By treating venereal disease in hospital with more regard for decency and modesty, by abolishing the brand of shame, and by separating patients according to their behavior, we might succeed in improving a state of things which is often unbearable. Patients with venereal diseases would then more willingly submit to hospital treatment and would be more easily cured. In Italy much progress has already been made in this direction.
In conclusion, I am convinced that if we should be contented for the present with damming up prostitution and suppressing the causes which render prostitutes more and more abject, without yet being able to abolish the whole evil, a transformation of our social life, and especially the suppression of the reign of capital as a means of exploitation of the work of others, and suppression of the use of alcoholic drinks, would eventually succeed in the gradual extinction of prostitution and the substitution of concubinage, which has much less evil results.
VENAL CONCUBINAGE
Venal concubinage occupies an intermediate position between prostitution and concubinage. It is distinguished from the latter by the fact that it is remunerated; but the distinction is very fine.
Lorettes.—This is an old term which may be applied to paid women who are not regular prostitutes. It is hardly possible to distinguish them from clandestine prostitutes (not on the police inscription). They are women who do not practice solicitation or sell themselves to the first comer, but generally keep to one man for a time.
Grisettes.—The Parisian grisette, whose type has become classic, is a higher class of woman who, at any rate in her primitive simplicity, was not wanting in romance. Relations with a grisette may be compared to limited and free marriage, in which there is comparative fidelity.
Like some of the free prostitutes, the grisette does not live only on the support of her lover. She is often a dressmaker or a shop-girl, and makes arrangements with a lover so as to live more comfortably.
When the grisette acts as her lover's housekeeper and lives with him on terms of the closest intimacy, the liaison takes a more serious character and there is a certain degree of affection or even love. However, all these concubinages are generally limited to a few weeks or months, so that the natural love of the woman becomes blunted by successive polyandry. It is always more or less a question of "an accessory business."
There are all kinds of lorettes and grisettes, but as a rule they are generally attached to small tradesmen, students, workingmen, etc., rather than to rich men. It is a kind of contract for a limited period. This system is very widespread in large towns, where the inhabitants do not interfere with each other's affairs; but is difficult to manage in small towns, where every one knows everybody.
Mistresses.—These may be called the aristocrats of the species. Here we see more distinctly the transition from venal love to free concubinage based on mutual love. The hetaira of the ancient Greeks (vide Chapter VI) corresponded more or less to the modern mistresses, especially to the intelligent mistresses of men in high positions. In certain respects we may say that George Sand, for example, was a hetaira from pure love, while among the Greek hetaira money played a great part. Some mistresses are paid; others live on terms of equality with their lovers; others again maintain their lovers. We must also distinguish between mistresses who live with married men, and those who live with bachelors.