The Art of Seduction: An Indispensible Primer on the Ultimate Form of Power

A dandy is a dated term for a man who pays particular attention to his clothing or appearance, sometimes with a flamboyancy to his style and accessories. The term first appeared in late 18th-century England, then became popular in the 19th century. The Dandy is a seducer type that Greene characterizes as either male or female and focused on their appearance. Examples include Beau Brummell, Rudolph Valentino, Lou von Salomé, George Sand, Théophile Gautier, the Count d’Orsay, Benjamin Disraeli, Petronius, John F. Kennedy, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich, and Elvis Presley.

A libertine is a dated term for a person, often a man, who lacks morals, particularly sexual morals, focuses on physical pleasures, and is promiscuous. Coined by religious reformer John Calvin to denote those who opposed his moral reforms and policies in Geneva, Switzerland, the term was later adopted to refer to overindulgence in physical pleasures. Greene refers to Valmont from Dangerous Liaisons, Duke de Richelieu, Mathilde the nun, King Charles II, Ninon de l’Enclos, and others as “libertines.”

The Madonna/whore complex is the view that men want either a virginal woman or one who is promiscuous. It was first described by Sigmund Freud as a psychosexual dysfunction in men who either want love from a virginal woman or sex from a promiscuous one and are unable to blend the two. This dichotomy abounds in literature, film, and other representations of women. Greene uses the term to describe an ideal female lover who has both sexual and virginal qualities, such as honest courtesans.

Short for “rakehell,” a rake is a man who is a womanizer and exhibits other immoral behavior, such as drinking and gambling. The term was most prominent in the 17th century. Greene explains that “rakehell” means a “man who rakes the coals of hell” (25), linking this behavior to that of a devil. A Rake is a seducer type exemplified by Richelieu, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Don Juan, Valmont from Dangerous Liaisons, Picasso, Prince Niou from The Tale of Genji, Errol Flynn, the Earl of Rochester, Lord Byron, Bill Clinton, and Elvis Presley.

The term was first used to refer to the libertine associates of Phillipe II in 18th-century France. The literal meaning of the term is “broken on the wheel,” with the wheel being a tool of punishment and the implication being that these men’s behavior warranted punishment. At the end of the 18th century, it became a synonym for rake. For Greene, a Roué is a victim type who has experienced the joys of life and is a skilled seducer, but can be seduced by someone who is young and innocent because they long for their past innocence.

To seduce means “to lead astray,” and seduction means to seduce someone through persuasion, often to have sex. Seduction can be viewed both negatively and positively. In the negative sense, it involves manipulating a person into doing something, often sex, they would not have done. In positive terms, seduction refers to using charm to allay a person’s fears. The term originated in the Middle Ages as a general method of persuading a person to evil or corruption, but it eventually became associated with sexual persuasion. According to Clement Knox, seduction has two types: a “villainous” type focused on deception and psychological games “to overcome a target’s resistance,” and a heroic type where the seducer makes a heroic and “rational pursuit of sexual pleasure” (Knox, Clement. Seduction: A History from the Enlightenment to the Present. Pegasus Books, 2020). Greene focuses on seduction as a strategy to persuade someone toward a sexual encounter, or a tactic used by political and social leaders to persuade the masses, using deception and psychology.