FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY – PARANÁ
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND EXPRESSION
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
LANGUAGE ARTS PORTUGUESE/ENGLISH
RENATA MORALES DIAZ
FOR THE GATES OF PROSTITUTION IN POETRY: HARDY, RÉGNIER AND
GREGH’S LATE NINETEENTH-EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY SACRED
RUINED MAIDENS
THESIS
CURITIBA
2014
RENATA MORALES DIAZ
FOR THE GATES OF PROSTITUTION IN POETRY: HARDY,
RÉGNIER AND GREGH’S LATE NINETEENTH-EARLY TWENTIETH
CENTURY SACRED RUINED MAIDENS
Thesis presented to the Language Arts
English/Portuguese
College
of
the
Academic Department of Modern Foreign
Languages – DALEM – and the Academic
Department of Communication and
Expression – DACEX – of the Federal
University of Technology – Paraná, as a
requirement to obtain the Teaching degree.
Advisor: Doctor Regina Helena Urias
Cabreira
CURITIBA
2014
Ministério da Educação
Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná
Departamento Acadêmico de Comunicação e Expressão
Departamento Acadêmico de Línguas Estrangeiras
Modernas
Licenciatura em Letras Inglês/Português
TERMO DE APROVAÇÃO
FOR THE GATES OF PROSTITUTION IN POETRY: HARDY, RÉGNIER AND
GREGH’S LATE NINETEENTH-EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY SACRED RUINED
MAIDENS
por
RENATA MORALES DIAZ
Este Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso foi apresentado em 19 de agosto de 2014 como
requisito parcial para a obtenção do título de Licenciada em Letras Inglês/Português. A
candidata foi arguida pela Banca Examinadora composta pelos professores abaixo assinados.
Após deliberação, a Banca Examinadora considerou o trabalho aprovado.
__________________________________
(Prof.ª Dr.ª Regina Helena Urias Cabreira
Prof.ª Orientadora
___________________________________
(Prof.ª Dr.ª Marcia Regina Becker)
Membro titular
___________________________________
(Prof.º Msc. Almir Correia
Membro titular
- O Termo de Aprovação assinado encontra-se na Coordenação do Curso -
I dedicate this thesis to Blanca Maria Sosa Morales, my mother, and to the memories of Dora
Valentina Sosa Morales, my grandmother and Crescencia Morales, my great-grandmother:
the matriarchs who have inspired me to pursue women’s studies.
SPECIAL THANKS
I would like to thank my mother, who has been the greatest example of a strong hard-working
woman I have ever had;
I thank my advisor, Doctor Regina Helena Urias Cabreira, for introducing me Marjorie Bolton
and Nancy Qualls-Corbet, the scholars whose works have paved this thesis and Thomas
Hardy, the greatest poet and feminist male author of the Victorian Era, and for being a great
influence in my independence-pursuing life;
I also thank my friends – Robinson Luis Kremer, Bruna Dias Machado, Leonardo Mercher,
Felipe Sell Jansen, Rodolfo Amaral – for accepting who I am and always empowering my
decisions as a woman;
I thank Andrew Lindsay for revising my research proposal;
I thank my professor Andréia Rutiquewiski Gomes, for all of the support;
I thank my professor Ana Valéria Bork, for making me love the English language;
I thank my professor Marcia Regina Becker, for making me love Literature;
And I thank Cristiano Bueno, my eternal fiancé. The man who has been growing alongside
me, who has been giving me love, and who has supported my decisions as a feminist and has
helped me grow as a human being. I love you today and always.
IN MEMORIAM
This thesis is dedicated to the memory of the late author, dancer, singer, actress,
scholar and poet Maya Angelou. We hope to make justice to her poetic studies legacy. She
has inspired many generations of women to follow careers in the literary world, and to pursue
independence and full self-accepting happiness. We open this work with the reading of one of
the most inspiring poems addressing womanhood, with the expectation of inspiring more
women to love themselves:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise. (ANGELOU, Maya. 2014)
12
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
(KRETZMER, Herbert, 1980)
13
ABSTRACT
DIAZ, Renata Morales. FOR THE GATES OF PROSTITUTION IN POETRY: HARDY,
RÉGNIER AND GREGH’S LATE NINETEENTH-EARLY TWENTIETH SACRED
RUINED MAIDENS. 2014. 51p. Thesis – Language Arts English/Portuguese, Federal
University of Technology – Paraná – UTFPR. Curitiba, 2014.
Considering that prostitution has been a controversial topic in almost all societies, it is
inevitable that it has become a recurrent content approached in literature. Therefore, it seemed
necessary and inescapable the study of prostitution inside poetry. The poems analysed are The
Ruined Maid (1903), by Thomas Hardy; For the Gate of the Courtesans (1912) by Henri de
Régnier, and Courtesans (1912), by Fernand Gregh. The analysis focus is literary with the
support of historical-sociological evidence and it contrasts the figure of the prostitutes: a
positive, reinforced by the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, and a negative image,
reinforced by the impressions of the societies of the Victorian Era and the Belle Époque. Both
images are depicted through the words of the poets. The analysis was conducted based on the
bibliographical and analytical methods.
Key-words: Prostitution. Poetry. Hardy. Gregh. Régnier. Sacred Prostitute.
14
RESUMO
DIAZ, Renata Morales. PARA OS PORTÕES DA PROSTITUIÇÃO NA POESIA: AS
DAMAS ARRUINADAS SAGRADAS DE HARDY, REGNIER E GREGH DO FIM DO
SÉCULO XIX COMEÇO DO SÉCULO XX. 2014. 51p. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso –
Licenciatura em Letras Inglês/Português, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná –
UTFPR. Curitiba, 2014.
Considerando que a prostituição é, e sempre foi um tópico controverso em quase todas
sociedades, é inevitável que seja recorrente na literatura. Portanto, torna-se indispensável um
estudo que aborde a prostituição dentro da poesia. Os poemas analisados são The Ruined
Maid (1903), de Thomas Hardy; For the Gate of the Courtesans (1912), de Henri de Régnier
e Courtesans (1912), de Fernand Gregh. O foco da análise é literário com o suporte de
evidencias histórico-sociológicas e contrasta a figura das prostitutas: uma positiva – reforçada
pela imagem do arquétipo da Prostituta Sagrada, e uma negativa – reforçada pelas impressões
das sociedades da Era Vitoriana e da Belle Époque. Ambas imagens são retratadas pelas
palavras dos poetas. A análise foi conduzida a partir dos métodos bibliográfico e analítico.
Palavras-chave: Prostituição. Poesia. Hardy. Gregh. Régnier. Prostituta Sagrada.
15
SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 16
1.1 POETRY, PROSTITUTION, POETS..............................................................................17
2 THEORETICAL BASIS...................................................................................................21
2.1 ARS POETICA .............................................................................................................. 21
2.2 THE SACRED PROSTITUTE....................................................................................... 255
2.3 STATE OF THE ART .................................................................................................... 28
3 ARS INTEPRES................................................................................................................30
3.1 THE RUINED MAID..................................................................................................... 30
3.1.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Ruined Maid ........................................................ 30
3.2 FOR THE GATES OF THE COURTESANS................................................................ 36
3.2.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Gates.....................................................................36
3.3 COURTESANS .............................................................................................................. 41
3.3.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Courtesans............................................................41
4 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS...........................................................................................46
5 REFERENCES..................................................................................................................49
16
1 INTRODUCTION
Common knowledge states that prostitution is the oldest and perhaps the first
profession in the history of humanity. Throughout history, we have great examples of
magnificent prostitutes: Mary Magdalen, the rumoured lover of Jesus Christ; Theodora, the
empress of the Byzantine Empire; Veronica Franco, the Italian poet and courtesan; Carol
Leigh (also known as The Scarlot Harlot), artist, author, film maker and prostitutes’ rights
activist, Eny (Emy Cesarino) the Brazilian prostitute and later brothel owner – one of the most
successful examples of prostitutes who built up their careers, and many others. Although
these women have accomplished many admirable deeds and have gained our love and esteem,
they are not as respected or remembered as they should be.
During our education and growth, we are bombarded with sexist values, which
demoralize women who embrace their sexuality, let alone explore and use it as a way to make
their living. It is difficult to understand why women get into this profession, when our social
status is so elevated and our moral values are so hypocritical. The reasons can vary from
necessity, lack of opportunities, forced sexual exploitation, or even by free will. Regardless,
the prostitute is usually patronized and has always been shoved to the underworld.
It has always been difficult to live as a sex professional due to this eminent
segregation. Despite their isolation, the fact that – as Baudelaire1 said – prostitution is art, the
prostitute’s final product engages many men and women of different social segments.
Consequently, courtesans2 have been muses for great artists for many centuries.
Having that said, in art there any many figures of prostitutes that have become the
heart and soul of major works. For example, in the music scenario, the traditional folk song
The House of the Rising Sun3 (n.d)4 tells the story of life surrounding a New Orleans brothel.
In theatre we have Anna Christie (1921) by Eugene O'Neill, which is the story of a former
prostitute who tried to turn her life around. In the plastic arts, there is the bronze sculpture
Belle, created by the artist Els Rijerse and unveiled in 2007 – raised in the honour of
1
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a French poet and critic.
