The Femme Fatales Lady Macbeth and Serena Pemberton

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William Shakespeare commented on the length of life when he wrote that life is simply a march toward death in his play Macbeth. Characters known as femme fatales are well aware that life is short, and they will not waste it. These striking, driven, intelligent women are prepared to take life for all it has, and nothing will stop a true femme fatale from pursuing her course of action. Macabrely fascinating, these women appear again and again in both classical and modern literature. Perhaps the archetypical example of a femme fatale, the Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare’s Macbeth serves as a loose model for Serena Pemberton of Rash’s Serena. Lady Macbeth and Serena are both intelligent, self-servingly ambitious, and commanding femme fatales in their own right.

Lady Macbeth and Serena are both extremely mentally sharp, often more so than their male counterparts. This is abundantly clear when each woman is presented with events that require immediate decisions. For Lady Macbeth, this comes in the form of the decision of King Duncan’s fate. When she first hears of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth realizes that something must be done to assure the ascension of Macbeth to the throne, long before Macbeth seriously considers the same thought. When she hears of King Duncan’s imminent arrival, Lady Macbeth is keenly decisive, saying “The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements” (Crowther 1. 5. 28-30). She realizes that Duncan’s death will catapult the Macbeths to power. For Serena, one of many critical decisions comes about when Pemberton assists Rachel Harmon and the child he fathered with her. Serena realizes that this compassion of his threatens her vision of her future, so she makes the i...

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...ey frequently prove themselves smarter than the men around them, picking up on subtleties much quicker, and making efficient, if ruthless, decisions. The women are unfailingly ambitious, always in search of power, money, and control for themselves, and their husbands by accessory. Lady Macbeth and Serena control the men and situations around themselves, through sexual or other means, earning admiration. These femme fatales are indeed dangerous, and yet they are captivating in their experiences, perhaps becoming fatal to those that care about them.

Works Cited

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Macbeth.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 16 Jan. 2012.

Rash, Ron. Serena: A Novel. New York: Ecco, 2008. Print.

Marling, William. "Femme Fatale, Detective Novel." Detective Novels - An Overview. Web. 17 Jan. 2012. .

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