian. He did not resemble Warhol in the least. But Warhol and friends covered his face with powder, sprayed his brown hair silver, gave him dark glasses, and dressed him in Warhol's clothes. Since Midgette knew nothing about art, his answers to students' questions tended to be as short and enigmatic as Warhol's own. The impersonation worked. Warhol may have been an icon, but no one really knew him, and since he often wore dark glasses, even his face was unfamiliar in any detail. The lecture audi- ences were far enough away to be teased by the thought of his presence, and no one got close enough to catch the deception. He remained elusive. * * * looking round in every direction. . . . He looked behind him, and when no one appeared, cried again: "Why are you avoiding me?" But all he heard were his own words echoed back. Still he persisted, deceived by what he took to be another's voice, and said, "Come here, and let us meet!" Echo answered: "Let us meet!" Never again would she reply more willingly to any sound.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Catherine promoted Potemkin higher and higher in the hierarchy, eventually making him the governor of White Russia, a large southwestern area including the Ukraine. As governor, Potemkin had to leave St. Peters- burg and go to live in the south. He knew that Catherine could not do without male companionship, so he took it upon himself to name Cather- ine's subsequent vremienchiki. She not only approved of this arrangement, she made it clear that Potemkin would always remain her favorite. Catherine's dream was to start a war with Turkey, recapture Constan- when you look at her: is that not enough? She is the generative force of an illusion, the birth point of desire, the threshold of contemplation of bodily beauty. —LYNNE LAWNER, LIVES OF THE COURTESANS: PORTRAITS OF THE RENAISSANCE It was on March 16, the same day the Duke of Gloucester wrote to Sir William, that Goethe recorded the first known performance of what were destined to be called Emma's Attitudes. Just what these were, we shall learn shortly. First, it must be emphasized that the Attitudes were a show for favored eyes only. • ... Goethe, disciple of Winckelmann, was at this date thrilled by the human form, as a contemporary writes. Here was the ideal spectator for the classical drama Emma and Sir William had wrought in the long winter evenings. Let us take our seats beside Goethe and settle to watch the show as he describes it. • "Sit William Hamilton . . . has now, after many years of devotion to the arts and the study of nature, found the acme of these delights in the person of an English girl of twenty with a beautiful face and a perfect figure. He has had a Greek costume made for her which becomes her extremely. Dressed in this, he lets down her hair and, with a few shawls, gives so much variety to her poses, gestures, expressions, etc. that the spectator can hardly believe his eyes. He sees what thousands of artists would have liked to Confuse Desire and Reality—The Perfect Illusion • 301 tinople for the Orthodox Church, and drive the Turks out of Europe. She offered to share this crusade with the young Hapsburg emperor, Joseph II, but Joseph never quite brought himself to sign the treaty that would unite them in war. Growing impatient, in 1783 Catherine annexed the Crimea, a southern peninsula that was mostly populated by Muslim Tartars. She asked Potemkin to do there what he had already managed to do in the Ukraine— rid the area of bandits, build roads, modernize the ports, bring prosperity to the poor. Once he had cleaned it up, the Crimea would make the per- fect launching post for the war against Turkey The Crimea was a backward wasteland, but Potemkin loved the chal- lenge. Getting to work on a hundred different projects, he grew intoxicated with visions of the miracles he would perform there.