This work wishes not to approach the technical differences in terms such as “courtesans” and
“prostitutes”. Here the idea is to explore the world of certain characters in poetry that have financial
compensation in exchange of sex. Therefore, although there are differences in these names, here they are
approached in the same manner.
3
Although recorded in 1964 by the English rock group The Animals, it is believed that this song was
written in the 18th century.
4
(n. d.): No publishing date.
2
17
prostitutes around the world. In cinema we have many blockbusters such as Pretty Woman
(1990) directed by Garry Marshall, which centres prostitutes. In literature we have characters
from canonical novels who are prostitutes, such as Moll, the exploited female in The Fortunes
and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (1722) written by Daniel Defoe; Nancy, the
tragic adolescent from Oliver Twist (1838), by Charles Dickens and Fantine, the loving
mother in Les Miserables (1862), by Victor Hugo.
1.1
POETRY, PROSTITUTION, POETS
Poetry is one of the many artistic demonstrations of the self. What we may feel, what
we may do, what we may say, what we may leave unsaid can be painted by words in poems.
To define poetry one must understand the threads of light a woman or a man receive during
their life within the darkness of existence. In many ways, art is a refuge, and poetry is the
externalization of feelings expressed on a setting of words that function together as an organic
being. This organic being allows us to study it even when dislocated from its author’s care,
from its time period and place of origin.
In times when conservatism dictates moral values and further oppresses minorities, the
arts blossom and the cultural community enriches itself, consequently the Ars poetica5 does
too. In the Victorian Era (1837-1901), there was a great contrast between the growing wealth
of the Crown and the growing needs of the population. With these needs, women had to leave
their households in order to support their families. With terrible work conditions in factories
and in the countryside, some of these women had to turn to prostitution to guarantee their
livelihood. (CEFARATTI, 2001)
Thomas Hardy was a British novelist and poet who was born in 1840 and often
portrayed the difficulties surrounding the female condition in the Victorian Era through his
body of work. He is considered a writer of the Naturalism, because he used detailed realism to
show how social conditions were inherent for the shaping of human beings. For a further
understanding of this literary movement:
The developments (of Naturalism) in relation to art and literature are
complicated. (…)A new importance was given to the environment of
characters and actions. Character and action were seen as affected or
determined by environment, which especially in a social and social-physical
sense had then to be accurately described as an essential element of any
account of a life. This connected with the sense of careful and detailed
5
Ars poetica: The art of poetry.
18
observation, from natural history, but it was not (as was later supposed)
detailed description for its own sake, or for some conventional plausibility;
rather it rested on the new and properly naturalist sense of the determining or
decisive or influential effect of an environment on a fife. (WILLIAMS,
1985, p. 216, 217)
His characters were considered damned, immoral and obscene by his Victorian readers
(MERRIMAN, 2008). In his poem The Ruined Maid (1903) – originally published in 1901 in
his book Poems of the Past and the Present – he addressed the contrast between a woman
who became a prostitute and her old colleague who remained working in the countryside.
Ironically, the character who became a prostitute and was considered a ruined maid by the
society was more successful than the one who kept her “honour” and country job.
Likewise, in France, the arts flourished within a time of peace and technological
prosperity. At night, brothels and cabarets started to become the stage for cultural and artistic
encounters. Artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec built their body of work surrounding
establishments as the Moulin Rouge6. This period, known as the Belle Époque (1871–1914),
was marked by economic and artistic success. Notwithstanding this success, the economic
underclasses were susceptible to extreme poverty. As it happened in England, women left
their homes to provide for themselves, their parents, children, siblings and other relatives.
And as a hand offering help, prostitution was nearby.
Henri de Régnier, a French poet and novelist born in 1864, was an active literary critic
in the French and Belgium scenario. He began his career in poetry by following the steps of
the Parnasse7. Later he evolved into the Symbolisme8, although retaining some of the classical
form tradition.
At its narrowest “Symbolism” refers to the French group which called itself
so in 1886. Its theory was rather rudimentary. These poets mainly wanted
poetry to be nonrhetorical, i.e., they asked for a break with the tradition of
(Victor) Hugo and the Parnassiens. They wanted words not merely to state
but to suggest; they wanted to use metaphors, allegories, and symbols not
only as decorations but as organizing principles of their poems; they wanted
their verse to be “musical,” in practice to stop using the oratorical cadences
of the French alexandrine and, in some cases, to break completely with
rhyme. (…) “antinaturalism, antiprosaism in poetry, a search for freedom in
the efforts in art, in reaction against the regimentation of the Parnasse and
the naturalists”. (WELLEK, 1973, p. 8, 9)
7 Moulin Rouge is a cabaret located in Paris, founded in 1889.
Parnasianism
8
Symbolism
7
19
Régnier used the picture of a prostitute as the persona9 of his poem For the Gate of
the Courtesans (1912), originally published in 1899 in his book Premiers poèmes. Similar to
Hardy, Régnier contrasted a courtesan and a woman who was still considering getting into
this line of work. The French poet depicted prostitution as a gate with no return, which
reflected the inner self of women and that of society. This poem shows prostitutes as beautiful
creatures, relatable to nature itself.
Fernand Gregh, a French poet and literary critic, was born in 1873 and throughout his
life he became an active member of the French Academy of Letters. In a time when literary
schools were very much valued, he founded the L'école Humaniste10, in response to the decay
of the Symbolysme and Parnassen. This Humanist movement was an attempt to rescue the
values of Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine in the writing tradition of poetry; therefore
the values of the Romantisme11, which intended to return the portrayal of nature, the goodness
of humanity and the importance of emotions over reason (ACADÉMIE FRANÇAISE, 2014).
Gregh – as Régnier and Hardy – also addressed the relation between prostitution and society
in his poem Courtesans (1912), originally published in 1900 in the book La Beauté de Vivre.
The poet illustrated prostitutes as graceful and artistic beings, necessary to the survival of
many classes of men, but also as a disturbance to society’s judgmental eyes.
This thesis proposes the analysis of the poems The Ruined Maid (1903), For the Gates
of the Courtesans (1912) and Courtesans (1912) by Thomas Hardy, Henri de Régnier and
Fernand Gregh respectively, centring on the subjects’ segregation during the late 1800s and
early 1900s London and Paris societies. The analysis focus is literary with the support of
historical-sociological evidence and it will contrast the figure of prostitutes: a positive and a
negative image. The positive image will be reinforced by the archetype of the Sacred
Prostitute (both concepts will be further explained). The authors in the poems portray both
these images. In one hand, we have the prostitutes as accomplished and influential women,
who are in touch with their sexuality and nature. In the other hand, these same women are not
well seen by their societies, are considered ruined, damned, immoral and obscene. Historical
issues will reinforce the analysis during the period and place in which the poems were
published.
9
Persona is the equivalent of the term Eu-lírico in Portuguese: A dramatic character, distinguished from the
poet, who is the speaker of a poem. (POETRY FOUNDATION, 2014)
10
Humanist School.
11
Romanticism.
20
One can wonder about the choice of a British canonical author and two French poets
who are not as acknowledged as the first. It is important to take into consideration that the
work of art here selected is attached to the humane representation of the prostitute’s figure
and not to the cultural status of the artists. In fact, The Ruined Maid (1903), Courtesans
(1912) and For the Gate of the Courtesans (1912) are the common ground between Hardy,
Gregh and Régnier: all three poems approach the prostitutes differently from the one-sided
“moralistic” view of their societies.
21
2 THEORETICAL BASIS
This chapter intends to define and basically summarize the theoretical basis underlying
this analysis and list some researches regarding the topic of prostitution. Every poetic
interpretation and consideration is based on the ideals instated by Horace, regarding the Art of
Poetry (2000) and by Marjorie Bolton, with the book The Anatomy of Poetry (1977). While
contrasting the depiction of Hardy, Régnier and Gregh’s prostitutes in this work, it will take
into consideration the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, with the support of the research book
A Prostituta Sagrada: a face eterna do feminino (1990), by Nancy Qualls-Corbett.
Throughout the development of this analysis, the theory underlying it will always be quoted
and rescued for the sake of the reader’s comprehension.
2.1 ARS POETICA
A poem is like a painting: the closer you stand to this one the more it will
impress you, whereas you have to stand a good distance from that one; this
one demands a rather dark corner, but that one needs to be seen in full light,
and will stand up to the keen-eyed scrutiny of the critic; this one only
pleased you the first time you saw it, but that one will go on giving pleasure
however often it is looked at. (HORACE, 2000, p. 108)
Horace brilliantly compared a poem to a painting, which is truly appropriate
considering that poetry is one of the most developed forms of art. In this analogy he brought
up the appreciation of poetry: readers must distance themselves from the poem in order to
understand it. Also, every reading of the poem may provide different views on it, and these
will further the pleasure provided by poetry. Furthermore, he stated that in order for a poet to
be successful in his or her writings, he or she should, above all, detain one humane treasure:
wisdom. He truly enlightened poetry considerations by saying that a poet can stamp his
political and emotional views in the product, but must always remember the essence of art, by
producing a poem with impeccable composition, form12 and rhythm.
