The 48 Laws Of Power

LAW 6

PARTII:

CREATEAN

AIROFMYSTERY

Inaworld

gmwingincreasingly

banal

aindpfamiliai;

whatseems

enig-

matic

instantly

drawsattention. Nevermakeittooclearwhat

you

are

doing

orabouttodo.Donotshowall

your

canis,/inair

ofmystery

height-

ens

yourpresence;

italsocreates

anticipation--everyone

willbe

watching

you

toseewhat

happens

next.Use

mystery

to

beguile,seduce,

even

frighten.

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAW

Beginning

in

1905,

rumorsstartedto

spreadthroughout

Parisofa

young

Oriental

girl

whodancedina

privatehome,

wrapped

inveilsthatshe

grad-

ually

discarded.Alocal

journalist

whohadseenher

dancingreported

that

“awomanfromtheFarEasthadcometo

Europe

ladenwith

perfume

and

jewels,

to

introduce

someoftherichnessofthe

Orientalcolour

and

iifeinto

the

satiated

society

of

European

cities.”Soon

everyone

knew

thedam:er’s

name:MataHan‘.

Early

that

year,

inthe

winter,

smallandselectaudienceswould

gather

inasalonfilledwithIndianstatuesandotherrelicswhileanorchestra

played

music

inspiredby

Hinduand

Javanese

melodies.

After

keeping

the

audience

waiting

and

wondering,

MataHariwould

suddenlyappear,

ina

startling

costume:awhitecottonbrassierecoveredwith

India.n~typejewels;

jeweled

bandsatthewaist

supporting

a

sarong

thatrevealedasmuchasit

concealed;

bracelets

up

thearms.ThenMataHariwould

dance,

ina

style

noone

in

France

hadseen

before,

herwhole

bodyswaying

asif

shewere

in

atrance.

Shetoldher

excitedand

curiousaudiencethat

her

dances

told

storiesfromIndian

mythology

and

javanese

folktales.Soonthecreamof

Paris,

andambassadorsfromfar—off

lands,

were

competing

forinvitations

tothe

salon,

whereitwasrumoredthatMata.Hariwas

actuallyperforming

sacreddancesinthenude.

The

public

wantedtoknowmoreabouther.Shetold

journalists

that

shewas

actually

Dutchin

origin,

buthad

grown

up

ontheislandof

java.

Shewouldalsotalkabouttime

spent

in

India,

howshehadlearnedsacred

Hindudances

there,

andhowIndianwomen“canshoot

straight,

ride

horseback,

andare

capable

of

doinglogarithms

andtalk

philosophy.”By

thesummerof

1905,

although

fewParisianshad

actually

seen

Mata

Hari

dance,

hernamewason

everyone’slips.

AsMataHari

gave

more

interviews,

the

story

ofher

originskept

changing:

Shehad

grown

up

in

India,

her

grandmother

wasthe

daughter

of

ajavaneseprincess,

shehadlivedonthe

island

ofSumatrawhereshe

had

spent

hertime“horsebaxzk

riding,gun

in

hand,

and

risking

herlife.”

Nooneknew certainabout

her,

but

journalists

didnotmindthese

changes

inher

biography.Theycompared

hertoanIndian

goddess,

a

creaturefromthe

pages

ofBaudelaire—whatevertheir

imagination

wanted

toseeinthis

mysterious

womanfromtheEast.

In

August

of

1905,

Mata

Hari

performed

forthefirsttime

in

public.