Read The Art of Seduction Online
Authors: Robert Greene
by one and all, but she was far too virtuous to take a lover, although she
Master the Art of the Bold Move
•
411
could be quite coquettish. Richelieu bided his time. He befriended her,
A man should proceed to
charming her with the wit that had made him the favorite of the ladies.
enjoy any woman when
she gives him an
One night a group of such women, including the duchess, decided to play
opportunity and makes her
a practical joke on him, in which he was to be forced naked out of his
own love manifest to him
room at the palace of Versailles. The joke worked to perfection, the ladies
by the following signs: she
all got to see him in his native glory, and had a good chuckle watching him
calls out to a man without
first being addressed by
run away. There were many places Richelieu could have hidden; the place
him; she shows herself to
he chose was the duchess's bedroom. Minutes later he watched her enter
him in secret places; she
and undress, and once the candles were extinguished, he crept into bed
speaks to him tremblingly
and inarticulately; her face
with her. She protested, tried to scream. He covered her mouth with kisses,
blooms with delight and
and she eventually and happily relented. Richelieu had decided to make his
her fingers or toes perspire;
bold move then for several reasons. First, the duchess had come to like him,
and sometimes she remains
with both hands placed on
and even to harbor a secret desire for him. She would never act upon it or
his body as if she had been
admit it, but he was certain it existed. Second, she had seen him naked, and
surprised by something, or
could not help but be impressed. Third, she would feel a touch of pity for
as if overcome with fatigue.
•
After a woman has
his predicament, and for the joke played on him. Richelieu, a consummate
manifested her love to him
seducer, would find no more perfect moment.
by outward signs, and by
The bold move should come as a pleasant surprise, but not too much of
the motions of her body,
the man should make every
a surprise. Learn to read the signs that the target is falling for you. His or
possible attempt to conquer
her manner toward you will have changed—it will be more pliant, with
her. There should be no
more words and gestures mirroring yours—yet there will still be a touch of
indecision or hesitancy: if
nervousness and uncertainty. Inwardly they have given in to you, but they
an opening is found the
man should make the most •
do not expect a bold move. This is the time to strike. If you wait too long,
of it. The woman, indeed,
to the point where they consciously desire and expect you to make a move,
becomes disgusted with the
it loses the piquancy of coming as a surprise. You want a degree of tension
man if he is timid about
his chances and throws
and ambivalence, so that the move represents a great release. Their surren-
them away. Boldness is the
der will relieve tension like a long-awaited summer storm. Don't plan your
rule, for everything is to be
bold move in advance; it cannot seem calculated. Wait for the opportune
gained, and nothing lost.
moment, as Richelieu did. Be attentive to favorable circumstances. This —
THE HINDU ART OF LOVE
, will give you room to improvise and go with the moment, which will COLLECTED AND EDITED BY
heighten the impression you want to create of being suddenly overwhelmed by desire. If you ever sense that the victim is expecting the bold move, take a step back, lull them into a false sense of security, then strike. Sometime in the fifteenth century, the writer Bandello relates, a young Venetian widow had a sudden lust for a handsome nobleman. She had her father invite him to their palace to discuss business, but during the meeting the father had to leave, and she offered to give the young man a tour of the place. His curiosity was piqued by her bedroom, which she described as the most splendid room in the palace, but which she also passed by without letting him enter. He begged to be shown the room, and she granted his wish. He was spellbound: the velvets, the rare
objets,
the suggestive paintings, the delicate white candles. A beguiling scent filled the room. The widow put out all of the candles but one, then led the man to the bed, which had been heated with a warming pan. He quickly succumbed to her caresses. Follow the widow's example: your bold move should have a theatrical quality to it. That will make it memorable, and make your aggressiveness seem pleasant,
412
•
The Art of'Seduction
part of the drama. The theatricality can come from the setting—an exotic or sensual location. It can also come from your actions. The widow piqued her victim's curiosity by creating the suspense about her bedroom. An element of fear—someone might find you, say—will heighten the tension. Remember: you are creating a moment that must stand out from the sameness of daily life. Keeping your targets emotional will both weaken them and heighten
the drama of the moment. And the best way to keep them at an emotional pitch is by infecting them with emotions of your own. When Valmont
wanted the Presidents to become calm, angry, or tender, he showed that emotion first, and she mirrored it. People are very susceptible to the moods of those around them; this is particularly acute at the latter stages of a seduction, when resistance is low and the target has fallen under your spell. At the point of the bold move, learn to infect your target with whatever emotional mood you require, as opposed to suggesting the mood with
words. You want access to the target's unconscious, which is best obtained by infecting them with emotions, bypassing their conscious ability to resist. It may seem expected for the male to make the bold move, but history is full of successfully bold females. There are two main forms of feminine boldness. In the first, more traditional form, the coquettish woman stirs male desire, is completely in control, then at the last minute, after bringing her victim to a boil, steps back and lets him make the bold move. She sets it up, then signals with her eyes, her gestures, that she is ready for him. Courtesans have used this method throughout history; it is how Cleopatra worked on Antony, how Josephine seduced Napoleon, how La Belle Otero amassed a fortune during the Belle Epoque. It lets the man maintain his masculine illusions, although the woman is really the aggressor.
