Of all the subjects to talk about, why am I talking about this? Because why the heck not. There is, apparently, a difference between prostitute, concubine, and mistress - all in the lense of history. I'm not saying it is right, but I'm not going to argue with the history of the subject and it happened. Just for fun, let's explore this random topic.
Definitions first! Mistresses (in our case) are lovers on the side, unmarried. Prostitutes are paid to have sex with anyone. Concubines are almost the same as a mistress, but includes living with their lover. All this in the lense of history is an interesting and scandalous topic.
Women have been used for sex often throughout history. I don't like it, but there it is. I read a Phryne Fisher one day and it mentioned concubines were not prostitutes, so I was curious as to what they were, for real. Let's start with Mistresses.
Mistresses
The actual term did not start out like the definition above. For example, the mistress of the house might mean the female head of the house. However, it still made it to that definition through time. It is mostly connected to royalty and kings. If we know anything about kings, we know they had mistresses. The french favored mistresses often. Marriage was political. It was not uncommon for the mistress to demand luxury from her lover, or to even get more love and gifts than the wife.
The royal mistresses held a lot of power over the king. You want influence over the king? Talk to the mistress, who tells him sweet nothings over the pillow and gives advice. Politics and friendship were connected by mere inches. Kings could usually get away with having many women, but the unfair thing was that women had no such privileges. Mistresses were often rivals of each other. Even Queen Elizabeth I was private about her gentlemen suitors.
If the king needed to give them a title, he could. Sadly, the power of holding the king's attention led some to early deaths. Keeping beautiful led to using some harmful substances to keep skin "like porcelain", in the case of Diane De Poitiers. While beauty wasn't the most important for every king, it did prove fatal to her. Kings were expected to have mistresses for the sake of manhood. The unfortunate effect of losing king protection was humiliation and cruelty if things went wrong. Some mistresses, a few only, did become queen.
 |
| Diane De Poiters - fatal beauty |
Concubines
This is mostly an Asian practice, also appearing in Biblical times. They were not married, but they also weren't paid for sex either. They were a weird mix of a mistress and prostitute. They were confined where they were living. Harems are an example of this. Strangely, embroidery came from here because they would only be called on every once in a while, and they were bored. Other than bearing children and entertaining, it was not a fun life. It was being enslaved in a luxury palace, with all the rest of the women enslaved with you.
Biblical debates on why this was allowed in Hebrew culture are out there. Some say that God allowed it for upping the population, in that time period alone. The biblical standard of concubines was that they weren't equal to wives, but did have rights. It was for the purpose of an heir to the throne. It has been said that God didn't approve of the practice, but man did it anyway because of the patriarchal system that was in place. They were either sold by their father, prisoners of war, foreign slaves, or Canaanite women. Sold women or prisoners of war had rights, but the remaining were not recognized or forbidden by Hebrew law. Hebrew law said that after six years the women were freed. Simply put, the women sold were released after the number of years is up, or they stay forever if they wanted to. Hebrew law said they couldn't be treated like slaves. They were not slaves, could not be mistreated, could divorce, and their children were legitimate. In contrast to the Asian culture, the Hebrews treated them well, if they obeyed laws.
 |
| Ming Dynasty Concubines |
Now, let's look at what the Hebrew experience really was. Hagar's was that she was used by the wife of the house, as in ordered about in order to have an heir. King David's kingdom came to an end and the concubines and wives in the house were, "had" (to say it nicely) in public as a result of that (not by David, but by his enemies). In Judges 19-21 you can read about a concubine thrown to the wolves, then chopped into pieces once dead (all in order to call the country to war after her death). Those defiled by the enemy were at one time locked up and left lonely forever (2 Samuel 15, 16, 20). The laws may have said one thing, but humans are not known for following rules. It was not okay.
Prostitutes
Now, we get to a practice that still continues under-the-radar. You can still find a prostitute on the street if you drive around the right places at the right hour of the night (please don't, though). It is a form of modern-day slavery. And don't think only men are selling women, because women also sell women - or children - every day. They even sell men. Human trafficking continues on in places you wouldn't expect, like well-populated malls. Women and men should both be on their guard for it.
When did this start? Well, maybe this blog is too short to go back that far. It is one of the oldest professions in history. Surprise! Greeks like both sexes for their entertainment. It isn't a woman-only problem. Prostitution was legal at certain times in history and certain places. There were legal and illegal brothels, in the same time period. Some sold themselves, others were forced into it, but either way it happened. Ohio law states you can't be a prostitute in Ohio legally. It is also a crime to sell someone and take a part of their earnings.
Pictures:
Dexion Logos
All Posters
Ancient Origins
https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/prostitution-laws-ohio.htm
Great post! Thanks for sharing the link.
ReplyDeleteI see you are working on a novel. Have you published anything yet? I would love to read it. I have a cousin, Leslyn Amthor Spinelli who has written and published 3 or 4 novels. I find them fascinating as they are set in places I know and some of the characters are clearly based on family members. Our common grandma Abby for one.
Looking forward to more of your posts!
I am working on editing a novella at the moment, but nothing is currently published. Whenever it is good and ready it will be out there and published.
ReplyDelete