The Art Of Seduction: Book summary (Part 1/3)

If you want to have a quick and complete understanding of what the art of seduction is and how it works, do not read neither the book nor this summary, as the primary purpose of this summary is to give you a good sense of how ignorant one person can be about a certain topic. To a fool, this is the plague and you should get away fast, to a wise a man, this is the first step toward learning about a topic.

What is seduction?

In an attempt to get a clear and comprehensive definition of seduction, I searched for ?seduction is? occurrences in the book and found 48 occurrence, among them were:

Seduction is a game of psychology.

Seduction is a process of penetration.

Seduction is kind of theater in real life.

Seduction is a form of deception.

Seduction is psychological process that transcends gender.

Seduction is a process of drawing people in, making them want to pursue and possess you.

Seduction is one of the few remnants from the past that retains the ancient patterns. It is a ritual.

Seduction is all about signs ?about being able to send them and read them.

Seduction is a game of attention, of slowly filling the other person?s mind with your presence.

Seduction is a process that occurs over time.

Seduction is distraction.

Seduction is a game of reducing suspicion and resistance.

Seduction is the desire of being overwhelmed, taken beyond.

Then comes my personal favorite:

The art of seduction is designed to arm you with weapons of persuasion and charm, so that those around you will slowly lose their ability to resist without knowing how or why it has happened. It is an art of war for delicate times.

In addition, Wikipedia has an inclusive definition that is worth checking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seduction

Evolution of seduction:

Thousands of years ago, power was mostly gained through physical strength and violence, and only a selected few possessed and were able to maintain such powers, but no one suffered under this scheme throughout history more than women, which resulted in women creating a new form of power that we call seduction. These women ?among them Bathsheba from the Old Testament; Helen of Troy and the greatest of them all Cleopatra were first to understand and harness the powers of this art.

At the beginning men had little to no interest in this new form of power that was created and being practiced, then in the seventeenth century came a great change: men grew interested in this art of seduction as a way to overcome young women?s resistance, but then as more and more men started to realize the powers of this art, things took on another level, and men were developing their version of seduction, others began to adapt the art for social purposes, and as culture became democratized, actors and artists came to use the tactics of seduction as a way to charm their audience and social milieu.

In the nineteenth century, another great change occurred: politicians like Napoleon consciously saw themselves as seducers, on a grand scale, seducing the masses through the art of seductive oratory and spectacle which was the essence of charisma, gave them immense powers without the use of force.

Today, we have reached the ultimate point in the evolution of seduction. Now more than ever, force and brutality of any kind is resisted and discouraged, yet almost all areas of life require some sort of power to persuade people and advance cases; from political campaigns to advertisements to leadership roles. Now everyone aspiring to change something is required to have a degree of charisma. However, even if much has changed in the degree and scope, the essence of seduction is constant.

The Seductive Character:

Most people believe that the power to seduce and the ability to draw people to you is a quality that only a few lucky people possess, also that it is related only to some natural instincts and the unchangeable physical traits that each person inherited at birth, although physicality and appearances play a great role in attraction, the ability or should we call it the skill of seduction is psychological, and that it can be learned, acquired and enhanced, but the truth remains that boundaries do exist and you can never control all the variables involved in the process of seducing (not like you should try to).

The Nine Types of Seductive Characters:

The Siren: (Marilyn Monroe, Cleopatra) this character is the simplest yet deadliest of them all, a woman that possesses a great deal of sexual energy and that can embody man wildest fantasies, the name is derived from the Greek mythology of sirens.

The Rake: (Duke de Richelieu) a man who displays an intense desire toward a woman and shows that he can do anything to possess her, he?s a master of seductive language and doesn?t refrain himself from anything.

The Ideal Lover: (Giovanni Giacomo Casanova) a creature from another world, keeps his target on her toes, he is the ultimate escape from the dull, boring everyday life, he represents each targets customized lost dreams from youth, gives the target exactly what he/she lacks, whether that?s attention, harshness, love, drama?etc.

The Dandy: (Russell Brand, Lou Andrea Salom) Most of us feel trapped in roles that are imposed on us by society, Dandies capture hearts by dancing and challenging all sort of roles, even gender roles, we envy their freedom and unrestrained lives which put us under their spells.

The Natural: (Jennifer Lawrence) they dazzle by their spontaneousness, around them, we feel at ease, we crave our childhood days when everything was easy and simple and they bring those feelings back which results in us putting our guards down.

The Coquette: (Josephine [Napoleon Bonaparte?s wife], Andy Warhol): They are masters at playing the game of pushing and pulling, mixed signals and delaying the target?s satisfaction while keeping them off-balanced yet eager for more.

The Charmer: (Benjamin Disraeli) charmers make us feel good about ourselves, they never complain or argue adopting every mood we have and feeling every pain we feel, they aim at people?s primary weakness: vanity and self-esteem.

The Charismatic: (Malcolm X, Rasputin, Steve jobs, Gary Vee) Charismatic people got everything under control, around them you shouldn?t worry about a thing, what a delight to be led by such people even though sometimes it?s toward your destruction, They radiate an intense feeling of confidence and control that we eventually succumb to.

