The Prostitute's Life in the Painted Cohorts It was a dark and ominous night as she stood there in the shadows. While waiting for the end of the show that was playing, she glanced towards the exit through which people would soon leave. The rich, as patrons of the theater, promised him a salary at least for today. His tattered clothes revealed the effects of personal misery; the emaciated figure that currently existed was reminiscent of a body she must have once possessed. Driven by poverty to the realm of “painted cohorts,” she puts makeup on her face daily, distinguishing her life from that of respected people (264). She is an outcast, a leper, a marginalized person in society; she wraps against her body the most degraded positions and sins in order to survive. When she looks up, her eyes reflect a different kind of light, a glow of beauty that has not yet faded despite her current conditions. She was, at one time, a “virtuous” woman, very probably despised by dishonest love. Finding neither comfort nor pity for her past mistakes, she must turn to the streets and embrace the inevitable: the dishonor and shame of her previous engagement will follow her to death. Estranged from society, she becomes the woman who sells herself for money and unfortunately cannot find love. She is the abandoned, betrayed, lost and embarrassed girl; she is “painted cohorts,” the street prostitute (264). Prostitution in the 19th century was perhaps one of the most degrading positions for a woman of the time. Identified by her fashion-forward dress, makeup, and mannerisms, a woman employed within the company was avoided by all respectable people. Once tainted by immoral sin, a woman could never return to good taste...... middle of paper ......ation" shows, as the houses of assignment do, that she is a woman driven by her own thoughts and passions, the embodiment of a spirit that, although criticized, will not be broken. She is a sexual, independent and unique being, and she alludes to the hope that society will respect her by. as such. She stands under the lamppost and waits for the theater to open its doors. She looks down at the ground, aware of her unworthy position in her culture, and waits for someone to understand her situation, not see her. like a prostitute but like a woman who needs money, love, passion or excitement to replace the emptiness that led her to begin her walk on these streets. »: selected readings on prostitution in the 19th century by Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, ed. Kevin J. Hayes (New. York: Bedford/Saint-Martin, 1999).