Although good poetry depends on the wisdom of the poet – as Horace said – it also
relies on the interpretation of an instructed and good-willing reader. Given that the beauty of a
poem can be questioned, there are some aspects that can be taken into consideration to further
12
Form: relative grouping of the parts of a thing. (BOULTON, 1997, p. 01)
22
arguments sustaining it or not. When one is analysing poetry, one must take into consideration
the formal aspects of the poem:
There seems to be one interesting exception to this liking for form; I
cannot explain it and shall content myself with stating it. It is that
experience in which energy or magnitude alone gives us the feeling
that ‘this is beautiful’. (…) There seem to be two kinds of beauty to
which we respond; the beauty of form and the beauty of splendid
formless. Perhaps the second kind is either much more primitive, or
much more advanced, than the first kind. However, the pleasure we
find in poetry is usually dependent more or less on formal beauty;
(BOULTON, 1997, p. 02)
Therefore, good poetry is related to form and composition, whether it is an obvious format
statement (poems which follow Alexandrines rules, for example) or not (free-verse poetry).
There are two types of formal analysis: the mental and physical (BOULTON, 1997).
The physical formal analysis has a methodical separation which many authors have written
rule books on how to perform it. However, it is sometimes overrated, and it can beat the
purpose of poetry. When overrated, it can favour the mechanical study of poetry: scholars
who memorize steps of poetry analysis end up being more valued than the ones who study the
mental form of poetry. For example, one could analyse the poem For the gates of the
courtesans (RÉGNIER, 1912) by anatomizing it in separating syllables, trying to evidence a
compositional rhythm, memorizing phonetic form and intonation. This study would prove the
fact that Régnier has an impeccable style in form, but it would fail to connect this form to the
intellectual effect13 of the poem. Some scholars fail to understand that the study of the mental
state of the poem also addresses its form, but in a way where the mechanical form is only
approached to reinforce the content expressed by a given poet. Therefore, this analysis will
not produce an extent study of the mechanical form of the poems, this will only be
approached when reinforcing an intellectual effect interpretation.
As said before, the rationalization of poetry can be very difficult. Poetry brings up our
truest feelings and it incites our purest appreciation of art. When read by this thesis author and
advisor, the poems by Hardy, Régnier and Gregh aroused amazement, sadness, admiration
and questioning. The next step is to try to develop an analysis faithful to the beauty of the
poems. Marjorie Boulton addresses this and says it is the path to a successful study:
13
Boulton (1997) uses the term intellectual effect to describe the interpretation that a poem can inspire in a
reader.
23
Ideally, literary criticism ought to arise out of pleasure. What
should happen is that we find something delightful and for a time
are satisfied with the delight; later, because the healthy mind
seldom remains unmoving, we begin to wonder what is the cause of
our delight. We may find, rather disconcertingly, that the cause has
nothing to do with beauty. (BOULTON, 1997, p. 04)
All three poets combined elements which infallibly produce good poetry. Whether they
perform it at the same extend or not, is implied in the next chapter.
It is also important to consider, in a poetic analysis, that it is improbable to study every
possibility of interpretation. As Horace stated, the readers must distance themselves from the
poem, but when this happens it is inevitable to lose some aspects of it. To analyse a poem is
to break it down:
We always find something in a poem that we cannot analyse
because it exists only in the poem as whole. If we are trying to
understand why a poem delight us, we separate the different parts;
the reason for this is the crudely practical one that, though we can
perceive several things at once, we cannot describe the several
things that we perceive at once, all at the same time; we cannot
think two complete sentences simultaneously. (BOULTON, 1997,
p. 04)
It is important to do so otherwise the analysis would seem hysterical without a stable
methodology, and it would not be clear for readers.
To finalize the poetic considerations underlying this analysis, a reading of one of the
first quotes from the book Anatomy of Poetry (1990):
The things that are most interesting and most worth having are
impossible to define. If we use our common sense, and are careful
to say enough, so as to exclude all other objects, we can easily
explain what a shovel is, or a telephone, or a bracelet, or even
something a little more symbolic such as a sceptre or a pound note.
The fact that a man or woman deeply in love can ‘find no words’ is
well known, though the attempt to find words has produced some of
our greatest poetry; the fact that the mystic cannot describe intuitive
experience accounts in part for the constant arguments on the
subject of religion; and hundreds of serious thinkers have been
defeated in the attempt to define beauty. Thus, in any analysis
which aims at ‘explaining’ the beauty of poetry, we are to some
extent trying to explain the inexplicable. (BOULTON, 1997, p. 01)
Therefore, this analysis will try to expose the elements, of all three poems, which make them
worthy of analysing: their images, the content and choice of their words, the feeling of
continuity and the relation of their content with the Sacred Prostitute. However, as Boulton
said, the essence of their beauty is improbable of logical explanation, it is susceptible to our
24
subjective feelings when reading and engaging with them. Hopefully, the ones who did not
know the poems previous to the reading of this analysis and the ones who did know them, can
appreciate the beauty that the poets expressed while writing these controversial poems.
25
2.2 THE SACRED PROSTITUTE
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am <the mother> and the daughter.
I am the members of my mother.
I am the barren one
and many are her sons.
I am she whose wedding is great,
and I have not taken a husband.
I am the midwife and she who does not bear.
I am the solace of my labor pains.
I am the bride and the bridegroom,
and it is my husband who begot me.
I am the mother of my father
and the sister of my husband
and he is my offspring.
I am the slave of him who prepared me.
I am the ruler of my offspring. (THE NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY,
2014)
According to the Oxford online dictionary, a prostitute is “a person, typically a
woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment.” (OXFORD DICTIONARY, 2014).
Nancy QUALLS-CORBET (1990) is a psychologist who believes that most of the
relationship problems our present society goes through is due to the oblivion of the archetype
of the Sacred Prostitute. Since the beginning of Western society prostitutes were attached to a
negative and impure image of the feminine. Actually, most women who deal with their
sexuality with the same manner and naturalness that men are allowed to have are considered
impure, unworthy and disgraced. This also happens to women who simply appear to have this
behaviour. Every step closer to the behaviour of a prostitute has become a step closer to
damnation. However, Corbett shows us that before the prostitute was linked to a negative side
of morality she was considered sacred, and to relate to her meant to relate to deity.
When people were going through a journey (of physical or mental state) they would
often get lost. When this happened, they could appeal to the refreshing company of a Sacred
Prostitute. She was a priestess, a spiritual receptor of the female force, which went through
her coming originally from the Goddess. Her female nature was dedicated to the highest
purpose of bringing the fertilizing power of the Goddess in touch with the lives of the people.
The Sacred Prostitute opened the gates between the male and the female divine. The travellers
who consulted the Sacred Prostitute discovered that only love was capable to generate and –
when needed – cure the soul. And love also needed the soul to be developed. She was a
woman complete in herself, and this completeness made it possible for her to share her
26
connection with the Goddess with people in need. The sexual act allowed the body to enter
into a state of spiritual connection with the sacred. This act was also considered the
reinsertion of humanity to nature. Ever since humanity has left nature to live in concrete
cities, we have distanced ourselves from our purest origin, nature. The sexual relationship was
considered a situation in which people could not replace basic natural instincts. (QUALLSCORBET, 1990)
In times when women were equal to men, and they also had a place in the clergy (with
the same importance as a male priest), the Sacred Prostitute was considered the representation
of the Goddess of Love and Fertility (the name varied to each civilization). The act of making
love was not seen as something that women should be ashamed of, rather it was something
positive – not necessarily commendable, but seen as natural and without prejudices. In those
times, people were conscious about the fact that the feminine lived (still lives) inside men and
women alike. The Sacred Prostitute became an archetype, defined by Carl Jung as:
The concept of the archetype… is derived from the repeated
observation that, for instance, the myths and fairy-tales of world
literature contain definite motifs which crop up everywhere. We
meet these same motifs in the fantasies, dreams, deliria, and
delusions of individuals living today. These typical images and
associations are what I call archetypal ideas. The more vivid they
are, the more they will be coloured by particularly strong feelingtones… They impress, influence, and fascinate us. They have their
origin in the archetype, which in itself is an irrepresentable,
unconscious, pre-existent form that seems to be part of the inherited
structure of the psyche and can therefore manifest itself
spontaneously anywhere, at any time. (JUNG, 1989, p. 392)
Accordingly to QUALLS-CORBET (1990), the destruction of the archetype of the Sacred
Prostitute resulted in the repression of the feminine, inside men and women alike.
QUALLS-CORBET (1990) continued to wonder about the consequences that came
with the loss of the Sacred Prostitute, and later the loss of the Goddess. What does it mean to
choose a male god above all others? The author gathered from her research that it resulted in a
feeling of numbness and emptiness: the joy, beauty and creative energy that unite sexuality
and spirituality were lost. This feeling combined with the forced superiority of a male deity
over all females, started to arouse the inequality amongst women and men. Women started to
have their sexuality tainted and taken to the extreme: or completely repressed or completely
exploited and sold as a profane prostitution. This profane view is widely known; it manifests
the petty ways in which female sexuality is improperly used.
27
The researcher cites Carl Jung, in saying that when an archetype (such as the Sacred
Prostitute) is lost, it produces a great sense of dissatisfaction within our culture. She continues
on by stating that this feeling leads us to give much more value to doing than being, to
reaching than living, to thinking than feeling. When the Sacred Prostitute existed, the
civilizations were sustained by the matriarchy. Thompson (1990 QUALLS-CORBET, p. 37)
says that the matriarchy used to set customs, religious authority, the cohesion of the
collective, tradition, cultural authority, whereas the patriarchy sets laws, military power,
individualistic wars and political power.
