The Art of Seduction (51 page)

Each surprise was carefully calculated for the effect it would produce. The
slaves. Thenceforth he
first unexpected letter piqued his curiosity, as did that first sight of her in
made it his custom to take
the waiting room; suddenly seeing her dressed as an elegant woman stirred
a virgin in marriage to his
intense desire; then seeing her dressed as a man intensified the excitingly
bed each night, and kill her
the next morning. This he

transgressive nature of their liaison. The surprises put him off balance, yet
continued to do for three
left him quivering with anticipation of the next one. Even an unpleasant
years, until a clamor rose
surprise, such as the encounter with Caterina that Mathilde had set up, kept
among the people, some of
whom fled the country with

him emotional and weak. Meeting the somewhat bland Caterina at that
their daughters.
•
Now the
moment only made him long that much more for Mathilde.

vizier had two daughters.

In seduction, you need to create constant tension and suspense, a feel-
The elder was called
Shahrazad, and the

ing that with you nothing is predictable. Do not think of this as a painful
younger Dunyazad.
challenge. You are creating drama in real life, so pour your creative energies
Shahrazad possessed many
into it, have some fun. There are all kinds of calculated surprises you can
accomplishments and was
versed in the wisdom of the

spring on your victims—sending a letter from out of the blue, showing up
poets and the legends of
unexpectedly, taking them to a place they have never been. But best of all
ancient kings.
•
That day
are surprises that reveal something new about your character. This needs to
Shahrazad noticed her
be set up. In those first few weeks, your targets will tend to make certain
father's anxiety and asked
him what it was that

snap judgments about you, based on appearances. Perhaps they see you as
troubled him. When the
a bit shy, practical, puritanical. You know that this is not the real you, but it
vizier told her of his
is how you act in social situations. Let them, however, have these impres-
predicament, she said:

"Give me in marriage to

sions, and in fact accentuate them a little, without overacting: for instance,
246
•
The Art of Seduction

this king; either I shall die

seem a little more reserved than usual. Now you have room to suddenly
and be a ransom for the

surprise them with some bold or poetic or naughty action. Once they have
daughters of Moslems, or

changed their minds about you, surprise them again, as Mathilde did with
live and be the cause of

their deliverance." He

Casanova—first a nun who wants an affair, then a libertine, then a seduc
earnestly pleaded with her
tress with a sadistic streak. As they strain to figure you out, they will be
against such a hazard; but

thinking about you all of the time, and will want to know more about you.
Shahrazad was resolved,

and would not yield to her
Their curiosity will lead them further into your web, until it is too late for
father's entreaties. . .
. •

them to turn back.

So the vizier arrayed his

daughter in bridal garments

This is always the law for the interesting. . . . If one just

and decked her with jewels

and made ready to

knows how to surprise, one always wins the game. The en-

announce Shahrazad's

ergy of the person involved is temporarily suspended; one

wedding to the king.
•

makes it impossible for her to act.

Before saying farewell to

her sister, Shahrazad gave

—SØREN KIERKEGAARD

her these instructions:

"When I am received by

the king, I shall send for

you. Then when the king

Keys to Seduction

has finished his act with

me, you must say: 'Tell

me, my sister, some tale of

marvel to beguile the
Achild is usually a willful, stubborn creature who will deliberately do the opposite of what we ask. But there is one scenario in which chil
night.' Then I will tell you
dren will happily give up their usual willfulness: when they are promised a
a tale which, if Allah wills,

surprise. Perhaps it is a present hidden in a box, a game with an unforesee
shall be the means of our
able ending, a journey with an unknown destination, a suspenseful story
deliverance. "
•
The vizier

went with his daughter to

with a surprise finish. In those moments when children are waiting for a
the king. And when the

surprise, their willpower is suspended. They are in your thrall for as long as
king had taken the maiden

you dangle possibility before them. This childish habit is buried deep
Shahrazad to his chamber

and had lain with her, she

within us, and is the source of an elemental human pleasure: being led by a
wept and said: "I have a

person who knows where they are going, and who takes us on a journey.
young sister to whom I

(Maybe our joy in being carried along involves a buried memory of being
wish to bid farewell."
• literally carried, by a parent, when we are small.)
The king sent for

Dunyazad. When she

We get a similar thrill when we watch a movie or read a thriller: we are
arrived, she threw her arms

in the hands of a director or author who is leading us along, taking us
around her sister's neck,

through twists and turns. We stay in our seats, we turn the pages, happily
and seated herself by her

side.
•
Then Dunyazad

enslaved by the suspense. It is the pleasure a woman has in being led by a
said to Shahrazad: "Tell

confident dancer, letting go of any defensiveness she may feel and letting
us, my sister, a tale of
another person do the work. Falling in love involves anticipation; we are
marvel, so that the night

may pass pleasantly."
• about to head off in a new direction, enter a new life, where everything

