Confident and functional people might not be boring, but they are generally angstless. A lot of angst(or tragedy) willresult in you not keeping your well-adjustedness/functionality, you know? If you cope with every tragedy in super-well-adjusted fashion, that's actually pretty praiseworthy but also creepy. Horrible things are supposed to break you down, you know. Or your fighting against them will still show your strength but 'confident and functional' would not be the way I'd describe the person. ngsty, yes :)
Also, it's a moral issue. In most circumstances I find people who sell themselves for sex (men or women) and seem to find no shame in it, and treat it as another profession (whether they are a courtesan, a spy, or whatever) unappealing. I don't think they should be burned at the stake, and there are plenty of situations where this might have been their only option to survive, but there is a difference between doing it because you have to, and doing it because you have to and because you think it's a great job. I am not one of those feminists who finds prostitution ennobling.
Now, does this mean I would never want to read a novel about a courtesan? No, not true. If the novel did not revolve around the issue of love, I might have loved to try it, despite that. One of my favorite novels is Thais of Athens, about a legendary Greek hetaera who was definitely not ashamed of her profession (and did not end up with some savior otp either). But not only is there a mental difference between a courtesan in 19th century and a hataera, Ivan Efremov was an author I knew and trusted and it was not a romance novel, which is by definition supposed to be about fuzzy romantic feelings.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-08-09 01:40 pm (UTC)Also, it's a moral issue. In most circumstances I find people who sell themselves for sex (men or women) and seem to find no shame in it, and treat it as another profession (whether they are a courtesan, a spy, or whatever) unappealing. I don't think they should be burned at the stake, and there are plenty of situations where this might have been their only option to survive, but there is a difference between doing it because you have to, and doing it because you have to and because you think it's a great job. I am not one of those feminists who finds prostitution ennobling.
Now, does this mean I would never want to read a novel about a courtesan? No, not true. If the novel did not revolve around the issue of love, I might have loved to try it, despite that. One of my favorite novels is Thais of Athens, about a legendary Greek hetaera who was definitely not ashamed of her profession (and did not end up with some savior otp either). But not only is there a mental difference between a courtesan in 19th century and a hataera, Ivan Efremov was an author I knew and trusted and it was not a romance novel, which is by definition supposed to be about fuzzy romantic feelings.
Anyway, this is turning into a rant :) Sorry!