The patriarchy is the social organization – the regime – in which we have been
inserted for a long time. Although most of us have forgotten of the Sacred Prostitute, it seems
that Hardy, Régnier and Gregh’s (un)consciousness still remembered about Her when writing
their poems. This thesis will show how all three poems have the aspect of the prostitute
connected to this archetype, and the well-known profane aspect.
28
2.3 STATE OF THE ART
There is a significant amount of scientific papers that have prostitution as their subject
and many of them approach the old profession differently from this one, which, although
embracing the support of historical and sociological materials, has a literary focus. Many
researchers studied the causes, consequences, laws and other political issues regarding the sex
trade, but as one reads this thesis, one must remember that one of its purposes is to tie the
scenario of poetry with history. No academic studies relating the poems The Ruined Maid
(1903), Courtesans (1912), and For the Gate of the Courtesans (1912) with the analysis of the
contrast of the Victorian and Belle Époque Societies impression and the archetype of the
Sacred Prostitute were found.
Kristen Antonia Harris Aspevig, in her PhD dissertation Fact and Fiction:
representations of prostitution in contemporary British news media and novels (2011),
provided an empirical analysis of the competing constructions of prostitution in media and
literature. In her research there is a segment in which she illustrated the historical factors that
contribute to female prostitution, and work conditions in the Victorian Era. Also, Aspevig
depicted prostitution through the eyes of Victorian feminists. However, when introducing
literature to the research, she analysed media and novels of the twenty first century, which
greatly differ from the format of this proposal.
The thesis by Rebecca Cefaratti The archaeology of prostitution: literary and material
evidence (2001) gathered – through many genres of literature – evidences of the oldest of
trades. Literature was a great source in this research due to the lack of official written
documents in the early ages, and it helped depict the daily living of prostitutes throughout
history. Although this work relied on literature to sustain its topic area, it was not its centre.
Stanley Renner, in his article William Acton, the Truth about Prostitution, and the
Truth about Hardy’s not-So-Ruined Maid (1992), related some topics this work intends to
connect. William Acton wrote the book Prostitution, Considered in its Moral, Social, and
Sanitary Aspects, in London and Other Large Cities; with Proposals for the Mitigation and
Prevention of its Attendant Evils (1857) which illustrated prostitution in the Victorian Era,
and clarified some Victorian beliefs about these women. Renner brilliantly interpreted the
poem by Thomas Hardy while relating it to Acton’s sociological statements about the
Victorian Era, in order to confirm his understanding of the poem.
Finally, it is of great importance to consider the virtual blog of a woman retired from
prostitution, Maggie McNeill. Scholars may ask why this blog is here instated, why it is listed
29
among other scientific-university-published works included in this state of the art. The answer
is simple: if there is the possibility to see the world through the eyes of the subject of this
research or, as McNeill said, “a whore’s-eye view” (McNEILL, 2012), should not this
opportunity be grabbed at once? Regardless, McNeill listed seven poems regarding
prostitution and gave her impressions about each one. Luckily, three of them are the same
which will be studied in this research. Regarding Gregh and Hardy’s poems, the blogger
characterized them as a realistic view on prostitution, without the judgment of the authors,
solely from their societies. McNeill perceived Régnier’s poem, however, as a critic from the
poet himself, saying that he “shows himself as moralistic and judgmental as any Englishman
of his time” (MCNEILL, 2012). This analysis intends to clarify this statement, considered a
misinterpretation.
30
3 ARS INTERPRES14
3.1 THE RUINED MAID
115 "O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown! A 16
2 Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town? A
3 And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?" — B
4 "O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she. B
5 — "You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, C
6 Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks; C
7 And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!" — B
8 "Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined," said she. B
9 — "At home in the barton you said thee' and thou,' D
10 And thik oon,' and theäs oon,' and t'other'; but now D
11 Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!" — B
"12 Some polish is gained with one's ruin," said she. B
13 — "Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak E
14 But now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek, E
15 And your little gloves fit as on any la-dy!" — B
16 "We never do work when we're ruined," said she. B
17 — "You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream, F
18 And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem F
19 To know not of megrims or melancho-ly!" — B
20 "True. One's pretty lively when ruined," said she. B
21 — "I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown, A
22 And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!" — A
23 "My dear — a raw country girl, such as you be, B
24 Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she. B
(HARDY, 1903, p. 113)
3.1.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Ruined Maid
In the first stanza of Hardy’s narrative poem, Amelia seems to be a character who has
disappeared for some time. The greeting of her friend reveals that the friend is amazed by
their meeting in town, seen in verse 2. In verse 1, with the choice of the word crown to
describe their reunion, it is inferred that Amelia has improved her manner, and is now noble
like. The choice of the word Town in verse 2 also sets the climate of surprise, because in the
14
The art of interpretation.
The numeration of each verse of all poems were inserted by the author of this thesis in order to facilitate
the understanding of the interpretation of the poems.
16
Letters inserted in all poems by the author of this thesis in order to indicate the verse rhymes.
15
31
Victorian Era wealthy women were not accustomed to attend major city centres without being
accompanied. The women who frequented these centres alone were often workers (farm and
industry or workers such as courtesans). Continuing in verse 3, these new noble features
Amelia unveils are portrayed with her new garments, new clothing, with a rich air, rich feel to
it. In 4, Amelia reveals that the reason that has made her rich and empowered somehow has
ruined her. Also, we begin to see the pattern of the poem: Amelia speaks at the end of each
stanza.
The second stanza continues on with more information about their background. The
friend who is still amazed describes the contrast between what Amelia used to do with what
she is now. The content here incites our imagination regarding images – almost flashes – of
Amelia’s old life. She wore rags for clothing (tatters) and was constantly barefoot, which
explains her friend’s amazement, in verse 3, with such prosperity. Hereon we see another
pattern: the friend lists Amelia’s past problems to then praise her improvements. Now we
have a better insight about the economic changes in her life, having jewellery and hair
decorations. Here, there is also the possibility that the economic status of Amelia is not
necessarily linked to her social status, because the decorations mentioned are not considered
fashionable, but somewhat vulgar due to the exaggeration of it.
Not all the irony may be employed to the advantage of the ruined
maid pretty clearly she is not quite the epitome of refinement she
thinks she is. She is a little overdresses, she does “strut about
Town”, at least the perhaps prejudiced view of the country girl,
rather vaingloriously, and her pride in being above her friend on
clearly questionable grounds does not altogether do her credit.
(RENNER, 1992, p. 25, 26)
Continuing the reading of the stanza, when Amelia addresses her improvement, she again
states that it is conditioned to the fact that she is ruined. Considering that’s how ruined
women dress, the reason to her life change starts to be hinted. Relating this situation with the
archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, we see that both are embellished in their predicament
BARNSTONE; BARNSTONE (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 35) illustrate this while
talking about an ancient Sacred Prostitute called Enheduana: (...)The day was good for
Enheduana, because she had jewellery. / She dressed with the beauty of women. / As the first
rays of moonlight on the horizon, how exuberantly she dressed!17 Although they have their
17
Original source from which the quote was retrieved: O dia foi bom para Enheduana, pois ela vestiu-se de
joias. / Ela vestiu-se com a beleza própria das mulheres. / Como os primeiros raios de luar sobre o
horizonte, Quão exuberantemente ela se vestiu! BARNSTONE; BARNSTONE (1990 apud QUALLSCORBET, p. 35)
32
jewellery, they also rely in their natural beauty, which is enhanced by their objects. The
profane prostitutes and the Sacred Prostitutes have in common the fact of valuing their female
beauty and energy. Both take their sexuality to a higher level than common women and
accentuate it and other traits of the female body. In Amelia’s case it was considered vulgar,
although her friend was amazed by the beauty of it.
In the following stanza the friend reveals the farmyard home in the barton, and the
linguistic traits (Hardy’s colloquial diction) that could characterize them in low-class
economic standards: (verses 9 and 10) thee’ and thou’/(…) thik oon, theäs oon, t’other’.
These words were a strategy used by Hardy to describe their oral language. We see that
Amelia has also bettered her speech, although her friend has not (verse 11). Again, when
Amelia speaks she conditions her new, better and richer way of life to her ruin. This
predicament can also relate Amelia’s image with that of the Sacred Prostitute described by
HASTINGS (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 46):
We know that the Sacred Prostitutes were very numerous.
According to Estrabão, the temples of Aphrodite at Eryx and
Corinth had more than a thousand of them, while in each of the two
Comanas lived about six thousand of them. They had social status
and were well-educated. In some cases, they remained politically
and legally equal to men.18
Therefore, we see that both Amelia and the Sacred Prostitutes had a higher social status than
“regular women” such as Amelia’s country friend. The high company (verse 11) Amelia has
been enjoying of, has inserted her in a stratum of power and influence, which has provided
her a sense of security. As the Sacred Prostitutes were priestesses and advisors of royalty, they
had protection and the same rights as men, which made them equal. Although prostitutes such
as Amelia did not have legal equality to men, their sense of security was well-founded
especially because of the power they obtained over men by sharing intimacy.
