Within the film Moulin Rouge the character of Satine is defined by her relationship with men and their behavior towards her. The audience is made aware of how each male character, and their personal views and relations with Satine ultimately alter the image she creates of herself. Harold Zidler, Christian, and the Duke all affect Satine and her development as a character, and thus the way she is represented to the audience. As exemplified in Jackie Stacey's article "How Do I Look?-, Satine's character has great influence over the female spectator. Women view themselves through spectatorship, and it is characters like Satine, with her exotic image and sexual behavior, that influence so greatly a women's self-perception. Satine's image is represented through the relationships she builds with each of the main male characters.
As the owner of the Moulin Rouge, Harold Zidler takes on the role as the father figure to Satine. Zidler and Satine share a special relationship in which they both benefit from the other, and provide support and progression towards fulfilling each of their personal goals. Zidler's character can be viewed as the epitome of the stereotypical greedy businessman. His exploitation of women and their bodies for monetary gain and his lack of moral priority lost in the greed of corporate life make up what is Harold Zidler. In a business sense, Satine is Zidler's greatest asset. As the image of beauty, sex, and desire, Satine, the sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rouge, draws hundreds of men to the show every night. The female spectator may recognize many aspects of Satine's character that mirror sex symbols of the 20th century. She exemplifies the sexual prowess of Madonna, the beauty of Marilyn Monroe, and Mae West's talent for seduction. As Stacey wrote, her "feminine ideals are on display to be admired by the women in the cinema audience- (Stacey, 53). Although Zidler seems to control Satine, as the star of the Moulin Rouge it is evident she also has power over him.
