Proto-feminism hidden in corsets
The show: Harlots, Season 1, Episode 1 The moment: Motherly advice In the filthy streets of 1763 London, one in five women sells sex to stay alive. Brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) is one of them. She’s about to auction the virginity of her youngest daughter, Lucy (Eloise Smyth), to the highest bidder. But first she advises her older daughter, Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay, a long way from Downton Abbey), who’s a concubine to a wealthy dolt.
“He’s an easy keeper,” Margaret tells Charlotte. “You could have him droppin’ jewels on your pillow. But you provoke him.” “He’s a snake,” Charlotte sniffs. “Indulge him,” Margaret says. “I’m thinkin’ about your future. My ma sold me for a pair of shoes.”
“I’ve heard about those shoes so many times I could start a cobbler’s,” Charlotte says.
“The only safety is money,” Margaret instructs her. “It’s a woman’s only power in the world. Make it your solace and your dream, and one day it will make you free.” “Are you free?” Charlotte asks. “I will be,” Margaret says. Earlier this week I wrote about dystopias. This is another — only it’s real and historically accurate. It’s pitched as a war between madams, Margaret’s lower-end bawdy house versus a high-class establishment run by Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville). But really it’s about societally oppressed women using the one weapon available to them — sexual power — to get the better of the men who oppress them. It’s proto-feminism hidden inside corsets and ribboned shoes.
“This city is made of our flesh,” Margaret sums up. “We’ll have our piece of it.” Harlots debuts May 4 at 9 p.m. on Super Channel. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on popculture moments. She usually appears Monday through Thursday.