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Killing Eve’s Villanelle: A Femme Fatale or Not?

Ever since she was brought to the screen in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s adaptation of Luke Jennings’ book series Killing Eve, Villanelle, a highly skilled Russian assassin whom Eve Polastri hunts for, has attracted a wide base of fans. Why is this so? For starters, Villanelle’s immense popularity is due to Jodie Comer’s captivating portrayal of one of the most fascinating contemporary female characters. Next, in The Femme Fatale, Julie Grossman writes that Villanelle is so alluring because she complicates the “cultural misreadings of women as fulfilling two narrow categories: angel, devil” (124). Villanelle is a complex character because she refuses to be reduced to pre-established typologies. Is she a psychopath, oscillating between primary and secondary psychopathy (for more: see Heaney)? How does she fit in or subvert the femme fatale formula? Since the scope of the paper prevents a detailed discussion on female psychopathy and all of the traits that constitute the classic film noir femme fatale, it will focus on three traits that constitute the latter – her appearance, style, and mysteriousness.

Villanelle, femme fatale, aesthetic style

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