The Star: (Marlene Dietrich, J.F.Kennedy) Mysterious, vague, fascinating and seem to be larger than life, we want to watch them and know more about them but they seem to never be digested, as they are masters at projecting dreamlike qualities and glittering presence letting our imagination run loose while hiding anything that may put an end to that.

The Anti-Seductive:

Seducers draw you in by the focused, individualized attention they pay to you, Anti-Seducers are the opposite: insecure, self-absorbed, and unable to grasp the psychology of another person, they literally repel, Anti-Seducers have no self-awareness, and never realize when they are pestering, imposing, talking too much, they lack the subtlety to create the promise of pleasure that seduction requires.

The Anti-Seductive Characters:

The Brute: He who can?t wait, seduction is a form of a pleasurable ritual and part of that pleasure is due to the anticipation created by the long duration usually seduction requires, Brutes have no patience for such things; they are concerned only with their own pleasure and getting what they desire as fast as possible.

The Suffocator: He falls in love with you before you are even half-aware of his existence, reminds me of the middle school childish love we used to have. At first, you might find it pleasurable to be so loved but soon you realize that the intense feeling they direct at you comes from a deep inner void they have.

The Moralizer: Mentally rigid people, Those people who follow a set of fixed ideas and they try to bend you accordingly, the seduction is a game that should be undertaken by a light heart, so moralizer can?t stop themselves from criticizing you. They are physically stiff and unable to adapt or enjoy.

The Tightwad: A cheap person, both in money and himself.

The Bumbler: a person, who is self-conscious, thinking about how he looks, the consequences of him seducing you and their worry is usually contagious which makes the encounter all awkward and the target loses comfort and start thinking about a way out. What a bumbler is unable to do is a bold move, no calculation, no awareness whatsoever, just acting, it may not let him see the seduction through by that is his best shot.

The Windbag: They just talk too much, heightening the differences between them and the receiving end; usually they have a deep-rooted selfishness, which makes them talk about themselves raising the chances of offending the target or worse, boring him.

The Reactor: easily offended people, They are prone to whining and complaining, also can?t allow a joke on their expense to live, and every tiny stroke their vanity receives must result in a comeback from them, oftentimes lashing at you with all they have at the moment you back down, we should all be able to laugh about ourselves from time to time.

The Vulgarian: They are inattentive to the details that are so important in seduction, You can see this in their personal appearance?their cloths are tasteless by any standards?and their actions ugghh, well they don?t know what to say in public and what not to say, what insights to keep to themselves and what to reveal to others, uncoordinated non-harmonious by all means.

The Victim Theory:

Nobody in this world feels whole and complete; we all sense some gap in our character, something we need or want but cannot get on our own. When we fall in love, it is often with someone who seems to fill that gap.

Don?t fall to the idea that other people crave the same things you do, whether that?s attention, adventure, peace or security?, and learn to look paste the exterior traits and facades, as oftentimes they can be misleading but pay attention to their clothes; their gestures, their offhand comments, the things in their house, certain looks in their eyes and also get them to talk about their past. Your focus at this stage should only be on identifying the gaps in their psyche and what seem to be missing in their equation of happiness.

The Seducer?s Targets:

The Reformed Rake or Siren: People of this type were once happy-go-lucky seducers who had their way with the opposite sex. However, the day came when either they were forced to give this up, for a relationship or they lost the ability to seduce due to aging. What you should never do is to make it obvious that you are the one seducing, but instead you must spark interest and let them take over from there.

The Disappointed Dreamer: People who might be said to be trapped in a fantasy life of the creation of their minds, fed by books and films and other kinds of popular culture. However, I think they are more like trapped in reality, over the course of their lives they may learn to compromise but deep inside they long for a fantasy like life, adventure and love.

The Pampered Royal: These people are the young spoiled kids who got all the toys they ever wanted, as normal kids learn at an early age to create their own entertainment whether that be by making toys or making new friends and also learn to endure some boredom and wait for satisfaction, this type of people believe that they should be kept entertained by somebody other than themselves, you can spot one by noticing their aristocracy or their long string of romances, jobs or whatever includes a phase of boredom. To seduce this type you have to provide many distractions and an air of mystery and novelty surrounding the scene, nevertheless you should not worry about not being able to sustain such a lifestyle for a long time because the moment they build a dependency on you, you have them hooked (and they develop that dependency quickly).

The New Prude: A prude is someone who is excessively concerned with appearances, with what society considers appropriate and acceptable behavior; Prudes stay rigorously within the boundaries of correctness. However, prudes are secretly oppressed by their correctness and long to transgress (I do not totally agreewiththis; it limits what holds people down to just society?s judgement).

The Crushed Star: We all crave attention but most of us find it easy to quiet these needs or find it more comforting, The Crushed Star however has tasted the ultimate forms of attention before, where being the center of attention was a daily thing and that can be traced back to an astonishing beauty they had or maybe they were athletes or some sort of celebrities, although they don?t display any form of craving toward attention but you can spot a Crushed Star by watching the way they react to receiving sudden attention and when being thrown in the center of attention you can see them glowing. To seduce this type you just make them the center of attention even by muting your own colors and letting them shine, they will be forever grateful for making them feel that way and they will shower you back with love and attention.