• From Fear of Flying (1973)

  The dumpy frumpy lady mayor of Vienna bestowed herzliche Grüsse upon Anna Freud and the other analysts, and spewed out endless German bullshit about how glad the city of Vienna was to have them all back. No mention was made of the way they’d left in 1938, of course. No fifty-piece orchestra was playing The Blue Danube Waltz for them then, or plying them with herzlichen Grüssen and free Schnaps. When the food was brought out, herds of analysts in formal dress mooed and grunted toward the tables. “Hurry—they’re pushing ahead to the front of the line!” bleated one matron in accents redolent of Flatbush, overlaid with Scarsdale and the New School. “They’re already being served cake in the next room,” said another, a two-hundred-pound beauty in a canary-yellow satin pants suit, twinkling with rhinestones. “Don’t push!” said a distinguished- (or perhaps extinguished-) looking older analyst in an outdated tux and plaid cummerbund. He was being crushed between a woman lunging toward the turkey platter and a man lunging toward the antipasto. All up and down the tables, you could see nothing but long arms clawing at food with silver serving forks. Throughout this astonishing performance, the schmaltzy violins played on from their balconied perch above the main ballroom. The pseudo-Gothic arches of the high ceilings were illumined by thousands of pseudocandles, and a few diehards kept revolving on the dance floor in a halting Viennese waltz. Ah travel, adventure, romance! I was glowing with health and well-being, as a woman will glow when she’s been fucked four times in one day by two different men, but my mind was a welter of contradictions. I couldn’t make sense of all the contradictions I felt. At times I was defiant and thought I had every right to snatch whatever pleasure was offered to me for the duration of my short time on earth. Why shouldn’t I be happy and hedonistic? What was wrong with it? I knew that the women who got most out of life (and out of men) were the ones who demanded most, that if you acted as if you were valuable and desirable, men found you valuable and desirable, that if you refused to be a doormat, nobody could tread on you. I knew that servile women got walked on and women who acted like queens got treated that way.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  The French writer Denis Diderot once wrote, "I give my mind the liberty to follow the first wise or foolish Should anyone here in Rome lack finesse at love- making, \ Let him \ Try me—read my book, and results are guaranteed! \ Technique is the secret. Charioteer, sailor, oarsman, \ All need it. Technique can control \ Love himself. —OVID, THE ART OF LOVE, TRANSLATED BY PETER GREEN Preface • xxv idea that presents itself, just as in the avenue de Foy our dissolute youths follow close on the heels of some strumpet, then leave her to pursue an- other, attacking all of them and attaching themselves to none. My thoughts are my strumpets." He meant that he let himself be seduced by ideas, fol- lowing whichever one caught his fancy until a better one came along, his thoughts infused with a kind of sexual excitement. Once you enter these pages, do as Diderot advised: let yourself be lured by the stories and ideas, your mind open and your thoughts fluid. Slowly you will find yourself ab- sorbing the poison through the skin and you will begin to see everything as a seduction, including the way you think and how you look at the world. Most virtue is a demand for greater seduction. —NATALIE BARNEY W e all have the power of attraction—the ability to draw people in and hold them in our thrall. Far from all of us, though, are aware of this inner potential, and we imagine attractiveness instead as a near-mystical trait that a select few are born with and the rest will never command. Yet all we need to do to realize our potential is understand what it is in a person's character that naturally excites people and develop these latent qualities within us. Successful seductions rarely begin with an obvious maneuver or strate- gic device. That is certain to arouse suspicion. Successful seductions begin with your character, your ability to radiate some quality that attracts people and stirs their emotions in a way that is beyond their control. Hypnotized by your seductive character, your victims will not notice your subsequent manipulations. It will then be child's play to mislead and seduce them. There are nine seducer types in the world. Each type has a particular character trait that comes from deep within and creates a seductive pull. Sirens have an abundance of sexual energy and know how to use it. Rakes insatiably adore the opposite sex, and their desire is infectious. Ideal Lovers have an aesthetic sensibility that they apply to romance. Dandies like to play with their image, creating a striking and androgynous allure. Naturals are spontaneous and open. Coquettes are self-sufficient, with a fascinating cool at their core. Charmers want and know how to please—they are social crea- tures.