Kathryn Merteuil

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I once again came across the term manic pixie dream girl because of this article which make me finally watch Ruby Sparks. Good indie movie. It is fresh but I got bored in the middle. Most manic pixie dream girl stories are written by men for obvious reason. This movie is written by the Zoe Kazan, the girl who also play the Ruby Sparks. The thing is, the archetype now boring. The girl is always cute lovable and is pain in the ass. All girls should be that way. Ruby Sparks in the movie is also considered a counterexample but I still think it’s the same banana.

This makes me remember my favorite villainess of all time, Kathryn Merteuil from Cruel Intentions. I like how her character and Sebastian Valmont are all seductive and cunning. The movie is based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. I went to its Wikipedia page before and saw the lists of its movie adaptations and I watched 3 of 6 in the list. It is of course the same plot but the period and country are different. It is always awesome even though I know the Valmont character will die . It just shows that the story fits any period and the characters are timeless.

Merteuil is in no way a manic pixie dream girl. No way some guy will fall head over heels in love with a girl like her. She is no way in the vicinity of the archetype and I believe, I never found another character like her.  I have read something about a character on Gossip Girl but I haven't seen that show. There are other seductresses in fiction I have read or seen. I specifically love Linda Fiorentino in "The Last Seduction". Merteuil never really seduces anyone in the movie. She just manipulates people and sometimes no seduction needed, just her wits.

To conclude, I can say the manic pixie dream girl and Kathryn Merteuil are two characters we love to hate. Well not really, I love Kathryn. It has been a dream since 1999 to meet a real-life person like her and see her in action ruining lives. Hahaha. I think we could be good friends.

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