Have you heard of Mata Hari?
She was an exotic dancer and a courtesan. A mother and a lover. A divorcee and an adventurer. They say she was a spy, maybe a double agent – or simply a scapegoat caught up between the cogwheels of history. Born in the Netherlands, getting inspired by faraway Indonesia. She dared to fall in love once again after disillusionment, and tried to defy powers beyond her when she wanted to reunite with her injured lover in the hospital.
She wrapped herself in layers of smooth silk and mystery as she traveled the dangerous terrain of the first decades of the 20th century, until she lost her life to a firing squad during WWI. As a dancer, she shed layers of her clothes – but who truly saw her? Who truly knew who she was?
Leave a Reply