The Dark Side of Pleasure

The Belle Époque's entertainment industry had brutal undersides. Dancers crippled their feet, singers destroyed voices, circus performers died attempting increasingly dangerous acts. The pleasure economy consumed its workers as ruthlessly as any factory.

Child performers faced particular exploitation. Loïe Fuller began performing at age four. The child actor René Dary recalled eighteen-hour days rehearsing and performing. The law offered little protection—children could work in "artistic" professions younger than in factories. Stage mothers forced daughters into performing, living off their earnings.

Drug addiction and alcoholism ravaged entertainers. The pressure to perform nightly, to maintain persona, to compete for audience attention, drove many to chemical assistance. The singer Yvette Guilbert estimated half her colleagues used morphine or cocaine. Absinthe claimed numerous victims, including the painter Toulouse-Lautrec.

Venereal disease spread through the entertainment world. Syphilis, incurable before antibiotics, killed slowly and horribly. The dancer Jane Avril spent years in hospitals. The writer Guy de Maupassant died insane from tertiary syphilis. The disease became occupational hazard for those in pleasure industries.

Violence lurked beneath glittering surfaces. The Apache gangs controlled much prostitution, extracting money through terror. Women who tried leaving faced scarred faces, broken bones, or death. The police, often bribed, provided little protection. The romanticized Apache dance represented real brutality.