I cracked open the cover of

“The Book of the Courtesans, A Catalogue of Their Virtues” by Susan Griffin.  So far it has been an interesting read if not slightly confusing at times.  As I’ve said before, I’m not much of a history buff so a lot of the references fly right over my head.  Books usually aren’t fun if a lot of research is necessary to enjoy them.  But in this instance I’m having fun reading up on the various characters Susan Griffin discusses in her book.  It’s interesting to google a name and come up with all kinds of facts and stories about said person and then put it into the perspective of the book.

As I read, I find myself thinking that today, most every woman I know possesses all of these talents that a courtesan has.  Susan Griffin notes that timing, beauty, cheek, brilliance, gaiety, grace and charm, along with flirtation, suggestion, arousal, seduction, rapture, satiety, and afterglow contribute to the overall success of a courtesan.  Today, I think that every where you go you can see women exhibiting these same virtues in varying degrees.  So does this mean we have become a 21st century courtesans?

It’s fascinating to read the different accounts of courtesans throughout history and how they worked their magic over men.  Some of them were not beautiful in the popular sense, but because of how they carried themselves and presented themselves to the world, they were attractive.  I find it somewhat disconcerting to think that many of these women only lived ’til their mid-twenties due to illnesses which today we have vaccines and modern medicine to cure.  Also troubling is how fast they could rise and fall from favor.  I guess it is not surprising given that the public can be very unforgiving.

At the moment I’m about half way done and hope to finish it by tomorrow.  After I’m done with this book I will begin “The Birth of Venus” by Sarah Dunant.  You can probably guess that “The Souls of Black Folks” has been put on hold for the time being.  We are camping this weekend so I hope to get a lot of reading done in between relaxing on the lake and filling myself up with beer and burgers!