Inara Serra, Licensed Companion and the Companions Guild

POSTED BY: ncbrowncoat
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 14:14
VIEWED: 10914
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NCBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:18 PM

I recently started reading J.D.Robb's Death mystery series set in 2058. I was struck that in the first book that she uses the term "licensed companion" or LC for a common prostitute.

Legal and licensed but still prostitutes of varying class from those on the street, those working in sex clubs and then the independent higher class of prostitute.

I was wondering how the LC's evolved from the street corner to the drawing room, so to speak.

About the only thing we know of Companions is what Inara says and shows us, a respected business woman of high status who picks her clients from an approved list and is paid accordingly.

Companions move in the highest society, yet they are outside of it. Privy to all their secrets, desires etc. but never really a part, even when they retire and weld considerable political and social power.

How are the girls chosen? Are they recruited from the lower classes, or are middle class parents and girls sold on the advancement and chance to rise in society?

What happens if a Companion falls in love, or gets
pregnant considering the Guild prohibition on relationships that aren't approved.

Inara is from a family of Companions. Was she the daughter of one? If so, who was her father? Was he chosen by the Guild as the father of a Companions child or was it an "accident".

If there are male Companions, how does their selection and training differ or does it?

I know, lots of questions and I can think of lots more.

BTW here are a reprint of Inara's papers that appeared on the Blu-Ray version of "Serenity".

COMPANION PRIVILIGES & PRINCIPLES

I.IDENTIFICATION NAME: INARA

This document certifies that the above-named Companion, INARA SERRA, is licensed to work and earn credit as a Companion on all Core and Outer Rim planets under the banner of the Anglo-Sino Alliance. The attached data discs contain all history and documentation relating to the above-named Companion’s pedigree, training history, and licensing issued by the Companion’s authorized Training House and recognized by the COMPANIONS GUILD.
II. THE TRUST ASSIGNED TO INDEPENDENT SHIP SERENITY
This trust, as recognized by the COMPANIONS GUILD, certifies an open-ended arrangement of property rental as decided between the above-named Companion and the Captain or authorized Executive Officer of the above-named Ship, granting interplanetary passage and usage of designated areas onboard the above-named Companion.
In exchange for the regular payments of rental fees, to be decided by the above-named Companion and Captain or Executive Officer of the above-named Ship, the above-named Companion will be granted full property rights to agreed-upon designated areas for professional use, until such time as the afore-mentioned arrangement ceases to be of mutual benefit and is terminated by one or both of the parties.
Under the guidelines as established by the COMPANIONS GUILD, these rental fees may not include demands or offers of professional services from the above-named Companion. It is furthermore recognized that the onboard presence of the above-named Companion may grant the above-named Ship access to planets, moons and colonies that may otherwise be restricted, only for reasons of a professional nature pertaining to, and to be documented by, the above-named Companion. If at any time it is determined that either the above-named Ship, its crew, or the above-named Companion are engaging in activities viewed by the Alliance or the Companions Guild as extra-, sub-, or illegal, all authorizations of this trust will be made null and void.
III. Profit Fund
This documentation entitles the above-named Companion to the creation of a Cumulative Profit Account at the Alliance-recognized bank of his/her choice. Deposits may be made in cash or credit by outside parties, known hereafter as Clients, according to the terms specified below:
INVESTMENT PROFITS
1.Clients must pay a subscription fee to earn a place in the above-named Companion’s client registry.

2.This subscription fee mus

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 11:46 PM

Well, courtesans could come from all walks of life, really. At least according to the wikipedia article I read once to get some ideas.

But if Inara's mother was a companion ("family business," like Morena said), of House Madrassa, on Sihnon, I suspect she was raised pretty well. Although she may have had a foster family, because I suspect her mother would have been busy.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 6:59 AM

Couresans have often historically had higher social status.
For more background ideas, you might try the films Memoirs of a Geisha and Dangerous Beauty. Both excellent films.

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 2:14 PM

Well, the article I read DID mostly concern the courtesan of the Italian Renaissance. It does say distinctly that there are two kinds, one from higher classes and one from lower classes. Generally, the ones from a higher class garnered more prestige and were generally considered the equals of noblewomen, but a wily courtesan who didn't have the same quality of pedigree could also, through fortuitous alliances, become highly regarded as well. Courtesans often served as sexual companions to men who were already married, because marriage in those times tended to happen between people with little shared interest in each other besides continuing a bloodline. Courtesans ALSO could be married while they practiced, but their husbands tended to be a lower social status than their clients.

And in Japan, there's always been a distinction between geisha, who ONLY offer conversation and performance arts for entertainment, oiran, who were high class courtesans, and actual prostitutes. In the case of the oiran and geisha, some of the schools in less wholesome districts would be sold their girls, but in the better schools the profession tended to pass from mother to daughter. Geisha and oiran could marry, but generally were expected to retire (though, obviously, they could still teach their apprentices the art).

But I would agree, probably mostly courtesans come from the higher class.

It occurs to me that there is something of a religious quality to the companion houses. It's possible that rather than being fostered, the children of companions and some orphans selected for training might be raised by the house until they could begin training. Sort of like christian convents of nuns, only, you know, without the chastity.

But, the fostering is probably more likely. A well chosen foster family would raise the companion with discipline and teach her necessary mannerisms and background for her upcoming training later on. Foster families also need not be necessarily high class or cold to their charges, and I suspect, considering how Inara really isn't too snobbish and how she feels at home in Serenity, she might have had just such an upbringing.