William Shakespeare commented on the length of life when he wrote that life is simply a march towards death in his play Macbeth. The characters known as femme fatales know full well that life is short and they won't waste it. These extraordinary, driven and intelligent women are ready to take life for everything it has, and nothing will stop a true femme fatale from pursuing her course of action. Macabrely fascinating, these women appear repeatedly in both classical and modern literature. Perhaps the archetypal example of a femme fatale, Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's Macbeth serves as a loose model for Rash's Serena Pemberton. Lady Macbeth and Serena are both intelligent, selfish, and ambitious femme fatales. 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 deciding King Duncan's fate. When she first hears of the witches' prophecy, Lady Macbeth realizes that something must be done to ensure Macbeth's ascension to the throne, long before Macbeth seriously entertains the same thought. When she hears of King Duncan's impending arrival, Lady Macbeth is resolute, saying, "The raven itself is hoarse / That croaks Duncan's fatal entrance / Beneath my ramparts" (Crowther 1. 5. 28-30 ). He realizes that Duncan's death will catapult the Macbeths to power. For Serena, one of many crucial decisions comes when Pemberton cares for Rachel Harmon and the child he had with her. Serena realizes that this compassion threatens her vision of the future, so she puts the...... in the center of the card ...... often prove to be more intelligent than the men around them, very much grasping the most subtleties. quickly and making efficient, if ruthless, decisions. Women are invariably ambitious, always seeking power, money and control for themselves and their husbands as accomplices. Lady Macbeth and Serena control the men and situations around them, through sexual or other means, earning them admiration. These femme fatales are truly dangerous, yet they are captivating in their experiences, perhaps becoming fatal to those who care for them. Works Cited Crowther, John, ed. "Don't worry Macbeth." SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Network. January 16, 2012. Rash, Ron. Serena: a novel. New York: Ecco, 2008. Print.Marling, William. "Femme Fatale, detective story." Crime Novels: An Overview. Network. January 17. 2012. .