Mata Hari

I have no regrets, only the memory of beautiful moments.

My life has been a continuous masquerade.

I am a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

The only thing I fear is boredom.

I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win.

The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word.

Quelle étrange coutume des Français que d'exécuter les gens à l'aube! (What a strange custom of the French to execute people at dawn!)

I love officers. I have loved them all my life. I prefer to be the mistress of a poor officer than of a rich banker. It is my greatest pleasure to sleep with them without having to think of money.

I did what a woman does in such circumstances when she wants to make a conquest of a gentleman, and I soon realized… Kalle was mine.

Only promise me that you will not seduce any French officers.

I ask a million gold francs.

I was not a spy. I was a dancer, and a courtesan. I danced for pleasure, and for money. I never harmed France.

My dances are sacred. They are prayers. I am a priestess.

I have always been a lover of officers. I love them still. I love their uniforms, their swagger, their power. They are so much more interesting than civilians.

I am not a German spy! I am a Dutch woman, and a dancer. I have many friends in Germany, but that does not make me a spy.

A courtesan's life is a life of freedom. I choose my own path, I make my own rules. No one can tell me what to do.

I regret nothing. I have lived my life as I pleased, and I have no apologies to make.

I am a woman of the world. I have traveled, I have seen things, I have loved many men. Is that a crime?

They want to make a spy out of me, but I am just a poor dancer who loves men.

My art is to express the beauty of the human body, the joy of life. It is not about politics or war.