"Gladly," she answered,

will be strange. The seduced wants to be led, to be carried along like a

"if the king permits. "
•

child. If you are predictable, the charm wears off; everyday life is pre
And the king, who was
dictable. In the Arabian
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights,
each night
troubled with sleeplessness,

eagerly listened to the tale

King Shahriyar takes a virgin as his wife, then kills her the following morn
of Shahrazad: Once upon
ing. One such virgin, Shahrazad, manages to escape this fate by telling the
the time, in the city of
king a story that can only be completed the following day. She does this
Basrah, there lived a

prosperous tailor who was

night after night, keeping the king in constant suspense. When one story
fond of sport and

finishes, she quickly starts up another. She does this for nearly three years,
merriment.
. . . • [
Nearly

until the king finally decides to spare her life. You are like Shahrazad: with-
Keep Them in Suspense—What Comes Next? • 247

out new stories, without a feeling of anticipation, your seduction will die.
three years pass.
]
Now
Keep stoking the fires night after night. Your targets must never know
during this time
Shahrazad had borne King

what's coming next—what surprises you have in store for them. As with
Shahriyar three sous. On
King Shahriyar, they will be under your control for as long as you can keep
the thousand and first
them guessing.

night, when she had ended

the tale of Ma'aruf she

In 1765, Casanova met a young Italian countess named Clementina
rose and kissed the ground
who lived with her two sisters in a château. Clementina loved to read, and
before him, saying: "Great
had little interest in the men who swarmed around her. Casanova added
King, for a thousand and
himself to their number, buying her books, engaging her in literary discus-
one nights I have been
recounting to you the fables

sions, but she was no less indifferent to him than she had been to them.
of past ages and the
Then one day he invited the entire family on a little trip. He would not tell
legends of ancient kings.
them where they were going. They piled into the carriage, all the way try-
May I be so bold as to
crave a favor of your

ing to guess their destination. A few hours later they entered Milan—what
majesty?"
•
The king
joy, the sisters had never been there. Casanova led them to his apartment,
replied: "Ask, and it shall
where three dresses had been laid out—the most magnificent dresses the
be granted. "
•
Shahrazad
called out to the nurses,

girls had ever seen. There was one for each of the sisters, he told them, and
saying: "Bring me my
the green one was for Clementina. Stunned, she put it on, and her face lit
children.
" • . . .
"Behold
up. The surprises did not stop—there was a delicious meal, champagne,
these three
[
little boys
]

whom Allah has granted to

games. By the time they returned to the château, late in the evening,
us. For their sake I implore
Clementina had fallen hopelessly in love with Casanova.

you to spare my life. For if

The reason was simple: surprise creates a moment when people's de-
you destroy the mother of
these infants, they will find

fenses come down and new emotions can rush in. If the surprise is pleasur-
none among women to love
able, the seductive poison enters their veins without their realizing it. Any
them as I would."
•
The
sudden event has a similar effect, striking directly at our emotions before
king embraced his three
we get defensive. Rakes know this power well.

sous, and his eyes filled

with tears as he answered:

A young married woman in the court of Louis XV, in eighteenth
"I swear by Allah,
century France, noticed a handsome young courtier watching her, first at
Shahrazad, that you were
the opera, then in church. Making inquiries, she found it was the Duc de
already pardoned before the
coming of these children.

Richelieu, the most notorious rake in France. No woman was safe from
I loved you because I
this man, she was warned; he was impossible to resist, and she should avoid
found you chaste and
him at all costs. Nonsense, she replied, she was happily married. He could
tender, wise and eloquent.
May Allah bless you,

not possibly seduce her. Seeing him again, she laughed at his persistence.
and bless your father and
He would disguise himself as a beggar and approach her in the park, or his
mother, your ancestors,
coach would suddenly come alongside hers. He was never aggressive, and
and all your descendants.
seemed harmless enough. She let him talk to her at court; he was charming
O, Shahrazad, this
thousand and first night

and witty, and even asked to meet her husband.

is brighter for us than

The weeks passed, and the woman realized she had made a mistake: she
the day!"
looked forward to seeing the marquis. She had let down her guard. This —
TALES FROM THE THOUSAND

had to stop. Now she started avoiding him, and he seemed to respect her
AND ONE NIGHTS,
TRANSLATED

BY N.J. DAWOOD

feelings: he stopped bothering her. Then one day, weeks later, she was at the country manor of a friend when the marquis suddenly appeared. She blushed, trembled, walked away, but his unexpected appearance had caught her unawares—it had pushed her over the edge. A few days later she became another of Richelieu's victims. Of course he had set the whole thing up, including the supposed surprise encounter.

Not only does suddenness create a seductive jolt, it conceals manipula-
248
•
The Art of Seduction
tions. Appear somewhere unexpectedly, say or do something sudden, and people will not have time to figure out that your move was calculated. Take them to some new place as if it only just occurred to you, suddenly reveal some secret. Made emotionally vulnerable, they will be too bewildered to see through you. Anything that happens suddenly seems natural, and anything that seems natural has a seductive charm. Only months after arriving in Paris in 1926, Josephine Baker had completely charmed and seduced the French public with her wild dancing. But less than a year later she could feel their interest wane. Since childhood she had hated feeling out of control of her life. Why be at the mercy of the fickle public? She left Paris and returned a year later, her manner completely altered—now she played the part of an elegant Frenchwoman, who happened to be an ingenious dancer and performer. The French fell in love again; the power was back on her side. If you are in the public eye, you must learn from this trick of surprise. People are bored, not only with their own lives but with people who are meant to keep them from being bored. The minute they feel they can predict your next step, they will eat you alive. The artist Andy Warhol kept moving from incarnation to incarnation, and no one could predict the next one—artist, filmmaker, society man. Always keep a surprise up your sleeve. To keep the public's attention, keep them guessing. Let the moralists accuse you of insincerity, of having no core or center. They are actually jealous of the freedom and playfulness you reveal in your public persona.