The forth stanza continues the pattern of the friend remembering and describing her
old hopeless life, and how it affected Amelia’s appearance. With their reunion, the friend is
baffled with the classiness of Amelia, her healthy look and rich accessories. Verse 16 is the
first big hint about the reason that Amelia has her economic success without work and with
social ruin. The historical context can be provided by William Acton in:
18
Original source: (…) sabemos que as prostitutas sagradas eram muito numerosas. De acordo com
Estrabão, nos templos de Afrodite em Érix e Corinto havia mais de mil, enquanto que em cada um dos dois
Comanas residiam por volta de seis mil. Elas gozavam de status social e eram cultas. Em alguns casos,
permaneciam política e legalmente iguais aos homens. HASTINGS (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 46)
33
We must recollect that she (the prostitute) has a healthy frame, an
excellent constitution, and is in the vigour of life. During her career,
she has obtained a knowledge of the world most probably above the
situation she was born in. Her return to the hearth of her infancy is
for obvious reasons a very rare occurrence. (ACTON, 1866, p. 64)
Here the great irony of contrast appears in Hardy’s poem: she is beautiful, wealthy, healthy,
rich, sophisticated without working and by doing what she is doing, she is considered ruined.
In the Sacred Prostitutes’ life, this contrast was not possible. They had beauty, wealth, health
and sophistication but their jobs as priestesses was never considered in a negative aspect, on
the contrary, as BARNSTONE; BARNSTONE (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 33)
shares: Lady of all essences, full of light / good woman, dressed in splendour, / that who
possess the love of heaven and earth, / friend of the temple of An, / thou doest wondrous loud,
/ thou wilt the tiara of the high priestess / whose hands hold the seven essences. 19 This
sophistication allowed them to take a closer step to the image of the highest priestess, and
therefore closer to the Goddess. In both Amelia’s and The Sacred Prostitute’s cases, their
flaunting beauty labelled their situation, although the latter was respected and worshiped by
society.
In the fifth stanza the friend remembers how Amelia used to consider her life an
oppressing witch’s nightmare (hag-ridden), and how she was not accepting of her life
condition. We can see that Amelia was a very unhappy person, but with her ruin she began to
appear joyful with high spirits. She confirms it by saying that women as her – who are ruined
– have to have the appearance of being pretty lively, contrasting with the megrims of her past,
and of the previous verse. Hardy piled irony into the poem towards society, by the contrast of
Amelia’s appearance with her ruin, being Hardy a naturalist, caused by the environment she
was inserted.
Although Amelia has depicted her social status as ruined, her friend seems not to take
this into consideration in the last stanza. She is astonished by ‘Melia’s lifestyle and wishes to
be the same, she desires to have the economic power and freedom that her friend has. Amelia
seems to warn her friend that they could not be the same, due to the fact that a simple country
girl who still has her “honour”, and therefore is not ruined, does not have access to the
possibilities that ruined girls have. Some authors have considered that some verses reveal that
Original source: “Senhora de todas as essências cheia de luz, / boa mulher, vestida de esplendor, / que
possui o amor do céu e da terra, / amiga de templo de Na, / tu usas adornos maravilhosos, / tu desejas a tiara
da alta sacerdotisa / cujas mãos seguram as sete essências.” BARNSTONE; BARNSTONE (1990 apud
QUALLS-CORBET, p. 33)
19
34
‘Melia’s economic improvement has not added an intellectual one, therefore she would be
considered rich but not worthy.
The likelihood that Hardy intended the irony to rebound on ‘Melia
may be indicated by “her lapse into dialect in the last line” (…) But
her use of “ain’t” is not unambiguous evidence of illiteracy. For
among the English gentry (as well as those of the American South)
the proper use of “ain’t” for “am not” was actually a sign of
sophistication and security of social position. (…) actually, it is the
next-to-last line, “such as you be” that more unequivocally indicates
Hardy’s ironic undercutting of ‘Melia’s pretensions. (RENNER,
1992, p. 26)
Therefore, Amelia has grown regarding her economic status, but as the title suggests, she is
still considered ruined. She would not mix into her society, because to many aspects of her
life reveal her low-status birthplace, what could prevent her from marrying into a life of
respect and “dignity”.
By analysing the title of the poem in contrast to the poem itself, we see the great irony
Hardy has illustrated: the title indicates that the core of the poem is a ruined maid, a ruined
single woman. When one reads the title alone, one can assume that it will be a story of
everything that is implicit while reading “ruined” and at the same time, remembering that this
is a Victorian poem, therefore the ruin would probably be related to sexuality. However,
Hardy broke this expectation because he provides us a fresh take on Amelia’s situation
because although she is morally ruined by Victorian standards it is quite evident that Amelia
is conscious of her status as a morally ruined maid and that she sees no grandeur about it, in
spite of her improvements considering her past life. In every single verse representative of her
talk, she finalizes it with the word ruined or ruin.
Also, considering the metres of the poem, as indicated above, we see that her verses
are always in the same pattern (B). Considering that the last two verses of each stanza follow
the same pattern, it gives the impression of a monotone in Amelia’s speech, contrasting the
amazement of her friend, with ‘Melia’s blasé responses. Hardy not only achieved these
differences in amazement and blasé with the content of each stanza, but also by the rhythm, as
we can see by the indication above (AABB, CCBB, DDBB, EEBB, FFBB, AABB). Although
in stanzas 1-5 the penultimate verse is still of the friend’s talk, it sets the tone for ‘Melia’s
response, and it also adds to the notion that the ruined maid knows that there is no grandeur
about her situation. It seems that the poem is constructed as a cautionary tale, at the end of
each stanza she is warning her friend about her predicament, and that is why her tone at the
end of the stanza seems quite melancholic. This poem is very lyrical, and the rhymes give a
35
sense of a cycle, especially because it finishes with the same metre of its beginning, therefore
suggesting that this situation may happen with many other girls.
The biggest question following the reading of this poem is about the social status of
the encountered Amelia. How, in the late nineteenth century (considering the poem was
written in 1866), a woman could transit from a lower working class to a social class in which
women did not work but were still financially empowered? Prostitution was the answer.
Hardy wrote this poem on a time when prostitution was a much debated controversial topic.
The Contagious Diseases Act of 1866 and the understandably heated debate that went on
around it provided the immediate context for “The Ruined Maid”, dated the same year.
(RENNER, 1992, p. 24) This Act was a resolution by law instated to try to prevent venereal
diseases in military officers. In army towns or naval ports, prostitutes were arrested and taken
to hospitals to be checked. If the prostitute were to have any kind of disease, she would be
locked away until cured. (WOJTCZAK, 2009) Therefore, being Hardy a well-informed
critical thinker, there is the possibility that he, after reading the book by William Acton
Prostitution, Considered in its Moral, Social, and Sanitary Aspects, in London and Other
Large Cities; with Proposals for the Mitigation and Prevention of its Attendant Evils (1857),
and understanding Acton’s ideal of accepting prostitution and trying to better their situation,
had named his ruined maid Amelia when considering the term Ameliorate – coined by Acton
– used to enlighten readers that “thus, instead of trying to stamp it (prostitution) out, society
would better spend its energies in trying to AMELIORATE its deleterious effects.” (RENNER,
1992, p. 27).
Finally, as Renner (1992) concluded, the main idea of Thomas Hardy’s poem is to
show that the career of prostitution was a better path for working class women, than the path
of “virtue”. The irony of the poem is mainly directed to the Victorian society, which
perpetuated that scenario. This contrast allowed us to relate the image of the successful ruined
maid with the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute. Amelia’s life was drawn by the poet as a
continuous improvement starting by her ruin. In the Sacred Prostitute’s time, a woman started
to enjoy the magnitude of her life when losing her virginity. Upon this act of love, her energy
would be higher, she would find joy and respect in life, and it was the stepping stone for the
beginning of the female life. And Amelia has started her life in the same breaking point.
.
36
3.2 FOR THE GATES OF THE COURTESANS
1 IF to the town thou come some morning, to A
2 Join the sweet, frivolous, futile sisters who A
3 Bestow their love and sell their beauty, wait B
4 Before thou enter my returnless gate, B
5 Whose folding-doors are mirrors; there descry C
6 Thy coming self, thou who art tempted by C
7 The gold, it may be, and the banquet's hum, D
8 Thou from a vast and distant country come, D
9 Thou who still pure, and innocently bare, E
10 Smilest, with autumn's russet in thy hair, E
11 And summer's fruits upon thy breast embossed, F
12 And thy soft skin like fabled sea-caves mossed, F
13 And in thy warmest flesh's secret fold G
14 The form of rosy shells the seas have rolled, G
15 And beauty of dawn and shadow, and the scent H
16 Of flowers and gardens, woods and sea-weed blent! H
17 Tarry, ere the ineffable alms thou bring I
18 Of being both the autumn and the spring I
19 To those who far from dawn and harvests live. J
20 Listen, thou mayest yet return, but if J
21 Thou must, I open, glad to see thee pass, K
22 Laughing and double past my double glass. K
(RÉGNIER, 1912, p. 113)
3.2.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Gate
Régnier’s single-stanza poem furthers the theme of prostitution with a different
perspective. Differently from Hardy’s narrative poem, which has two female characters, this
one has the voice of one person: the persona, who is a prostitute. The feeling we get by
reading the poem is that it is a dialogue, however with only one voice. This dialogue appears
to be between a girl who is considering becoming a courtesan and a woman who is one
already, and probably is also a brothel owner. Her speech is beautiful and alarming, but
overall convincing, which can be understood by the following fact:
After successfully winning a long series of obstacles related to
regulations and the police, it is necessary to fill the house with fresh
meat. For recruiting, one must possess gifts of persuasion, of
shrewdness, audacity, business acumen and good penetration in
certain circles.20 (ADLER, 1991, p. 51)
20
Original source: Depois de ter conseguido vencer uma longa série de obstáculos relativos aos
regulamentos e à polícia, é necessário encher a casa de carne fresca. Para saber recrutar, é preciso possuir
dons de persuasão, de perspicácia, audácia, tino comercial e uma boa penetração em certos meios.
