|
Between
upper class courtesan and
lower class streetwalker was the
lorette, who blurred the lines between classes and positions. In
many ways her domain was the same as that of the courtesan, being
set up in private apartments and arranging for secluded meetings
with her lover. But her life was not so lavish and luxurious as
that of the courtesan.
Rather
than being the well provided for mistress of an aristocrat or royal,
the lorette's lover was usually an upper class bourgeoisie
or lower level aristocrat. Though she was kept in well-appointed
apartments and wore fine clothing, her social standing was far from
desirable. "No honourable man, of course, would introduce her to
his family, and it was a moot point whether he could even indulge
in a discreet salute on the street, if accompanied by woman relatives."
(Green)
The
lorette's life was essentially divided, spending time privately
with her lovers, even publicly in some cases, but completely distinct
from his family and proper upper class society. She belonged in
one sense, yet did not belong in so many others. "Taken up
by wealthy or aspiring metropolitans - from speculators and entrepreneurs
to state officials and aristocrats - and pulled into the cultural
rituals of the modern city, she was simultaneously cut off from
her own, usually lower-class, roots and millieu." (Green)
The
lorette was bound in many ways by the codes of polite society and
yet, was not embraced as a part of that same society. "On the
boulevards, she was virtually indistinguishable in costume and appearance
from the more fashionable among her lover's female relations. And
in a sense, for men she was quintessentially public property - to
be discussed, admired, acquired... In other words there was a radical
mismatch between the social and moral codes marking out the lorette
within 'respectable' society and the way she gained public representation
in the spectacle of the metropolis." (Green)
The lorette was essentially a decoration for her lovers, something
to be admired and used as needed, but not something for everyday
inclusion into society.
|
