Mal's issue with Companions &/or whores

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Originally posted by zoid:
Point Two: European courtesans were the product of a Judeo-Christian ethos, as well. The trick of being a courtesan was in doing what was culturally banned -- having sex out of wedlock with typically powerful, married men -- without getting caught out-and-out doing it. (For an interesting exploration of the complications of courtly life, read Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' novel of 1782, Les Liaisons Dangereuses available in English translation, or see any of the three movies based on it. I personally prefer 1988's Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close and John Malkovich)
My point is (again, in my very obscure way) European courtesans were playing against the grain of their culture's belief system. The ones who were good at playing the game became legendary -- like Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, or Bill Gates in American folklore -- but they were not strictly smiled upon by proper folks, and you'd certainly not invite them to Sunday dinner at your folks.

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Gee, I really prefer Valmont to Dangerous Liaisons. If you're looking for a depiction of the life of a courtesan, then check out Dangerous Beauty. Dreadful title, good movie, and based on an actual biography of a courtesean.
Now courtesans were very big in Italy, and, while we all know Italy is a very Catholic country, their social history is the rather not-too-chaste Roman Empire, and, as long ago as that was, I think there are aspects of that they've never shaken off. All that is to say that I don't necessary think Italian courteseans were going against their social ethics -- but it's probably madness to compare any other society with Italy. They seem to often be a law unto themselves.

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There are at least 3 separate instances from the show where Inara's facial expressions or spoken words indicate that a customer has injured her feelings, her heart, her inner child after a sexual encounter.

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I noticed this, too, and also, there are at least two places where Inara says something like "I must be losing my touch", and do you know what I decided? I think our Inara is nowhere near as confident as she tries to come across most of the time. Now whether this is because she's coming to feel that being a Companion is lessening her as a person, or whether she's lost confidence for some other reason, I don't know. Maybe the reason she came aboard Serenity has something to do with it --but I think she's lost confidence in her "undefinable allure". I think it's kind of reflected in some of the clients we've seen her with : 2 youngsters who both seemed a little intimdated by her, if not awed(that dude who insulted her in Serenity and Fess Higgins),the Counsellor, who was not quite fawning over her, and Atherton Wing, who was practically begging her to stay with him. All of those people would be great ego soothers, if she was feeling a little unsure of herself.

On the clothing-dork front, I also realized that,when Inara breaks down in Heart of Gold, I think she's wearing the same outfit she was in Our Mrs Reynolds. I'd get up and go check to be sure, but I'm apocolyptically lazy.

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I'll leave that fascinating (I think) topic

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Oh, I think it's fascinating -- it's why I started the thread. Heh.

"We're just happy to be doin' good works."

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I think the answer is very simple and consistent. First of all, it is not just Inara. Remember in Our Mrs. Reynolds, how Mal tried to convince Saffron to get honest work rather than be his wife? He was concerned about her humanity, about her not being treated as an object or degraded as a slave. (For other references to slavery, see the opening segment of Shindig.) Mal doesn't want anyone to be treated as anything less than an autonomous, moral being, and it pains him to see people accept their lot in life to serve and as a means to an end.

Shindig also demonstrates his ideas of humanity. Atherton Wing wasn't really being mean to Inara, but he was being awfully possessive. He referred to her as "mine" several times, including once to Mal's face right before Mal punched him. Mal was disgusted that a man of Atherton's station in life, someone allegedly intelligent and civilized, should think that another human being is his rented property just because "money changed hands." Mal punched him not to protect Inara's honor, but to punish him for treating people like objects.

Finally, let me address the Heart of Gold girls. Because of all I said, he probably didn't like their profession. But he also admired the sense of independence that Nandi showed in her determination to protect her business against those who are determined to destroy it. These girls make a living servicing others, but their other option was being somebody's wife... and by the looks of how Ranse treated Mrs. Burgess, that's not much of a life of freedom. Those girls chose the freer of two paths, and that's something Mal might admire. Him having sex with Nandi--he didn't pay her for her services; he really fell in love with her, probably because of the aforementioned sense of independence. I mean, she was Mal in petticoats! She resembled him more than anybody in any episode except for maybe Zoe. Her refusal to run away from the fight definitely sealed the deal for him.

So to sum up, Mal isn't opposed to prostitution because he's defending 19th-century sexual morality. He is morally opposed to those who take advantage of prostitution to use people to satisfy their own desires. He also is pained to see people who are in the position of being used accept their life as is, because they do not recognize their own autonomy and humanity. I also thought the point about Companions being artificial was also valid. And it's not about Inara. Not _just_ about her, anyway.

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I don't think its got anything to do with religion specifically. What I think it has to do with is that what Inara does is essentially lie. Yes, she knows, her client knows, and the rest of the world knows that is a simple economic exchange of services for cash. But there is a lot of pretense toward romance that goes into it, and why she can command such a high price.

Its not that Mal is anti sex, he's anti lying about it. And he sees Inara's chosen profession as a fraud.

Plus, Inara has his number with her various "petty" comments. She knows that she can hit Mal any time she wants by reminding him that he is just a petty criminal. So Mal responds by calling her a whore, because he sees how that upsets her.

But it does not upset her for the same reason Mal thinks it does. Inara is not a whore, as whores are independent of the guild. Inara is not independent, she is someone's paid lover and slave, all in accordance with Guild Law.

So, Mal calls Inara a whore, because her profession, while "honorable" and legal, its still a fraud. And it pisses Inara off. Inara is pissed off by being called a whore, because it is inaccurate. She is not free to be a whore. Just the paid chattle of some rich, young and suitably hygenic.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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> It could be a series of combinations that keep
> Inara from dressing down, beside the visual
> asthetics and contrast she plays to the rest of
> the crew. It could be her upbringing (it's
> never really crossed her mind to dress down),
> her training (she feels more comfortable or her
> costume could help keep her composure, or
> artificiality, as you said), or simply part of
> the elegance that we love.

I always assumed that the Companion training was rather like that of a geisha, in that everything was ritually prescribed - the clothing, the cosmetics, the ceremony, the required talents (music, fencing?), the business procedures and formalities - and that Inara would consider herself "off duty" only when she is alone in her shuttle with the door firmly locked.
It's not so much artificiality as getting "in character", being exactly what the customer expects and has paid for, in every detail.
And I don't think Mal has an issue with companions - just with Inara.
Mal's taunting of Inara is definitely that of a spoilt little boy.
The first day they met she told him clearly and dispassionately that there could be nothing between them. At the time she probably had no idea how much she would grow to love, desire and respect him - he was just a scruffy captain of a scruffy ship, and that was just part of the deal for her.
However, being told "you can't" was like a red rag to a bull for Mal. He resented what she said. In return he took every opportunity to demean her publicly for the only thing he could find in her that was not admirable and beautiful - her profession.
And once he came to love her, he couldn't afford to stop doing it - because any softening on his part of the campaign against her would have revealed what he was so desperate to hide, that he had feelings for her.

Pat

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