(ADLER, 1991, p. 51)
37
The persona starts the poem questioning the reason of someone’s visit and by making
an assumption; if this visitor chose that morning to come to the town (leaving the countryside,
further seen in verse 8) to join the women who sell their beauty and use their love, she should
wait as the persona warns her that this path has no return: returnless gate.
This woman is often dragged by prostitution nets and is locked in
slaughter houses. Others abandon the profession and go back to
their place of origin, to their previous jobs. Some try to alternate
during a biggest time gap possible the phases of wealth and poverty,
tortured by the dread of the police toughen by alcohol. They
become the prey for which the suspicious house owners yearned
for, who used them as bait.21 (ADLER, 1991, p. 38)
In 2, the persona describes these women as silly and vulgar. Although the persona calls these
women sisters, there is not a feeling of community in this verse, instead of loneliness,
considering that even though courtesans find themselves frequently surrounded by people,
they are alone in life and they know it.”22 (ADLER, 1991, p. 33), and especially considering
the gate that separates them from society.
The persona’s warning also mentions that the gate has in its doors mirrors that reveal
and discover the traveller’s necessities for income and food, translated by gold and banquet in
verse 7. The banquet’s hum reinforces the idea of temptation started in verse 6, creating an
image of the richness of the banquet calling for the girl. Therefore, we see the temptations of
survival as the biggest motivation for women to step into the profession, as William Acton
showed in his study, reinforcing Régnier’s poem.
It is a shameful fact that the lowness of wages paid to work-women
in various trades is a fruitful source of prostitution; unable to obtain
by their labour the means of procuring the bare necessities of life,
they gain, by surrendering their bodies to evil uses, food to sustain
and clothes to cover them. What wonder if, urged on by want and
toil, encouraged by evil advisers, and exposed to selfish tempters, a
large proportion of these poor girls fall from the path of virtue?
(ACTON, 1866, p. 129)
21
Original source: Essa mulher com frequência é tragada pelas redes de prostituição e trancafiada em casas
de abate. Outras abandonam a profissão e voltam ao seu lugar de origem, à sua profissão anterior. Algumas
tentam alternar durante o maior espaço de tempo possível as fases de riqueza e de miséria, torturadas pelo
pavor da polícia embrutecidas pelo álcool. Tornam-se as presas pelas quais ansiavam as proprietárias de
casas suspeitas, que as utilizavam como iscas. (ADLER, 1991, p. 38)
22
Original source: mesmo que as cortesãs se encontrem frequentemente rodeadas de gente, elas estão
sozinhas na vida e sabem disso. (ADLER, 1991, p. 33)
38
The persona continues by describing the woman, and the words chosen began to
elaborate an image: a pure, peasant young girl and innocently bare, as if she were wearing a
nightgown, indicating vulnerability. Also, with the description of her as a reddish-brown, in
10 autumn’s russet in thy hair, we can infer that this season being known as the fruitful one,
can indicate a sexual ripeness of the girl. The persona furthers the description, by comparing
her breasts with summer’s fruits, being the sweetest of all. Here it is possible to compare this
image of the beautiful courtesan with the description of a Sacred Prostitute by MICHENER
(1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 14)
She was an exquisite human being, a perfection of the goddess
Astarte, for no man could look at her provocative form without
seeing in her the sublime representation of fertility. She was a girl
whose purpose was to be loved, to be taken away and made fertile
so that she could reproduce her grandeur and bless the earth.23
The way the poet describes the young girl provides for the reader a feeling of a natural beauty,
and the aforementioned sense of fertility and sexual ripeness, and the Sacred Prostitutes
emanated the same. Therefore by evoking natural symbols such as autumn, summer’s fruits,
the poet ended up evoking the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, symbol of nature and female
sexuality and holy fertility.
There are many more symbols drawn by this poem, described by the persona, it is
possible to see one when she continues to build the girl’s imagery, by bringing the picture of
sea-caves covered in moss, and by doing so, isolating something precious of the girl. In
continuing this isolation, the persona refers to the warmest secret of the flesh: folded in the
form of rosy shells, a hidden beauty of dawn and shadow, which incites the smell with odours
of nature in its most beautiful forms, seen in 16. This symbol of the female genitalia is
beautifully and subtly built in a comfortable speed with an effective choice of words. Also
being able to relate to the image of the Sacred Prostitute for this one is a woman with perfect
female traits, accepting and highlighting the preciousness of the woman body, such as the
female genitalia intensified by Régnier’s metaphor.
In 17, interestingly enough, the persona begins to describe how the girl causes linger
before the unspeakable charity she provides by being both autumn and spring, and by
completing the ones who do not have the privilege of being complete as she is. In 19, the
23
Original source: Uma perfeição da deusa Astarte, pois homem algum conseguia olhar sua forma
provocante sem nela ver a representação sublime da fertilidade. Era uma menina cuja finalidade era ser
amada, ser levada e tornada fértil, para que pudesse reproduzir seu esplendor e abençoar a terra.
MICHENER (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 14)
39
persona describes the people who will eventually ask for the girl’s services – in case she goes
through the gate of prostitution – as people who have important aspects of life missing from
theirs. As if she would become a balm for these souls, a gift from nature itself. Amazingly,
this charity provided by the courtesan was also provided by the Sacred Prostitutes:
Translation: The sensual magic of sacred prostitutes, or Horae,
soften the behavior of men. They were often known as Lovable or
Grace, once are referred to the unique combination of beauty and
goodness called charis (Latin caritas), later translated as "charity".
In fact, it was like the Hindu karuna, combination of motherly love,
tenderness, comfort, mystical awareness and sex. 24 WALKER
(1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 43)
The sexual act in ancient times was the connection between mortals and goddesses. These
priestesses would act in the life of their subjects as loving mother-like figures. They provided
comfort for the ones in need, as did the courtesans accordingly to Régnier’s poem. His
description of the courtesans is surprisingly similar do that of the Sacred Prostitutes: the
sensual priestess - human woman that brought the attributes of the goddess to the life of
human beings. The connection with an important layer of instinctual life - joy, beauty,
creative energy that unites sexuality and spirituality.25 (QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p.16)
Régnier’s prostitute and the Sacred Prostitute differ only by the way society sees them, but
they are equally important to the lives of many souls.
Yet after these beautiful symbols constructed by the persona, she wraps the poem with
the warning she began in verse 3 (wait). First she appears to give the girl a chance to go back
home, but also allows the continuance of the path, because this woman, who is already a
prostitute or a brothel owner, or both, will be glad to see one more sister in her mirrored gate.
They would go through this gate together, and the girl would cross the gate as a person, and
get to the other side as a changed one, double past. Considering the title of the poem with the
poem itself, we read the mirrors on the gates as the reflection of life inside and out of the
brothel: inside there is the perversion of the profane prostitution and the sold sexual
relationship and outside there is the perversion of the society that leads young girls into this
24
Original source: A mágica sensual das prostitutas sagradas, ou Horae suavizava o comportamento dos
homens. Eram frequentemente conhecidas por Amáveis ou Graças, uma vez que se referem à combinação
única de beleza e bondade chamada charis (latim caritas), mais tarde traduzido por “caridade”. Na verdade,
era como a karuna hindu, combinação de amor-de-mãe, ternura, conforto, percepção mística e sexo.
WALKER (1990 apud QUALLS-CORBET, p. 43)
25
Original source: (…) a sacerdotisa sensual – a mulher humana que trazia os atributos da deusa à vida dos
seres humanos. A ligação com uma cama importante da vida instintiva – alegria, beleza, energia criativa
que une sexualidade e espiritualidade. (QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p.16)
40
life, especially the ones from the countryside, as the one from the poem. The reflected image
is how the girl sees herself and how she would not recognize herself in the way out, due to her
impending ruin in society, signified by the prostitution. Society drives her into ruin and at the
same time casts her out.
In For the gate of the courtesans we can see how the legacy of the Parnasse has made
a great impression in Régnier’s work, although he had shifted to Symbolysme. Every couple of
verse rhymes, showing his flawless metres and giving the notion of continuity to the reading
of the poem, as if it was something that was impossible to be stopped not only in this girl’s
life, but in the life of many. The metres of the poem contribute to the idea that prostitution
will hardly end. Where Hardy used irony to enhance the positive side of prostitution, Régnier
used forms of nature: both approximated to the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, but in
different manners.
