Golightly the Geisha
Dating columnist and millennial singleton Sinead Corcoran looks to a classic romance movie for inspiration for her love life.
Before I had actually watched the movie of Breakfast At Tiffany’s ,I assumed that iconic photo of Audrey Hepburn standing outside Tiffany’s in New York City, dripping in diamonds, sipping coffee and eating a croissant was supposed to be a 1940s version of a snobby Ponsonby housewife milling about outside Lululemon with a green smoothie.
How wrong was I?
I’ve realised it was actually a
1940s version of a 19-year-old at
3am outside McDonalds after a night out on the razz – except obviously a far more glamorous version.
In that opening scene, Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly is on her way home from a date, which she was probably financially compensated for, whether that be through gifts or cash.
‘‘I suppose you think I’m very brazen. Everybody does. I don’t mind. It’s useful,’’ she says.
It got me thinking – is
Breakfast At Tiffany’s the OG
Sex and The City, a sassy story of a modern, fun-loving, sexually liberated single gal in the Big Apple who refuses to succumb to societal gender norms of being a housewife?
Or is it the tragic tale of a vulnerable escort whose glamorous lifestyle and financial stability is entirely dependent on manipulating her sexuality for cash and other handouts from men?
In a 1969 interview with
Playboy magazine, Truman Capote, the author of the original novel, denied claims that the character of Holly Golightly was a prostitute, describing her instead as an ‘‘American Geisha’’.
‘‘Holly Golightly was not precisely a callgirl,’’ he said.
‘‘She had no job, but accompanied expense-account men to the best restaurants and nightclubs, with the understanding that her escort was obligated to give her some sort of gift, perhaps jewellery or a cheque . . .
‘‘If she felt like it, she might take her escort home for the night.’’
For decades, Golightly has been touted as an incredibly