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More recently, Lee Clark Mitchell, in Determined Fictions: American Literary Naturalism, reiterates the key concept of tension or contradiction in relation to characters in late-nineteenth-century naturalistic fiction. According to Mitchell, each text “defines a contradiction in its central character, between a self-image as an autonomous, integrated, freely willing agent, and the narrative’s revelation of him as no more than a set of conflicting desires” (xv). In essence, naturalism is an assault on the reader’s assumption of a moral self (xvi). Furthermore, claims Mitchell, naturalistic characters cannot refrain from action; they have a compulsion to act in predictable ways, which undermines their opportunities for choice (17). Repetition is therefore a key device in naturalistic fiction because it helps to show lack of self-control; involuntary repetition creates and reinforces a sense of helplessness (21).
Each of these critics identifies tension and/or contradiction as a central element in American naturalism, and Sasa’s main argument regarding the femme fatale in naturalistic texts identifies a similar tension. According to Sasa, the femme fatale of naturalistic writers “is caught in the tension between the need to be free and the necessity of being determined.” Each of the women Sasa examines is optimistic at the outset. Out of determination and hope, she strives to accomplish her essentially selfish goals in life, but she is ultimately defeated by her lack of true agency and circumstances or forces beyond her control. In essence, she evolves from victimizer to victim.
Either consciously or unconsciously, the femmes fatales of naturalistic fiction capture their male victims and alter their fates. Almost from the first day they meet, Frank Norris’ McTeague is captivated by the charms of Trina. When Trina lies “unconscious and helpless and very pretty” and “absolutely without defense” (27) in his dental chair, McTeague is barely able to control himself.