41
3.3 COURTESANS
1 O COURTESANS, Love's witching, wild priestesses, A
2 You charm the universe from end to end! B
3 Heroes are always fettered by your tresses, A
4 Kings for their pleasure on your bed depend. B
5 Your pose is graceful, and your nostril quivers, C
6 Your feet go dancing, and your deep eyes burn, D
7 Your supple bodies bend like reeds of rivers, C
8 Your robes like incense round about you turn. D
9 Poor men are full of anger when they see you E
10 Come from your segregation of disgrace, F
11 Matrons cast envious eyes at you and flee you, E
12 And the wise, scolding, turn away their face. F
13 But still the sighs of boys with passion paling G
14 Soar up to you in sultry evenings when H
15 You pass, the dreams of lonely artists trailing, G
16 And gray regrets of amorous old men; H
17 And long, strong sighs of young men sick and ailing, G
18 Whose blood chafes at the scent the summer floats, I
19 Longing to take your breasts like fruits, inhaling I
20 Love in the odour of your petticoats. G
(GREGH, 1912, p. 28)
3.3.1 Intellectual Effect And The Sacred Courtesans
Gregh’s poem addresses the societal aspect of prostitution and how it is received by
people from different economic status and gender. The persona begins the lyrical stanza –
clearly dedicated for courtesans – by referring to them as magical and untraditionally
religious. Since the persona begins the poem by calling the courtesans wild priestesses, it is
important to understand the work of the Sacred Prostitute:
The light of the Sacred Prostitute penetrates the heart in the
darkness. (...) she is the priestess enshrined in time, spiritually
receptive to the female force that flows from her coming from the
Goddess, while emanating the conscious satisfaction of beauty and
passion in her human body. Indulging the cosmic energies of love,
she glorifies the Goddess in physical delight and spiritual ecstasy. 26
(QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p. 9)
26
Original source: A luz da prostituta sagrada penetra o coração em meio à escuridão. (...) ela é a
sacerdotisa consagrada no tempo, espiritualmente receptiva à força feminina que flui a partir dela vinda da
deusa, ao mesmo tempo que emana a satisfação consciente da beleza e da paixão em seu corpo humano.
Entregando-se às energias cósmicas do amor, ela glorifica a deusa em deleite físico e êxtase espiritual.
(QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p. 9)
42
The priestess provides comfort and light into the darkness of the mundane life. She is the link
between humanity and deity, between men and the goddesses, she connects people with
beauty and passion occurred by the female force. The act of love glorifies the goddess when
in ecstasy. This is the role of the priestess, of the Sacred Prostitute.
This first stanza also expresses how courtesans are influential in every aspect, seen in
2. In verse 3, the persona begins to detail their influence and the tools of their spells. In 3 we
begin to assemble the symbols conveyed by the poet: the courtesans chain heroes with their
locks of hair and kings become dependable of their pleasurable skills in bed. The Sacred
Prostitutes also had kings depending on their beds, as illustrated by KRAMER (1990 apud
QUALLS-CORBET, p. 32) in his description of the relations between a king and a Sacred
Prostitute:
The awaiting mass sings hymns and love songs to highlight the
ecstasy and fertilising power of the goddess and her lover, the
sacred prostitute and her king. The king turns with his head held
high to the holy lap, he goes with his head held high towards
Inanna’s holy lap, The king coming with his head held high,
Coming to my queen with his head held high... Embraces
Hieródula… 27
Gregh demonstrated how kings were dependent on courtesans with the narration of his neutral
persona, and in the same manner that these prostitutes charmed the universe, Sacred
Prostitutes had whole communities rooting for their love, for their unity with kings. The
difference between Gregh’s courtesans and the Sacred Prostitute is – again – the judgement of
society.
The persona dedicates the second stanza to the courtesans’ distinctive qualities, which
can be understood considering the harsh routine of caring for their appearances:
The everyday life of the courtesan is organized, repetitive, and full
of duties entirely towards the perfection of representation. She gets
up around eleven o'clock, has lunch and takes a very, very long
bath. Smoothness and the whiteness of the skin treated with milks,
creams and perfume. Fragrant humidity of the room that connects
with the bathroom, from where intoxicating fumes escape. Dressing
27
Original source: A massa que aguarda entoa hinos e canções de amor para realçar o êxtase e o poder
fertilizante da deusa e de seu amante, a prostituta sagrada e seu rei. O rei dirige-se com a cabeça erguida ao
colo santo, Ele se dirige com a cabeça erguida ao colo santo de Inana, O rei vindo com a cabeça erguida,
Vindo à minha rainha com a cabeça erguida... Abraça a Hieródula... KRAMER (1990 apud QUALLSCORBET, p. 32)
43
table covered with crystal glasses full of rare perfumes. 28 (ADLER,
1991, p. 32)
In 5 and 6, artistic traits are attributed to these women, whose smooth movements translate as
a dance, and whose intensity can be seen in their eyes. The persona compares their flexible
bodies with the movements of water plants when being stirred by rivers, and compares their
robes as a cloth of incense. It seems to be describing the qualities of the courtesans while
engaging in the sexual act, being this stanza a symbol for it. Considering that the words here
selected are always related to motion, and the scheme rhyme regularity (CDCD) brings
stability to the stanza, it adds to the notion of regular movements.
The third stanza addresses the negative aspects of the courtesans’ lives. Men who
cannot afford their company resent their existence, as do married women, whose envious
looks order the segregated courtesans to run away. And the ones who are wise reprimand
these women and look away:
During the entire nineteenth century until the 1920s, the army of
moralists does not stop worrying about prostitution, writing long
treaties, winning the public opinion, doing polls, appealing to legal
and political authorities, doing surveys, urging the legal and
political authorities for the evil to not grow and customs not to
deprave: from that sanitation campaign actively participate together,
especially doctors, ideologues, physiologists and some writers.
Thus, there is no pity for the women whose profession is love. The
police are called to repress them, and moralists want to imprison
them. The wildly free battalion from dishevelled Madalenas that
roam the cities in all directions for these groups. 29 (ADLER, 1991,
p. 42, 43)
These women’s lives were not easy, and still are not easy. They participate of the lives of
different strata, but at the same time are not accepted. History shows us how women were
always in the verge of being renegaded or scolded, whoever they were and whatever they did.
Courtesans were always influential, but their acceptance was given in night time, in closed
28
Original source: A vida cotidiana da cortesã é organizada, repetitiva, cheia de obrigações inteiramente
voltada para a perfeição da representação. Ela se levanta por volta das onze horas, almoça e toma um banho
muito, muito longo. Maciez e brancura da pele tratada com leites, cremes e perfumes. Umidade perfumada
do quarto que se comunica com o banheiro, de onde escapam emanações inebriantes. Penteadeira coberta de
vidros de cristal cheios de perfumes raros. (ADLER, 1991, p. 32)
29
Original source: No decorrer de todo o século XIX até os anos 1920, o exército de moralistas não para de
se preocupar com a prostituição, escrevendo longos tratados, conquistando a opinião pública, fazendo
enquetes, apelando às autoridades jurídicas e políticas para que o mal não cresça e os costumes não se
depravem: dessa campanha de saneamento participam ativamente, em conjunto, principalmente médicos,
ideólogos, fisiologistas e alguns escritores. Dessa forma, não existe piedade para as mulheres que fazem do
amor sua profissão. A polícia é convocada para reprimi-las, e os moralistas querem aprisiona-las. O
batalhão selvagemente livre de Madalenas descabeladas que percorrem as cidades em todas as direções para
esses grupos. (ADLER, 1991, p. 42, 43)
44
doors and in secrecy. This segregation was sometimes the reality of some Sacred Prostitutes,
who, for some reason, were banned from their sanctuaries. Here is the example given by
BARNSTONE; BARNSTONE (1990 QUALLS-CORBET, p. 35) regarding the priestess
Enheduana:
You asked me to enter the holy cloister, Giparu. / And I entered it,
I, the high priestess Enheduana! / I carried the ritual basket and sang
in your praise. / Now I find myself banned amid lepers. / I cannot
even live with you. / Shadows penetrate the light of day / light
darkens around me / shadows penetrate the daylight, / covering the
day with sandstorms. / My soft honey mouth becomes suddenly
confused. / My beautiful face is now dust.30
Although this particular priestess was later accepted back into her sanctuary, it was not
different from what the French profane prostitutes lived. They were segregated as lepers,
sometimes deprived from even the right of prayer, excommunicated and banned from
churches, not having the solidarity and comfort of religion. In fact, what should be the biggest
comfort and what should provide the biggest security for them, ended up being their biggest
nightmare. Religion was the highest motivation for the scolding of prostitutes.
Despite this segregation, the persona continues, boys overcome fences by flying pass
them to meet these courtesans in hot passionate nights. Lonely artists’ dreams of desire, and
old regrets of elders with sexual yearnings make trails that follow the courtesans’ steps.
