The Madam as a Business Figure

Madams and Exploitation

Although the figure of madam could sound closer to that of a friendly wise woman taking under her wing young lost girls and giving them a living by hosting them, nineteenth century France dames de maison twere truly considered to be real business women.

Back then, madams were seen as strong figures of power and authority as they were in charge of the management of numerous brothels, conducting a real business. While they did in a way care about the prostitutes working for them, the madams’ business was based on profit and they would thus find ways to exploit these girls in order to maintain their income. According to Parent du Châtelet’s research on prostitution in Paris, the dames de maison considered their business as an industry and would say that it was “not more shameful to exercise [this job] more than many others.” [1] Proudly embracing their position as heads of businesses, madams would treat the prostitutes that work for them in an exploitative way that falls under a behavior that echoes nowadays’ perception of a pimp.

Indeed, Parent du Châtelet writes about the way “[madams] require on the end [of the prostitutes that work for them] not only obedience, but respect and deference.”This strong stand on keeping a hierarchical relationship between them and the prostitutes is more distant than what could think from the figure of madam. It in fact actually reflects a very professional relation that does not seem to get anywhere close to being personal. It even goes so far as being exploitative as we can see in Parent du Châtelet’s notes that explicitly mention how madams “looked at [the prostitutes] like they were slaves or drudges, who have to bring them a certain amount of money a day.” [2]

This image of the madam offered by du Châtelet offers a new perspective that breaks the typical image of a madam as thought of today. Instead of maintaining an informal relation with their prostitutes, “madams positioned themselves so to keep a great distance between them and the prostitutes they’re in charge of.” [3] And even if they did choose to nourish a close relationship, it was with purely beneficial motives. Indeed, when Nina Kushner writes about eighteenth century prostitution, she mentions the fact that many madams appeared to have close and almost maternal relationships with their pensioners. [4] This position was however often a way of getting emotional dominance on the prostitutes, thus enabling the madam to have more control over them by creating a relation of dependence.

Madams and Their Methods of Recruitment

Exploitation in the world of prostitution goes beyond the treatment of pensioners by their madams - and the differences between pimps and their nineteenth century French equivalent fall under the form this exploitation takes. Indeed, the methods of recruitment of these prostitutes vary from madams to pimps and are interesting to compare.

Paul Gavarni, born Hippolyte-Guillaume-Sulpice Chevalier, was a French artist of multiple mediums during the 19th century. For this exhibit, his lithographs created in 1839-1846 provide witty examples of social perceptions during this time. [5]

One conclusion that can be drawn from Gavarni’s illustration (left) is that a family tradition existed in the world of prostitution. This illustration shows a woman standing up with her hands on her waist, looking like she is giving a lecture to the little girl that seems to be her daughter. The caption depicts a dialogue between these two characters where the little girl is telling her mother that her grandmother told her to teach her what she was taught as a kid. To this request, which  implies that the grandmother was a madam, the mother replies with strong disagreement. One of the methods madams used to recruit new prostitutes in their brothels was relying on female family members to join the network. This pattern can also be found in Maupassant’s short story La Maison Tellier, in which the main character Madame Tellier is a madam who considers recruiting her niece to her maison de tolérance after her communion. [6]

In his research, Parent du Châtelet also mentions various other methods used by madams to recruit prostitutes. One of them describes how madams compelled pensioners  to stay in their brothel by establishing financial dependence. For example, a madam might trick her pensioners into accruing debt and then blackmail them to stay longer in the brothel. According to Parent du Châtelet, another place where madams found prostitutes was in hospitals, particularly ones that treated venereal diseases such as syphilis. Madams would send former prostitutes to nearby hospitals, where they would inspect younger women and recommend them to whichever madam they believed would best appreciate their looks, age, and disposition. [7]