The Novice: What separates Novices from ordinary innocent young people is that they are fatally curious, they possess almost zero experience but they have been exposed to some secondhand (books, movies, newspapers?), the way to seduce this type is to show that you have experience while still retaining your childlike manners on top of the hidden depths you clearly possess, just don?t overwhelm them.

The Conqueror: Conquerors are the perfect prey for coquettes, they love power and have an unusual amount of energy, and you have to give them something to chase, obstacles to surpass and hearts to conquer.

The Exotic Fetishist: The people who have a high degree of interest in exotic, they fetishize the music or art of this or that foreign culture; they often have a strong rebellious streak. Clearly, the way to seduce them is to position yourself as exotic.

The Drama Queen: Some people cannot live without some constant drama in their lives, if you come offering stability and security they will run away, they can be very anti-seductive but harmless, you can spot one by the number of people that have hurt them, the tragedies that have befallen them. To seduce this type you have to constantly induce bits of drama to their lives, fights, disputes, and arguments, whatever. Just do not get them bored or steal their sense of victimhood.

The Professor: These types cannot get out of the trap of analyzing and criticizing everything that crosses their path, their minds are overdeveloped and overstimulated. Even when talking about love or sex, it is with great thought and analysis, you cannot quite know what they are talking about but you sense them looking down on you, many of them feel physically inferior which makes them the perfect prey for Sirens and Rakes. The key to seduce this type is to not compete with them intellectually and overwhelm them with physical presence.

The Beauty: From the dawn of her life, the beauty is gazed at by others, and that is a source of power she possesses, many men are intimidated by The Beauty and prefer to worship it from afar; others are drawn in but not for the purpose of conversation. The beauty suffers from isolation and lake of chase; as she does not get to chase others because she is being chased all the time. Because beauties relay so much on their appearance, they oftentimes tend to not have many other sources of power and social charm. The key to seducing this type is noticing & complimenting any other qualities they possess, that can prove to be intoxicating but also you should not ignore the thing she is most proud of, which is her beauty.

The Aging Baby: This type of people refuse to grow up, either because they are afraid of death or of growing old, they induce a playful spirit to everything, although this may seem to be lovely, it is quite annoying when done by a forty years old person, intuitively you might think that the perfect match for this type is another Aging Baby that will only increase the chances of playing, but it?s not, they don?t want competition what they want is an adult figure around them to take responsibility and set the limits which will allow them to play more worry-free. Therefore, to seduce this type you have to position yourself as an indulgent adult while complementing their youthful spirit.

The Rescuer: People are often drawn to people who seem vulnerable or weak ?their sadness and depression can actually be quite seductive, but some people take this to a completely new level, seeming like they are only attracted to people with problems, and helping them can fulfill some complicated needs (they can be sensitive and truly wants to help, but also solving other people?s problems can give them a sense of control, superiority or distract them from their own problems, something a lot of people crave). You can spot this type by their empathy, ?they listen well and their long history of relationships with what seem to be only troubled people. To seduce this type you will have to create some room for the other to practice some knightly maternal acts, just be in need of care and help, be troubled damn it!.

The Rou: These types have lived the good life and experienced many pleasure, they probably have, or once had a good deal of money, they may seem cynical and jaded but deep inside they long for their long lost youth. Although they may seem hard to seduce but the young, innocent can easily make it happen, and that has to be indirect, seeming as if they resist the seductive offers made by The Rou, they prove to be casting a powerful spell on this type.

The Idol Worshiper: This type has a bigger inner void and emptiness than most people, comes with it a low self-esteem and never being satisfied with themselves, so they go around the world searching for something to worship (now although the author mentions religion as an escape for such people, I don?t believe we are exposed to the same groups of people, and I can only relate this type to crazy celebrities fans and music or whatever create a cult nowadays). To seduce this type you have to mirror the qualities they aspire to have for themselves.

The Sensualist: What marks this type is their overactive senses; they often quite shy and shrink from standing out, what The Sensualist lacks is precisely, enough sensual experiences to appreciate and relish. The key to seduce them is to aim at their senses, to take them to beautiful places, pay attention to details, envelop them in spectacle, and of course use plenty of physical lures. That is how Cleopatra worked on Mark Antony.

The Lonely Leader: This type is the hardest to seduce, not only because they are suspicious but also because their minds are filled with matters, and they have little to no mental space, however they long to be seduced, to have someone break through their isolation, but given their powers they are treated differently from everybody else, fawning and courtier like attitudes surround them from people that want something from them, so they don?t trust it. What you can do (at your own risk!) is to stand out by treating them differently, more precisely by treating them as an equal or even an inferior, they may come to appreciate your honesty and you just won, or not be in the mood for your challenging and you just died.

The Floating Gender: This type has a mix of sexes, masculine and feminine tendencies (well according to the author, to some degree, we all do), so this type actually repress one side and goes to the extreme of the other, and he needs to feel like it?s fine to have both sides. Only another Floating Gender is an adequate match to this type.