Young men in poor health whose blood becomes damaged by these women’s scent spread by
summer, desire to have the courtesans while absorbing the love their undergarments
propagate. This desire of men towards the courtesans can be related and explained by the
function of the Sacred Prostitute:
Translation: By turning to the stranger, the sacred prostitute takes
her saffron robe and gestures for him to rise before the image of
Venus. (...) He kneels in sign of respect before the Goddess of
passion and of love, and offers prayer of supplication for Her to
receive her offering. (...) The woman and the stranger know that the
consummation of the act of love is consecrated by the Goddess
through which they are renewed. The ritual itself, due to the
presence of the divine, is transformative. The Sacred Prostitute is
now no longer a virgin, she is started in the fullness of femininity,
the beauty of her body and her sexuality. Her true feminine nature
30
Original source: Tu pediste-me para entrar no claustro santo, o Giparu. / e eu entrei nele, eu, a alta
sacerdotisa Enheduana! / Eu carreguei a cesta do ritual e cantei em seu louvor. / Agora encontro-me banida,
em meio aos leprosos. / Nem mesmo eu consigo viver contigo. / Sombras penetram a luz do dia, / a luz
escurece-se à minha volta, / sombras penetram a luz do dia, / cobrindo o dia com tempestades de areia. /
Minha suave boca de mel torna-se repentinamente confusa. / Minha linda face agora é pó. BARNSTONE;
BARNSTONE (1990 QUALLS-CORBET, p. 35)
45
was awakened to life. And divine love element resides in her. 31
(QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p. 29)
Love was and will always be the biggest need of society. What most men looked for when
meeting a courtesan was the same of what, in ancient times, men looked for when consulting
a Sacred Prostitute. The feminine is a complement of the masculine, as the masculine
complements the feminine, and the repression of the feminine has brought a sense of
incompletion in society for a long time, including Gregh’s Belle Époque. Therefore, men paid
for the company of courtesans to feel complete, and that is why, as Gregh’s poem illustrated,
men had such desire of having these women. They not only desired the women themselves,
but desired the ritual they provided. As Hardy and Régnier, Gregh seemed to be evoking the
archetype of the Sacred Prostitute when describing the positive aspects of the
courtesans/prostitutes.
31
Original source: Ao voltar-se para o estranho, a prostituta sagrada tira a sua veste cor de açafrão e
gesticula para que ele se erga diante da imagem de Vênus. (...) Ele se ajoelha em sinal de respeito diante da
deusa da paixão e do amor, e oferece-lhe oração de súplica para que ela receba sua oferenda. (...) A mulher
e o estranho sabem que a consumação do ato do amor é consagrado pela deusa através da qual eles se
renovam. O ritual em si, devido à presença do divino, é transformador. A prostituta sagrada agora não é
mais virgem, foi iniciada na plenitude da feminilidade, da beleza de seu corpo e de sua sexualidade. Sua
verdadeira natureza feminina foi despertada para a vida. E elemento divino do amor reside nela. (QUALLSCORBET, 1990, p. 29)
46
4 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
It becomes quite evident in the poem The Ruined Maid (1903) how Thomas Hardy
was a follower of the Naturalist movement. The poem emphasises how the environment
surrounding Amelia and her unnamed friend and society had a great influence in them, and
how it was basically the cause for the conditions in which both characters found themselves.
The conditions of the Victorian Era provided to women were decisive in their predicaments
and therefore determined by its environment.
With the same intensity of representing his movement Henri de Régnier filled his
poem For the gates of the courtesans (1912) with metaphors and symbols as the core of his
poem and the biggest means of broadcasting his main idea. Also, although Régnier tried to
break with the formal tradition of the Parnasse by making a single stanza poem, he was able
to create a poem with flawless rhyme scheme and pairs of verses with same sounds after
every last word stressed syllable (AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK), clearly promoting his
earlier traits. Maggie McNeill has referred to Régnier as a judgmental and moralistic poet and
overviewed For the gates of the courtesans (1912) as (it) depicts a beautiful woman’s
decision to “waste” her beauty and sex appeal making a living on her own terms as passage
through a mirrored gate through which it is impossible to return. Once a woman chose the
path of whoredom she was “ruined”, unable to return to the “purity” she left behind
(McNEILL, 2012). Interestingly enough, she considers this the opinion of Régnier himself,
but she discerns the “ruin” of Hardy’s poem as a take of the society, but not that of himself.
This is the main difference of points of view of this thesis and of McNEILL (2012): we
believe that he portrays the difficulty of prostitution because of the impossibility of
acceptance by the society that surrounds it, but by portraying the archetype of the Sacred
Prostitute, we can have a glimpse on his sympathy towards prostitutes.
Gregh, the follower of the perhaps least known literary movement L'école Humaniste,
differently from Régnier, attempted to recover the traditions of Victor Hugo and of the
Romantisme, and he was successful in romanticizing one of the images of the courtesan, the
one relatable to the Sacred Prostitute, as mentioned in 3.3.1, and he also portrayed the realistic
side of them, such as McNEILL (2012) stated: In general, the French poet romanticizes the
whore far less than the English does; even while extolling the virtues of a particular fille de
47
joie32 who has enchanted him, or of demimondaines in general, there is generally a
recognition of the pragmatic realities of harlotry. The poem Courtesans (1912) presents
alternate rhymes (ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH) except on the last stanza with an enclosed
rhyme (GIIG). He was successful in guarantying the traits of the movement he himself
founded, by portraying nature and by glorifying feelings over the “rational” behaviour of his
Bélle Époque. Gregh was perhaps the most obvious poet, probably because of his literary
school, considering that it intended to break with the pictures created by the Symbolysme and
the subtlety of the Naturalism. He relied too much on the rhetoric of words, restricting the
possibilities of construction of images such as in the poem For the gate of the courtesans
(1912).
Besides the differences of characteristics in their writing of poems, Hardy, Régnier
and Gregh portrayed the prostitutes – or courtesans – in a different manner in which their
societies were used to portraying. This new manner was what allowed this relation of their
characters with the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute, and it can be possible to say that these
poets were not oblivious to this archetype, considering the great similarities of their characters
with it. Prostitution should not be scolded by society, because in many cases it allows families
to live with comfort and health, and it does not mean a distance between these women with
religion:
Miss D. is pleased to tell you that the cruellest reverses of fortune
would have reduced the last acts of desperation if she had not been
contained by a religious sentiment which prohibits disposal of what
comes from Heaven. His austere and circumspect behaviour, the
care that she has with her father and mother, who lavishes care to
the children, made her worthy of the esteem and consideration of all
good people; cannot deliver the job, she asks permission to receive
six women in his house..33 (ADLER, 1991, p. 51)
Here we see a woman who had her religion as the motivation to get into the profession of
prostitution – not as a courtesan necessarily, but probably a brothel owner – in order to
provide for her family and not commit the biggest of sin, suicide. This is a letter sent to the
chief of police in the region of France, in the end of the nineteenth century.
32
Euphemism for the word prostitute.
Original source: “A senhorita D. tem a honra de vos dizer que os mais cruéis reveses da fortuna a teriam
reduzido ao último dos atos de desespero se ela não tivesse sido contida por um sentimento religioso que
proíbe dispor daquilo que vem dos Céus. Seu comportamento austero e circunspecto, o cuidado que ela tem
com o pai e a mãe, o cuidado que prodigaliza aos filhos, fizeram-na merecedora da estima e da consideração
de todas as pessoas de bem; não podendo se entregar ao trabalho, ela solicita autorização para receber seis
mulheres em sua casa”. (ADLER, 1991, p. 51)
33
48
As seen in this thesis, prostitution is not a recent issue in society, it is as ancient as
civilization itself and the possibility of our history having forgotten about the Sacred
Prostitute can be one of the reasons for many problems regarding sexuality and femininity.
Female sexuality completes male sexuality and Régnier and Gregh portrayed this sense of
completion in their poems as, respectively, charity provided by prostitutes and as male
dependence on them. QUALLS-CORBET (1990) elucidates this relation:
Throughout the ages, women have been the repository of meaning,
emotions and values attributed to the goddess of love. By valuing
the pleasurable, self-confident and sensual nature of their priestess,
the Sacred Prostitute, both men and women come into contact with
something valuable within. Women can be carriers of this vital
aspect of female nature to the world. Men can once again open up
to the dynamic aspect of the feminine and thus facilitate the
modifications that are necessary to the political, social, economic
and religious structures. Thusly, humanity can restore to conscious
the creative and loving force of the feminine nature, which for so
long was personified in the Sacred Prostitute. 34 (QUALLSCORBET, 1990, p. 213, 214)
There is a huge contrast with the benefits of the female sexuality and how societies of each
poem exploit it, being the great irony suggested by Hardy, Régnier and Gregh. As a
suggestion for future works, this thesis suggests the possibility of studies regarding the
representation of the Sacred Prostitute in great characters of literature (novels, plays, a bigger
variety of poems) and also in different means of art.
34
Original source: Através dos tempos, as mulheres têm sido o repositório do significado, das emoções e
dos valores atribuídos à deusa do amor. Ao valorizar a natureza prazerosa, autoconfiante e sensual de sua
sacerdotisa, a prostituta sagrada, tanto homens como mulheres entram em contato com alguma coisa valiosa
dentro de si. As mulheres podem ser portadoras desse aspecto vital da natureza feminina para o mundo. Os
homens podem mais uma vez abrir-se para o aspecto dinâmico do feminino e assim facilitar as
modificações que se fazem necessárias nas estruturas política, social, econômica e religiosa. Dessa maneira
a humanidade pode restaurar à consciência a força criativa e amorosa da natureza feminina, que há tanto
tempo era personificada na prostituta sagrada. (QUALLS-CORBET, 1990, p. 213, 214)
49
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