THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COQUETRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 306, 17 March 1928, Page 26

THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL COQUETRY

Cecil© Sorel, Comfesse de Segur, Leading French Comedienne, Reveals Arts of AflnremenL

■ OMEN the world over are at last to know exactly what to do in order to win and hold their men. Mademoiselle C e c i 1 e Sorel, unrivalled beauty o£ the Comedio Francaise, who recently married the scion of one of the most illustrious families of France, has set down a number of rules and regulai ions whereby any woman should be able to fascinate any defenceless or recalcitrant male of the human species. The revelations of Cecile Sorel, who is now Comtesse de Segur, were made previous to broadcasting them “from one who knows to all who should know.’’ Mademoiselle Sorel enjoys the dis unction of having inspired more gallantry and adulation among men of modern times than ever did the great coquettes of the Du Barry and Pompadour type who ruled the hearts of kings and who imposed their tastes and personalities upon nations. Therefore, Mademoiselle Sorel may weil be istened to, though her advice may not necessarily be obeyed to the letter. Since marrying the Comte de Segur, i he “grand coquette nationale,” as the actress is called in France, lias bought an old chateau al. Versailles, but she was still occupying her historic private palais In the Quai Voltaire when she cave her views on the art of enchanting men (says a Paris correspondent of a New York paper). She was reclining in a sumptuous • leeping chamber filled with the tender gloaming of scientifically diffused lights. It was four o’clock in the afternoon. In the soft silks and ermine coverlets of Madame du Barry’s own bed, evoking the picture of the noted favourite of Louis XV. sat Cecile Sorel. “Ah, nun ami, I am so happy to have found you again,” she cooed seraphi(ally. “Do sit dorm on the edge there and tell me all about your dear self.” Since I had not been honoured with more than two interviews before this one, I took it for granted that her mode of greeting was part of her lesson in feminine coquetry. She smilingly admitted the imputation. “Coquetry is the need to please, to be noticed, to be loved because of one’s grace or beauty,” she explained. "It is the science of dressing and the art of speaking. “It is the realisation of one’s form and the ability to carry to perfection the physical gifts which nature gave. “It is the combination of taste and refinement which makes of our surroundings the complement of our beauty.

“It is to possess the elegance and harmony of voice and gesture. In a word, it is to be an animated masterpiece, a motion picture, a symphony of mysterious music. “It Is the natural instinct which dominates the feminine heart and which imposes itself as a social law, for no maiden could find a husband or lover without it. When the art to captivate is innate w’ith a straight and good woman it becomes a very charming quality. Those who haven’t it must cultivate it. “They should realise that the role of all women is to create beauty, for beauty stimulates life, inspires thought, exalts all efforts and produces joy. But it cannot be realised without work. . “To please requires renouncement. Sometimes it means giving up comfort and inclinations for the benefit of some one else. To play our part weil, we must influence our surroundings. “Ah, monsieur, it is true that our enemies are the passions which we inspire. We must be willing to be criticised, idolised, but never victimised. “I am called Celimene because I seem to incarnate Moliere’s great coquette, the picture of his own wife. Now, to possess Celimene would be to isolate her, to extinguish her flame, her spirit, her beauty and taste, which are stimulated by homage and glory. “It means the beginning of conflict. All love her and each wants her love exclusively. Therefore, to keep them all, for the sole need of their homage, she must stimulate love. She would be happy if she did not have to lie, but then she would be alone. “For instance, in the play her lover has positive proof of her duplicity. He fairly trembles with legitimate anger. “One look at him is enough for Celimene to understand the danger which is menacing her. A halfsmothered ‘Ah!’ escapes her lips. In that same moment she is on the defensive, ready for a sharp retort, determined to win. In a second she is mistress of herself. She smiles with charming hypocrisy: ‘What is the matter with you, my friend?’ He, the man, cannot hide his fury. He blurts out all he knows; he menaces her; he is going to strike her. But to his violence she opposes a magnificent calm. “With her slowly moving fan she waves off his clenched first. Insensibly she draws him into a discussion of the case. The man is lost. He is lost

even as she makes him think he is master of the situation. He is vain; he is a man. And in that very minute she, the woman, regains all her superior advantages. She makes him see what an awful brute he is. He is at her feet and begs her forgiveness. Curtain. “Ah, those women who have left upon the pages of history the imprint .of their power—what women they were! With their intelligence and charm they attracted man.” Mile. Sorel is a national heroine and is considered France’s greatest living actress, now that Bernhardt and Rejane have passed away. Her stage career has been curiously linked up with the history of the Third French Republic. She made a visit to the United States and Canada in 1922, giving her interpretations of Moliere’s classics. She received a triumphal ovation from Canadian students in Quebec, and when in New York was kissed publicly by Clemenceau, the war Premier.