The second form of feminine boldness does not bother with such illusions: the woman simply takes charge, initiates the first kiss, pounces on her victim. This is how Marguerite de Valois, Lou Andreas-Salomé, and Madame Mao operated, and many men find it not emasculating at all but very exciting. It all depends on the insecurities and proclivities of the victim. This kind of feminine boldness has its allure because it is more rare than the first kind, but then all boldness is somewhat rare. A bold move will always stand out compared to the usual treatment afforded by the tepid husband, the timid lover, the hesitant suitor. That is how you want it. If everyone were bold, boldness would quickly lose its allure.
Master the Art of the Bold Move
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413
Symbol:
The Summer Storm. The hot days follow one another,
with no end in sight. The earth is parched and dry. Then there
comes a stillness in the air, thick and oppressive
—
the calm
before the storm. Suddenly gusts of wind arrive, and
flashes of lightning, exciting and frightening. Allow-
ing no time to react or run for shelter, the rain
comes, and brings with it a sense of
release. At last.
Reversal
If two people come together by mutual consent, that is not a seduction. There is no reversal.
Beware the Aftereffects
Danger follows
in the aftermath of a successful se-
duction. After emotions have reached a pitch,
they often swing in the opposite direction
—
toward
lassitude, distrust, disappointment. Beware of the long,
drawn-out goodbye; insecure, the victim will cling and claw,
and both sides will suffer. If you are to part, make the sacrifice
swift and sudden. If necessary, deliberately break the spell you
have created. If you are to stay in a relationship, beware a flag-
ging of energy, a creeping familiarity that will spoil the
fantasy. If the game is to go on, a second seduction is
required. Never let the other person take you for
granted
—
use absence, create pain and con-
flict, to keep the seduced on ten-
terhooks.
Disenchantment
Seduction is a kind of spell, an
enchantment.
When you seduce, you are not quite your normal self; your presence is heightened, you are playing more than one role, you are strategically concealing your tics and insecurities. You have deliberately created mystery and suspense to make the victim experience a real-life drama. Under your spell, the seduced gets to feel
In a word, woe to the
transported away from the world of work and responsibility.
woman of too monotonous
You will keep this going for as long as you want or can, heightening the
a temperament; her
monotony satiates and
tension, stirring the emotions, until the time finally comes to complete the
disgusts. She is always the
seduction. After that,
disenchantment
almost inevitably sets in. The release of
same statue, with her a
tension is followed by a letdown—of excitement, of energy—that can even
man is always right. She is
so good, so gentle, that she
materialize as a kind of disgust directed at you by your victim, even though
takes away from people the
what is happening is really a natural emotional course. It is as if a drug were
privilege of quarreling with
wearing off, allowing the target to see you as you are—and being disap-
her, and this is often such a
great pleasure! Put in her
pointed by the flaws that are inevitably there. On your side, you too have
place a vivacious woman,
probably tended to idealize your targets somewhat, and once your desire is
capricious, decided, to a
satisfied, you may see them as weak. (After all, they have given in to you.)
certain limit, however, and
You too may feel disappointed.
