Or maybe just a pampered and promiscuous woman manipulated by the head of French Intelligence who needed an attention-grabbing case to prove the worth of his bureau and save his reputation?

How about a child/woman, indulged from early on by her doting father,  searching for a reliable man to love and support her in the style to which she had become accustomed?

Fleeing from a disastrous early marriage and the death of one of her two children, Margaretha Geertruida Grietje Zelle joined the circus as an equestrian.

It soon became evident to the owner that dancing was her real talent. “Her languid, graceful style of moving, her dark eyes and luxurious hair, telegraphed her sexuality to any male in her presence.”

At a time when the dancers at the Moulin Rouge flaunted only their knickers and breasts, Zelle thought nothing of discarding everything during the course of a performance except her jeweled bra. How scandalous in the early 20th century just before WWI?

Also, about this time, she adopted the stage name of Mata Hari (meaning sunrise or eye of the day) and suggested that her mother had been an Indian temple dancer or that she had grown up in a Java jungle.

A six-month contract to dance at the Metropole left her marooned in Berlin when war broke out (August, 1914) and her fur coats and money were seized. Reported to be recruiting spies, the German consul to Holland, Karl Kroemer, awarded her 20,000 francs and the code name H21.

Since taking money from a man for services rendered never troubled Mata, she poured out the invisible ink and went on her way. Traveling through Britain to avoid the front-line of fighting, the free-spirited exotic dancer was “thoroughly searched and nothing incriminating was found, she is regarded by police and military to be not above suspicion”.

Suspicion of what is the question?

According to a British Intelligence report, she “speaks French, English, Italian, Dutch and probably German. Handsome, bold type of woman”.

Could fluency in four, maybe five languages be the answer?

In Pat Shipman’s 2007 biography of Mata Hari, Femme Fatale, he argues, “The problem was not what Mata Hari said, but who she was”. Could a wealthy, well-educated, foreign-appearing woman traveling alone who openly admitted to having a lover be trusted? Apparently not in that day and time.

Often rumors found their way into her dossier. “One suspects her of having gone to France on an important mission that will profit the Germans.”

Back in Paris, two secret police steamed open her letters, questioned waitresses, porters and hairdressers. All information pointed to her life of promiscuity but not espionage.

Her mad life continued until Zelle faced off with the ambitious head of French Intelligence, Captain Georges Ladoux, over a travel permit. Ladoux viewed her as a prostitute. Mata thought him narrow-minded and coarse. Her promise to spy for France ended their battle of words.

Contending that the dancer’s notoriety made her a poor candidate for clandestine activities, Shipman states that she was frequently the center of attention with her comings and goings often reported in gossip columns. But in the case of Josephine Baker (see previous post), her celebrity status paved the way for espionage. Another similarity: neither lady shied away from exposing their feminine attributes for all to see.

A warrant issued for Mata’s arrest in February, 1917, contended that she had traded French secrets instead of German maneuvers in North Africa for one million francs. Subsequently tried and found guilty, Mata was shot by an early morning firing squad on October 15, 1917.

Was it a witch hunt conducted by small-minded men?

Were the rumors magnified by the anti-German spy mania prevalent in France with the Kaiser’s troops at its border?

Did Captain Georges Ladoux exploit Mata Hari to enhance his career?

Was she a resourceful courtesan who exchanged sexual favors and war secrets at the same time for money?

You be the judge!

(All quotations have been taken from Femme Fatale by Pat Shipman.)