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Then, he began to whisper to him of a great adventure. The duke, as Gondomar knew, was in favor of the match with the Spanish princess, but these damned marriage negotiations with King James were taking so long, and getting nowhere. What if the duke were to accompany the king's son, his good friend Prince Charles, to Spain? Of course, this would have to be done in secret, without guards or escorts, for the English government and its ministers would never sanction such a trip. But that would make it all the more dangerous and ro- mantic. Once in Madrid, the prince could throw himself at Princess Maria's feet, declare his undying love, and carry her back to England in tri- umph. What a chivalrous deed it would be and all for love. The duke would get all the credit and it would make his name famous for centuries. The duke fell for the idea, and convinced Charles to go along; after much arguing, they also convinced a reluctant King James. The trip was a near disaster (Charles would have had to convert to Catholicism to win Maria), and the marriage never happened, but Gondomar had done his job. He did not bribe the duke with offers of money or power—he aimed at the childlike part of him that never grew up. A child has little power to re- sist. It wants everything, now, and rarely thinks of the consequences. A child lies lurking in everyone—a pleasure that was denied them, a desire that was repressed. Hit at that point, tempt them with the proper toy (ad- venture, money, fun), and they will slough off their normal adult reason- ableness. Recognize their weakness by whatever childlike behavior they reveal in daily life—it is the tip of the iceberg. Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed the supreme general of the French army in 1796. His commission was to defeat the Austrian forces that had taken over northern Italy. The obstacles were immense: Napoleon was only twenty-six at the time; the generals below him were envious of his position and doubtful of his abilities. His soldiers were tired, underfed, underpaid, and grumpy. How could he motivate this group to fight the highly experi- enced Austrian army? As he prepared to cross the Alps into Italy, Napoleon gave a speech to his troops that may have been the turning point in his ca- reer, and in his life: "Soldiers, you are half starved and half naked. The gov- ernment owes you much, but can do nothing for you. Your patience, your courage, do you honor, but give you no glory. ...

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Her success was re- markable enough, but even more so were the friendly letters she began to receive from Sukarno after she and her husband had returned to New York. A few years later, he proposed that she collaborate with him on his autobiography. Adams, who was used to doing puff pieces on third-rate celebrities, was confused. She knew Sukarno had a reputation as a devilish Don Juan—le grand seducteur, the French called him. He had had four wives and hundreds of conquests. He was handsome, and obviously he was attracted to her, but why choose her for this prestigious task? Perhaps his libido was too power- ful for him to care about such things. Nevertheless, it was an offer she could not refuse. In January of 1964, Adams returned to Indonesia. Her strategy, she had decided, would stay the same: she would be the brassy, straight-talking lady who had seemed to charm Sukarno three years earlier. During her first in- terview with him for the book, she complained in rather strong terms about the rooms she had been given as lodgings. As if he were her secre- tary, she dictated a letter to him, which he was to sign, detailing the special treatment she was to be given by one and all. To her amazement, he duti- fully copied out the letter, and signed it. Next on Adams's schedule was a tour of Indonesia to interview people who had known Sukarno in his youth. So she complained to him about the plane she had to fly on, which she said was unsafe. "I tell you what, honey," she told him, "I think you should give me my own plane." "Okay," he an- You're anxious to keep your mistress? \ Convince her she's knocked you all of a heap \ With her stunning looks. If it's purple she's wearing, praise purple; \ When she's in a silk dress, say silk \ Suits her best of all. . . Admire \ Her singing voice, her gestures as she dances, \ Cry "Encore!" when she stops. You can even praise \ Her performance in bed, her talent for love-making— \ Spell out what turned you on. \ Though she may show fiercer in action than any Medusa, \ Her lover will always describe her as kind \ And gentle. But take care not to give yourself away while \ Making such tongue-in- cheek compliments, don't allow \ Your expression to ruin the message. Art's most effective \ When concealed. Detection discredits you for good. —OVID, THE ART OF LOVE, TRANSLATED BY PETER GREEN The little boy (or girl) seeks to fascinate his or her parents. In Oriental literature, imitation is 221 222 • The Art of Seduction swered, apparently somewhat abashed.