In the second half of the 19th century, respectable women, occasional, illegal, and officially registered prostitutes were virtually indistinguishable from each other when they mingled in public places. An air of ambiguity prevailed during daylight hours, when all forms of overt soliciting were prohibited.
This lack of differentiation made it difficult to define what constituted prostitution and to pinpoint its boundaries. In working-class circles, women who had modest jobs — such as manual workers, milliners, florists or laundresses — were too poorly paid to afford decent accommodation or feed themselves adequately, especially if they had a family to support. Some therefore occasionally resorted to prostitution to supplement their earnings.
However, streetwalkers blended into the crowd, detectable only by their words, actions a skirt lifted to reveal a glimpse of ankle boot , contrived poses or eloquent expressions a hint of a smile, a furtive or meaningful look as depicted in the works of Boldini and Valtat. These fluid, intangible identities fascinated artists, who recreated the ambiguous climate of modern Paris in works where their contemporaries recognised the variously encoded allusions to the world of prostitution.
The city attracted a large number of tourists for whom specialist guides were published. The verseuses waitresses encouraged customers to drink, feigning seductive behaviour. A certain number of them were involved in illegal prostitution outside the establishment or on the premises. Women with a range of different talents performed a repertoire of lewd songs and dances onstage. The Paris Opera was frequented by the upper middle classes and the aristocracy and was a venue for high-class prostitution, which assumed a number of guises.
Subscribers, who were identifiable by their black morning dress and top hats, had the privilege of accessing the Foyer de la danse, a private space which fuelled all manner of fantasies associated with life backstage. These girls usually came from modest backgrounds and were enrolled at the ballet school by their mothers, who dreamt of a rosier future for them. The auditorium of the Opera house on the Rue Le Peletier and subsequently at the Palais Garnier was particularly favourable to sexual encounters during carnival time, when the major fancy dress balls were held.