Even
in the best of circumstances, you are
things assume a different
aspect. The lover will find
dealing now with the reality rather than the fantasy, and the flames will
in the same person the
slowly die down—unless you start up a second seduction.
pleasure of variety. Temper
You may think that if the victim is to be sacrificed, none of this mat-
is the salt, the quality
which prevents it front
ters. But sometimes your effort to break off the relationship will inadver-
becoming stale.
tently revive the spell for the other person, causing him or her to cling to
Restlessness, jealousy,
you tenaciously. No, in either direction—sacrifice, or the integration of the
quarrels, making friends
again, spitefulness, all are
two of you into a couple—you must take disenchantment into account.
the food of love. Enchant-
There is an art to the post-seduction as well.
ing variety? . . . Too
Master the following tactics to avoid undesired aftereffects.
constant a peace is produc-
tive of a deadly ennui.
Uniformity kills love, for
as soon as the spirit of
Fight against inertia.
The sense that you are trying less hard is often
method mingles in an affair
of the heart, the passion
enough to disenchant your victims. Reflecting back on what you did dur-
disappears, languor super-
ing the seduction, they will see you as manipulative: you wanted something
venes, weariness begins to
then, and so you worked at it, but now you are taking them for granted.
wear, and disgust ends the
After the first seduction is over, then, show that it isn't really over—that
chapter.
you want to keep proving yourself, focusing your attention on them, luring — N I N O N D E L ' E N C L O S ,
LIFE, LETTERS AND EPICUREAN
them. That is often enough to keep them enchanted. Fight the tendency to
PHILOSOPHY OF NINON DE
let things settle into comfort and routine. Stir the pot, even if that means a
L'ENCLOS
417
418 • The Art of Seduction
Age cannot wither her, nor
return to inflicting pain and pulling back. Never rely on your physical
custom stale \ Her infinite
charms; even beauty loses its appeal with repeated exposure. Only strategy
variety: other women cloy \
and effort will fight off inertia.
The appetites they feed;
but she makes hungry \
Where most she satisfies.
— W I L L I A M SHAKESPEARE,
Maintain mystery.
Familiarity is the death of seduction. If the target
A N T O N Y AND CLEOPATRA
knows everything about you, the relationship gains a level of comfort but loses the elements of fantasy and anxiety. Without anxiety and a touch of fear, the erotic tension is dissolved. Remember: reality is not seductive.
Cry hurrah, and hurrah
Keep some dark corners in your character, flout expectations, use absences
again, for a splendid
to fragment the clinging, possessive pull that allows familiarity to creep in.
triumph
— \
The quarry I
Maintain some mystery or be taken for granted. You will have only yourself
sought has fallen into my
toils. . . . \ Why hurry,
to blame for what follows.
young man? Your ship's
still in mid-passage, \ And
the harbor I seek is far Maintain lightness.
Seduction is a game, not a matter of life and death.
away \ Through my verses,
it's true, you may have
There will be a tendency in the "post" phase to take things more seriously
acquired a mistress, \ But
and personally, and to whine about behavior that does not please you. Fight
that's not enough. If my
this as much as possible, for it will create exactly the effect you do not want.
art \ Caught her, my art
must keep her. To guard a
You cannot control the other person by nagging and complaining; it will
conquest's \As tricky as
make them defensive, exacerbating the problem. You will have more con
making it. There was luck
trol if you maintain the proper spirit. Your playfulness, the little ruses you
in the chase, \ But this task
will call for skill. If ever I
employ to please and delight them, your indulgence of their faults, will
needed support from \
make your victims compliant and easy to handle. Never try to change your
Venus and Son, and
victims; instead, induce them to follow your lead.
Erato
—
the Muse \ Erotic
by name
—
it's now, for my
too-ambitious project \ To
relate some techniques that Avoid the slow burnout.
Often, one person becomes disenchanted but
might restrain \ That fickle
lacks the courage to make the break. Instead, he or she withdraws inside. As
young globetrotter,
Love. . . . \ To be loved
an absence, this psychological step back may inadvertently reignite the
you must show yourself
other person's desire, and a frustrating cycle begins of pursuit and retreat.
lovable
— \
Something
Everything unravels, slowly. Once you feel disenchanted and know it is
good looks alone \ Can
never achieve. You may be
over, end it quickly, without apology. That would only insult the other per
handsome as Homer's
son. A quick separation is often easier to get over—it is as if you had a
Nireus, \ Or young Hylas,
problem being faithful, as opposed to your feeling that the seduced was no
snatched by those bad \
longer being desirable. Once you are truly disenchanted, there is no going
Naiads; but all the same,