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  And the condition was this: she would be willing to talk with him, both being in bed together, clad in their linen only, but he was to ask nothinginore from her than words and kisses. • He, thinking there was no joy to be compared to that which she promised him, agreed to the proposal, and that evening the promise was kept; in such wise that, despite all the caresses she bestowed on him and the temptations that beset him, he would not break his oath. And albeit his torment seemed to him no less than that of Purgatory, 328 • The Art of Seduction case, had decided to leave his cavalry division and form units of his own. (He was an artist, after all, and could not be subjected to army discipline.) Calling himself Commandante, he overcame his habitual seasickness and di- rected a series of daring raids, leading groups of motorboats in the middle of the night into Austrian harbors and firing torpedoes at anchored ships. He also learned how to fly, and began to lead dangerous sorties. In August of 1915, he flew over the city of Trieste, then in enemy hands, and dropped Italian flags and thousands of pamphlets containing a message of hope, writ- ten in his inimitable style: "The end of your martyrdom is at hand! The dawn of your joy is imminent. From the heights of heaven, on the wings of Italy, I throw you this pledge, this message from my heart." He flew at alti- tudes unheard of at the time, and through thick enemy fire. The Austrians put a price on his head. On a mission in 1916, D'Annunzio fell against his machine gun, per- manently injuring one eye and seriously damaging the other. Told his fly- ing days were over, he convalesced in his home in Venice. At the time, the most beautiful and fashionable woman in Italy was generally considered to be the Countess Morosini, former mistress of the German Kaiser. Her palace was on the Grand Canal, opposite the home of D'Annunzio. Now she found herself besieged by letters and poems from the writer-soldier, mixing details of his flying exploits with declarations of his love. In the middle of air raids on Venice, he would cross the canal, barely able to see out of one eye, to deliver his latest poem. D'Annunzio was much beneath Morosini's station, a mere writer, but his willingness to brave anything on her behalf won her over. The fact that his reckless behavior could get him killed any day only hastened the seduction. D'Annunzio ignored the doctors' advice and returned to flying, leading even more daring raids than before. By the end of the war, he was Italy's most decorated hero. Now, wherever in the nation he appeared, the public filled the piazzas to hear his speeches.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Give your targets the feeling that they are committing a kind of crime, a deed whose guilt they share with you. Create public moments in which the two of you know something that those around you do not. It could be phrases and looks that only you recognize, a secret. Byron's seductive appeal to Lady Frances was connected to the nearness of her husband—in his com- pany, for example, she had a love letter of Byron's hidden in her bosom. Jo- hannes, the protagonist of Søren Kierkegaard's The Seducer's Diary, sent a message to his target, the young Cordelia, in the middle of a dinner party they were both attending; she could not reveal to the other guests that it was from him, for then she would have to do some explaining. He might also say something in public that would have a special meaning for her, since it referred to something in one of his letters. All of this added spice to the affair by giving it a feeling of a shared secret, even a guilty crime. It is critical to play on tensions like these in public, creating a sense of complic- ity and collusion against the world. In the Tristan and Isolde legend, the famous lovers reach the heights of bliss and exhilaration exactly because of the taboos they break. Isolde is en- gaged to King Mark; she will soon be a married woman. Tristan is a loyal subject and warrior in the service of King Mark, who is his father's age. The whole affair has a feeling of stealing away the bride from the father. Epitomizing the concept of love in the Western world, the legend has had immense influence over the ages, and a crucial part of it is the idea that without obstacles, without a feeling of transgression, love is weak and flavorless. People may be straining to remove restrictions on private behavior, to make everything freer, in the world today, but that only makes seduction more difficult and less exciting. Do what you can to reintroduce a feeling of transgression and crime, even if it is only psychological or illusory. There must be obstacles to overcome, social norms to flout, laws to break, before the seduction can be consummated. It might seem that a permissive society imposes few limits; find some. There will always be limits, sacred cows, behavioral standards—endless ammunition for stirring up the trans- gressive and taboo. 358 • The Art of Seduction Symbol: The Forest. The children are told not to go into the forest that lies just beyond the safe confines of their home. There is no law there, only wilderness, wild animals, and criminals. But the chance to explore, the alluring dark- ness, and the fact that it is prohibited are impossi- ble to resist. And once inside, they want to go farther and farther. Reversal T he reversal of stirring up taboos would be to stay within the limits of acceptable behavior.