Heteros, geisha, courtesans - such definitionsusually given to women who wanted and were able to make their own visual attractiveness in combination with a high level of intelligence with their profession, that is, a means of gaining their daily bread. The difference between them and ordinary prostitutes is to expand their range of services. An ordinary “fallen woman” cannot (or does not want) provide the client with anything but his body. To understand who the courtesan is, you can only delve into the historical circumstances of the emergence of this complex craft, sometimes bordering on art.
In those old days, courtesans were also, butthey were called otherwise - heteras. Their duties included delivering, in addition to the physical joys, spiritual pleasures as well. Among them were good remarks in the course of emerging philosophical discussions, and the remarks could be caustic. After all, the real sage has always been especially pleased to have a woman witty and ironic. And Sophocles, and Plato, and Epicurus were not alien to these pleasures, combining the joint pastime with sharpening the mind of their wards-women, on whom they did not stint in their bounty. The most famous in this field is Aspasia, who finally achieved that Pericles parted from his wife, with whom he had lived for many years, and married her. Her enlightenment was so high that Anaxagoras, Socrates and Euripides came to the philosophical lectures she read, obviously not without good for themselves.
You can figure out who the courtesan ison the example of geisha. This venerable profession implies impeccable knowledge of etiquette, which in the Land of the Rising Sun successfully replaces the ability to conduct an elegant debate, and in addition, a high intellectual level combined with exquisite taste. Japanese wives, recognizing the superiority of geishas in these areas, do not object to such male weaknesses, treat them with understanding and can even boast that the spouse has such an interesting girlfriend, but with the characteristic modesty of this people. After all, such a fact testifies not only to the sophistication of the husband's world view, but also to its financial strength. Not every Japanese has a geisha, after all!
In order not to be subjected to such humiliation, wiseAlexander Dumas, for example, voluntarily broke up with his concubine, Marie Duplessi, realizing that he was not “dragging” the burden of expenses of his “dear friend”.
Парижские куртизанки вообще были особым сортом this “living commodity”, although they were divided, in turn, into two main subcategories. The main features that distinguish them, of course, were personal qualities. On how much such a woman knew, whether she was younger and more beautiful than others, the price that men were willing to pay for her favor depended. Notable origin of the role is not played. Moreover, the researchers of the epoch, who know who such a courtesan is not by hearsay, agree that most often such women were born in poor families and everything, again speaking in modern language, was “achieved by themselves”. A striking example is Celestine Venar, the daughter of a worker who, at the age of 14, had already engaged in prostitution, but, realizing the futility of this case (and serving time in prison), became first an actress, then a kept duke, and then a countess. Such is the career.
