The 48 Laws Of Power

268 LAW 32

strange.

Britishcultu.re’s

rigid

controlof

people’sdangerous

dreams

gave

himthe

perfectopportunity

to

exploit

their

fantasy.

I

The

fantasy

ofthe

exotic,

of

course,

canalsoskirtthesexual.Itmust

notcometoo

close,

though,

fortl1e

physical

hindersthe

power

of

fantasy;

it

canbe

seen,

grasped,

andthentiredof-—thefateofmostcourtesans.The

bodily

charmsofthemistress

only

whet

themaster’s

appetite

formore

and

different

pleasures,

anew

beauty

toadore.

To

bringpower,fantasy

mustre»

maintosome

degree

unrealized,

literally

unreal.ThedancerMata

Hari,

for

instance,

whoroseto

publicprominence

inParisbeforeWorldWar

I,

had

quiteordinary

looks.Her

power

camefromthe

fantasy

shecreatedof

beingstrange

‘and

exotic,

unknowableand

indecipherable.

Thetabooshe

workedwithwaslesssexitselfthanthe

breaking

ofsocialcodes.

Anotherformofthe

fantasy

oftheexoticis

simply

the

hope

forrelief

fromboredom.Conartistsloveto

play

onthe

oppressiveness

ofthework-

ing

world,

itslackofadventure.Theircons

might

involve,

say,

therecov-

ery

oflost

Spanish

treasure,

withthe

possibleparticipation

ofan

alluring

Mexicansefiorita.and

a

connection

to

the

president

ofa

SouthAmerican

country—a.nything

oficering

releasefromthehumdrum.

The

Reality:Society

is

fragmented

and

fullofconflict.

The

Fantasy:People

cancome

together

ina

mystical

union

of

souls.

Inthe 19205 theconmanOscarHartzellmadea

quick

fortuneoutof

the

agevold

SirFrancisDrake

swindle—basicallypromisingany

suckerwho

happened

tobesurnamed“Drake”asubstantialshareofthe

long-lost

“Drake

treasure,”

to

whichHartzell

hadaccess.ThousandsacrosstheMid-

westfellforthe

scam,

whichHartzell

cleverly

turnedintoacrusade

against

the

government

and

everyone

elsewhowas

trying

to

keep

theDrakefor»

tuneoutofthe

rightful

handsofitsheirs.There

developed

a

mystical

union

ofthe

oppressed

Drakes,

withemotionalralliesand

meetings.

Promisesuch

a

unionand

you

can

gain

much

power,

but

itisa

dangerouspower

that

can

easily

turn

againstyou.

Thisisa

fantasy

for

demagogues

to

play

on.

The

Reality:

Death.Thedeadcannotbe

brought

back,

tlzepart

cannotbe

changed.

The

Fantasy.‘

Asuddenreversal

aftlzis

intolerable

fact.

Thisconhas

many

variations,

but

requires

great

skilland

subtlety.

The

beauty

and

importance

oftheartofVermeerhave

long

beenrec

ognized,

buthis

paintings

aresmallin

number,

andare

extremely

rare.In

the

1930s,

though,

Vermeers

began

to

appear

on

the

artmarket.

Experts

werecalledonto

verify

them,

and

pronounced

themreal.Possessionof

thesenewVermeerswouldcrownacollector’scareer.Itwasliketheresur-

rectionofLazarus:Ina

strangeway,

Vermeerhadbeen

brought

backto

life.The

past

hadbeen

changed.

Only

laterdid

it

comeoutthatthe

new

Vermeers

weretheworkofa

middle-aged

Dutch

forget

namedHanvan

Meegeren.

Andhehadchosen