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Myths create identification. Build a myth about yourself and the common people will identify with your character, your plight, your aspirations, just as you identify with theirs. This image should include your flaws, highlight the fact that you are not the best orator, the most educated man, the smoothest politician. Seeming human and down to earth disguises the manufactured quality of your image. To sell this image you need to have the proper vagueness. It is not that you avoid talk of issues and details—that will make you seem insubstantial—but that all your talk of issues is framed within the softer context of character, values, and vision. You want to lower taxes, say, because it will help families—and you are a family person. You must not only be inspiring but also entertaining—that is a popular, friendly touch. This strategy will infuriate your opponents, who will try to unmask you, reveal the truth behind the myth; but that will only make them seem smug, overserious, defensive, and snobbish. That now becomes part of their image, and it will help sink them. 2. On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1929, New York churchgoers began to pour onto Fifth Avenue after the morning service for the annual Easter parade. The streets were blocked off, and as had been the custom for years, people were wearing their finest outfits, women in particular showing off the latest in spring fashions. But this year the promenaders on Fifth Avenue noticed something else. Two young women were coming down the steps of Saint Thomas's Church. At the bottom they reached into their purses, took out cigarettes—Lucky Strikes—and lit up. Then they walked down the avenue with their escorts, laughing and puffing away. A buzz went through the crowd. Women had only recently begun smoking cigarettes, and it was considered improper for a lady to be seen smoking in the street. Only a certain kind of woman would do that. These two, however, were elegant and fashionable. People watched them intently, and were further astounded several minutes later when they reached the next church along the avenue. Here two more young ladies—equally elegant and well bred—left the church, approached the two holding cigarettes, and, as if suddenly inspired to join them, pulled out Lucky Strikes of their own and asked for a light. Now the four women were marching together down the avenue. They were steadily joined by more, and soon ten young women were holding Appendix B: Soft Seduction: How to Sell Anything to the Masses • 449

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  Dietrich was the great practi- tioner of this art; her style was chic enough to dazzle, weird enough to en- thrall. Remember, your own image and presence are materials you can control. The sense that you are engaged in this kind of play will make peo- ple see you as superior and worthy of imitation. She had such natural poise . . . such an economy of ges- ture, that she became as absorbing as a Modigliani. . . . She had the one essential star quality: she could be mag- nificent doing nothing. —BERLIN ACTRESS LILI DARVAS ON MARLENE DIETRICH The Mythic Star O n July 2, 1960, a few weeks before that year's Democratic National Convention, former President Harry Truman publicly stated that John F. Kennedy—who had won enough delegates to be chosen his party's candidate for the presidency—was too young and inexperienced for the job. Kennedy's response was startling: he called a press conference, to be televised live, and nationwide, on July 4. The conference's drama was heightened by the fact that he was away on vacation, so that no one saw or heard from him until the event itself. Then, at the appointed hour, Kennedy strode into the conference room like a sheriff entering Dodge City. He began by stating that he had run in all of the state primaries, at considerable expense of money and effort, and had beaten his opponents fairly and squarely. Who was Truman to circumvent the democratic process? "This is a young country," Kennedy went on, his voice getting louder, "founded by young men . . . and still young in heart. . . . The world is changing, the old ways will not do, . . . It is time for a new genera- tion of leadership to cope with new problems and new opportunities." Even Kennedy's enemies agreed that his speech that day was stirring. He turned Truman's challenge around: the issue was not his inexperience but the older generation's monopoly on power. His style was as eloquent as his words, for his performance evoked films of the time—Alan Ladd in Shane confronting the corrupt older ranchers, or James Dean in Rebel With- out a Cause. Kennedy even resembled Dean, particularly in his air of cool detachment. A few months later, now approved as the Democrats' presidential can- didate, Kennedy squared off against his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon, in their first nationally televised debate. Nixon was sharp; he knew pomp all through Cyprus, was now in progress, and heifers, their crooked horns gilded for the occasion, had fallen at the altar as the axe struck their snowy necks.

