s demonstrated the epitome of the woman as temptress as Dietrich dominates every man within sight, even placing the cap from her lover’s uniform on her head by way of showing after their kiss that she has him. Further, Dietrich’s character is not just remote from men, she is remote from humanity. It is an existential world to these types of women and the very concept of things like respectability, values and morals are foolish notions to these world-weary sinners. In the film, “Dietrich pretends to mishear a lady’s description of her home as a boarding-house. ‘What kind of a house did you say?’ ‘A boarding-house.’ Dietrich says, ‘Oh,’ pursing her lips, hollowing out her cheeks even more than usual, a faint smile appearing at the end of the pout. The exchange focuses a whole conversation about respectability, and Dietrich’s amused expression doesn’t particularly suggest the lady’s house is not respectable, only that the very notion of respectability is perhaps an illusion or a jo
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