A comparison of nineteenth century courtesans and the upper class women of the time illustrate the freedom that could be gained by giving up a husband and selling ones body.
The bourgeoisie women of the eighteen hundreds were captives. From a young age they were not given the same rights as any male counterparts and were, simply because of their sex, given a lesser value. A young woman was not expected to be highly educated but was to be well versed in all the social etiquette of the time. She was to know how to perform the duties of a woman but in general was more of a window dressing. The thoughts and ideas of women were not taken seriously if they were even listened to by men and even if they made sense, the fact that it came from a woman discounted any substance it might have had.
Women were like children, meant to be seen and not heard. They were useful for starting a family, for running a household and for spending their husbands money on fripperies and fineries but that was about it.
With the birth of the enlightenment and the birth of salons women did gain a certain foothold into the world of politics and thought but were still not equal and were certainly not more powerful or prestigious then any man.
Courtesans were unlike the upper class women in many ways. They were not tied down to a husband and could enjoy the attentions of many men whenever they liked. They were also able to speak their minds on any subject. Although the women of the time were slowly gaining this right as well it did not compare to the way in which courtesans were able to speak and think freely along any route they chose.
Sex was also used as a way of gaining power and prestige. Courtesans were usually highly educated and well versed in the etiquette of the time but they were also independent and able to express themselves as no other women could.
A courtesan or lorette was in control of her own life. She decided what lovers to take and she decided what was acceptable for her to do or say. The more genteel women of the time did not have this luxury.
It seems as though selling one's body is a small price to pay for the amount of freedom that was allowed to courtesans. Even though the bourgeoisie women had prestige based solely upon class distinctions they did not have any amount of freedom to live as they wished. Even women with more open-minded husbands or fathers were not able to act as they wished simply because society demanded certain things of women. This was not so for the courtesan who, in choosing her profession had already rejected society's constraints and was thus able to live in an open and free manner.
Social acceptance
Being socially acceptable is a big thing nowadays. It seems that this has always been the case because fitting in with the right people has always been an important part of life for many centuries. Especially in the France of the eighteen hundreds social acceptability was a pivotal part of life. In a time when appearances and classes held so much sway, to be socially unacceptable was a terrible thing to be. In the world of prostitution gaining social acceptability was only made minutely possible if you were a very high class courtesan or sometimes a lorette.
It seems odd that prostitution was so widespread especially considering the fact that everyone spoke out against it. The only reason that I can come up with is that while everyone was busy saying that prostitution was wrong, they were also indulging themselves while no one was watching.
Nineteenth century France was full of sexual hypocrisy. The hypocrisy grew from the fact that though almost every man frequented brothels or spent his time with a mistress they also frowned upon prostitution in its many forms. While many men would publicly speak out about prostitution and would claim that it was a sin they could usually be found with one of the aforementioned sinners in the night.
Women did not look kindly on prostitution at all. Although several women kept lovers themselves they did not frequent brothels or pick up men on the street. This had a lot to do with the fact that the way that women acted was rigidly structured with the etiquette of the time. These proper women disliked the prostitutes and were perhaps even a little bit jealous of them as well. Courtesans of the time lead very comfortable lives as did lorettes. Streetwalkers and common prostitutes were not really enviable but they were at least living independently, supporting themselves. This is not to say that the women of the time wanted to be prostitutes but who wouldn't envy someone who spent almost as much time with their husbands as they themselves did?
In general being a prostitute of any class was a double edged sword. Many resorted to such lines of work out of desperation or simply a desire to live in a comfortable manner. Although many women escaped poverty or a life of loveless marriage in this way they were also socially outcast. Only the courtesans, who were able to blend in with society to a certain extent, and even in some cases lorettes, were able to enjoy society and all it had to offer. While courtesans were able to blend in they did not always remain unnoticed by the bourgeoisie class. Sometimes, even a well dressed woman, displaying all the proper etiquette of the time could be exposed for the double life that she lead and thus ostracized.
It seems that even though it was very difficult to gain social acceptability everyone, even prostitutes of different classes tried to achieve it. For many the dream was never realized and for those that were able to creep into the society life was not always easy. This is largely due to that fact that France's population contained much sexual hypocrisy and shunned prostitutes while supporting them