• From Fear of Flying (1973)

  Contemporary fiction meant Vladimir Nabokov, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow. Women writers were confined to the ghetto of popular culture. Only allowed to shine in the genres of mystery, romance and the historical novel, they were even tolerated when they made big money as long as they did not aspire to literature. But if you wanted to be seen as serious, you had to be male. (Yes, there were a few exceptions—like Mary McCarthy—but most of the women who claimed the pen [such an intrusion on the rights of men] concealed themselves in the ladies’ department of popular fiction.) While I was writing poems from a female point of view, I was writing fiction from a male. Poetry, because it was clandestine and largely unread, allowed me to experiment with female honesty. Fiction, because it was public, led me to impersonate a male novelist. So I returned to New York City in 1969 with a book of poems and part of a novel. I went back to Columbia University again, but this time not to the Ph.D. program in eighteenth-century English literature but to the School of the Arts, where I could study the making of poems with Stanley Kunitz and Mark Strand. I refined and refined my first book of poems, which eventually found a publisher in Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Fruits & Vegetables was published in spring 1971—salad days for women’s writing. Anne Sexton’s and Sylvia Plath’s poetry had flung open the doors of women’s poetic fury. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer had awakened the sleeping beast of women’s anger. (Because of Germaine Greer, we all wanted to taste our own menstrual blood.) The successes of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman, Such Good Friends by Lois Gould and Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman had revealed a deep hunger for novels about women’s experiences. Suddenly, women’s lives—and women’s books—were news. Fruits & Vegetables was certainly the beneficiary of this fascination. Not only had I joined the company of published authors, which was supposed to solve all my problems—or so authors of first books believe—but I was the right gender for those times. Publishing a book of poems may be like throwing a rose petal down the Grand Canyon, but in 1971, women were hot. Besides, I had long blond hair, wore the miniskirts and boots that were then (and now) in fashion. Despite my terror of flying, I would go anywhere to read my poems. In 1971, everyone wanted to know what women felt, how women wrote, what women thought. My previously invisible gender was now the rage. Even then I suspected that if being a woman could go into style, it could also go out of style, but no one wanted to hear that then. The Second Wave of the feminist movement unleashed a torrent of books by and about women.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  I will lead you into the most fertile plains of the world. There you will find flourishing cities, teeming provinces. There you will reap honor, glory, and wealth." The wanted. . . . • Now, one day, when Masetto happened to he taking a rest after a spell of strenuous work, he was approached by two very young nuns who were out walking in the garden. Since he gave them the impression that he was asleep, they began to stare at him, and the bolder of the two said to her companion: • "If I could be sure that you would keep it a secret, I would tell you about an idea that has often crossed my mind, and one that might well work out to our mutual benefit." • "Do tell me," replied the other. "You can be quite certain that I shan't talk about it to anyone. " • The bold one began to speak more plainly. • "I wonder," she said, "whether you have ever considered what a strict life we have to lead, and how the only men who ever dare set foot in this place are the steward, who is elderly, and this dumb gardener of ours. Yet I have often heard it said, by several of the ladies who have come to visit us, that all other pleasures in the world are mere trifles by comparison with the one experienced by a woman when she goes with a man. I have thus been thinking, since I have nobody else to hand, that I would like to discover with the aid of this dumb fellow whether they are telling the truth. As it happens, there couldn't be a better man for the purpose, because even if he wanted to let the cat out of the bag, he wouldn't be able to. He wouldn't even know how to explain, for you can see for yourself what a mentally retarded, dim-witted hulk of a youth 236 • The Art of Seduction speech had a powerful effect. Days later these same soldiers, after a rough climb over the mountains, gazed down on the Piedmont valley. Napoleon s words echoed in their ears, and a ragged, grumbling gang became an inspired army that would sweep across northern Italy in pursuit of the Austrians. Napoleon's use of temptation had two elements: behind you is a grim past; ahead of you is a future of wealth and glory, if you follow me. Integral to the temptation strategy is a clear demonstration that the target has noth- ing to lose and everything to gain. The present offers little hope, the future can be full of pleasure and excitement.

