Summary

The speaker considers her name and the names of those like her, which are tempting and seductive. She describes the sort of men who approach them and try to woo them, touching them indulgently. However, the speaker and her contemporaries are soon forgotten by the inebriated, hardboiled men. The women remain in a dreamlike state of luxury while fighting takes place around them.

Analysis

“Femme Fatale” begins in the midst of a conversation, building on something said off the page: “Even our names sound delicious” (Line 1). This immediately raises a question for the reader: whose names? The second line answers this question by introducing a series of characters from mythology and pop culture. The names aren’t meant to be taken as a literal role call of the people addressing the reader, but rather a sampling of a few recognisable figures who fit into...