Re-presenting Courtesans across Cultures: A Comparative Study of Amrapali and Thais

Abstract

Abstract

This paper concerns itself with a relatively underappreciated theme in modern literature - the role and the status of Courtesans. Courtesans were the women who had been often represented or misrepresented as immoral women and were attributed the position of the other, vis-à-vis the housewives. They were known by various labels, such as Tawaif, Baiji, Hetaera and Nagarvadhu etc., most of which carry derogatory connotations. A central contention of the article is to assert, in contrast to the commonly held beliefs, that Courtesans played a crucial role in the social life of the bygone times.

The paper makes this point by a comparative study of two famous Courtesans, chosen from the Eastern and Western backdrops: 1. Amrapali, the legendary nagarvadhu of the republic of Vaishali, known for her beauty and intelligence and was eventually influenced by the teachings of Gautama Buddha that made her an arhat or arahant, 2. Thais, a famous Greek Courtesan, or hetaera, who came to repent the life of sensuality and carnality that she had pursued until her moment of realization which turned her towards the path of Christian morality under the influence of a devoted priest.

Both the legendary Courtesans share some conspicuous similarities, notwithstanding the unmistakable disparities in their settings and backdrops. They both led an independent life and had influenced many lives of importance by their beauty and talent. The present paper tries to draw a comparison between the lives of the two legendary women, and endeavours to throw critical light on the two literary characters transcending the differences in their spatio-cultural settings.

The surprising similarities between the two women characters that defined the trajectories of their chequered careers were brought to sharp relief here, through the insights that were informed by the methodology of comparativism. This culminates in the concluding discussion of the paper which endeavours to trace out the reasons that made these surprising similarities possible in spite of the wide differences in the settings and backdrops that contextualize the characters under consideration.

References

1. Althusser, Louis. "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses." Lenin and Philosophy, and
2. Other Essays. Monthly Review Press, 1971, pp. 127-180
3. Anand. Anurag. The Legend of Amrapali, An Enchanting Saga Buried Within the Sands of
4. Time. New Delhi: Srishti Publishers &Distributors, 2012.
5. . . . Birth of the Bastard Prince, The Legend of Amrapali. New Delhi: Rupa
6. Publications India Pvt. Ltd, 2014.
7. Chandra, Moti. The world of Courtesans. New Delhi: Hind Pocket Books (P) Ltd, 1976.
8. France, Anatole. Thais. London: Charles Carrington, 1901.
9. Oldenburg, Veena Talwar. “Lifestyle as Resistance: The Case of the Courtesans of
10. Lucknow” Feminist Studies, 16, 2 (Summer 1990).
11. Vatsyayana. The Kamasutra. Translated by The Hindu Kama Sutra Society. New
12. York: Printed for the Society of the Friends of India, 1883-1925.