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  chanting doubled in volume. The crowd was begging him to join in. In- Locks can be opeu-sesamed stead he lowered his arms until silence fell, then opened them wide, and by its charms. \ But epic's a slowly intoned, in his deep voice, "Je vous ai compris" —I have understood dead loss for me. I'll get you. There was a moment of quiet, and then, as his words sank in, a deaf- nowhere with swift-footed \ Achilles, or with either of ening roar: he understood them. That was all they needed to hear. Atreus' sons. \ Old what's- De Gaulle proceeded to talk of the greatness of France. More cheers. his-name wasting twenty He promised there would be new elections, and "with those elected repre- years on war and travel, \ Poor Hector dragged in the sentatives we will see how to do the rest." Yes, a new government, just what dust— \ No good. But the crowd wanted—more cheers. He would "find the place for Algeria" in lavish fine words on some the French "ensemble." There must be "total discipline, without qualifica- young girl's profile \ And sooner or later shell tender tion and without conditions"—who could argue with that? He closed with herself as the fee, \ An a loud call: "Vive la République! Vive la France!" the emotional slogan that ample reward for your 253 254 • The Art of Seduction labors. So farewell, heroic \ had been the rallying cry in the fight against the Nazis. Everyone shouted it Figures of legend— the back. In the next few days de Gaulle made similar speeches around Algeria, quid \ Pro quo you offer to equally delirious crowds. won't tempt me. A bevy of beauties \ All swooning Only after de Gaulle had returned to France did the words of his over my love-songs— that's speeches sink in: not once had he promised to keep Algeria French. In fact what I want. he had hinted that he might give the Arabs the vote, and might grant an —OVID, THE AMORES, amnesty to the Algerian rebels who had been fighting to force the French TRANSLATED BY PETER GREEN from the country. Somehow, in the excitement his words had created, the colonists had failed to focus on what they had actually meant. De Gaulle had duped them. And indeed, in the months to come, he worked to grant When she has received a Algeria its independence—a task he finally accomplished in 1962. letter, when its sweet poison has entered her blood, then a word is sufficient to wake her love Interpretation. De Gaulle cared little about an old French colony, and burst forth. . . . My about what it symbolized to some French people. Nor did he have any personal presence will

• From The Art of Seduction (2001)

  2. It began in the early 1960s: people would come to Andy Warhol's New York studio, soak up the atmosphere, and stay awhile. Then in 1963, the artist moved into a new Manhattan space and a member of his entourage covered some of the walls and pillars in tin foil and spray-painted a brick wall and other things silver. A red quilted couch in the center, some five-foot-high plastic candy bars, a turntable that glittered with tiny mirrors, and helium-filled silver pillows that floated in the air completed the set. Now the L-shaped space became known as The Factory, and a scene began to develop. More and more people started showing up—why not just leave the door open, Andy reasoned, and come what may. During the day, while Andy would work on his paintings and films, people would gather—actors, hustlers, drug dealers, other artists. And the elevator would keep groaning all night as the beautiful people began to make the place their home. Here might be Montgomery Clift, nursing a drink by himself; over there, a beautiful young socialite chatting with a drag queen and a museum curator. They kept pouring in, all of them young and glamorously dressed. It was like one of those children's shows on TV, Andy once said to a friend, where guests keep dropping in on the endless party and there's always some new bit of entertainment. And that was indeed what it seemed like—with nothing serious happening, just lots of talk and flirting and flashbulbs popping and endless posing, as if everyone were in a film. The museum curator would begin to giggle like a teenager and the socialite would flounce about like a hooker. By midnight everyone would be packed together. You could hardly move. The band would arrive, the light show would begin, and it would all careen in a new direction, wilder and wilder. Somehow the crowd would disperse at some point, then in the afternoon it would all start up again as the entourage trickled back. Hardly anyone went to The Factory just once. It is oppressive always to have to act the same way, playing the same boring role that work or duty imposes on you. People yearn for a place or a moment when they can wear a mask, act differently, be someone else. That is why we glorify actors: they have the freedom and playfulness in relation to their own ego that we would love to have. Any environment that offers a chance to play a different role, to be an actor, is immensely seductive. It can be an environment that you create, like The Factory. Or a place where you take your target. In such environments you simply cannot be defensive; the playful atmosphere, the sense that anything is allowed (except seriousness), dispels any kind of reactiveness. Being in such a place becomes a drug. To re-create the effect, remember Warhol's metaphor of the children's TV