Founder @Poornam Foundation & POSH Compliance | Director @TalentCoHR | Program Director @Slikun Institute
A beautiful movie on woman’s status in the 1500 century. A story of a courtesan, as I was watching the movie I was able to see the beauty, wisdom, talent, and art of lovemaking in which these courtesans were trained to entertain their customers. The customers were men, wealthy men, intelligent men, warrior men, the royal family men, and so on. They all enjoyed the company of such a woman who is well-groomed in every area of life. Be it in knowing the politics of the country, the art of lovemaking, looking beautiful, excellent in art and language, wise and witty. There is a lot written on how courtesans were trained in the past even to be a spy and political negotiators in every culture of the country. The patriarchy is two-sided, one they love women who are intelligent, beautiful, wise, and witty at the same time they are judged for being so. The power that women possess because of being well rounded and wise is not tolerated by the same society and then the humiliation, violence, and harassment against such women start. The patriarchy has reached a stage where power has become the game to play. One who is powerful plays and wins. Today also there is not much different than the
1500 BC situation, we are talking openly about it. Women who are powerful, successful, moved ahead of men are still treated the same way with humiliation.
The choice of men in the patriarchal society is a double edge sword. The movie Dangerous Beauty for those times has shown Veronica’s character more sorted and completely with the clarity of her mind and self. The poems narrated by her in this movie or some of the dialogues are outstanding, feminist, and ahead of time for that period. It’s a slap on the face of many social tragedies which surpassed the free-flowing life of women as well as men.
This movie shows how a woman is subjected to shame for her ability to love a man and fulfill his deepest desires, it also shows a woman who is wise and witty how can she fight against such men. lastly, it portrays the men who are inactive and not open because of society, their status as men, and non-acceptability from other men. Today also we are facing similar issues of Macho men in different ways. The 1500 BC or
2021 the men’s world has not changed whereas women are changing. Until the men’s world is not changing the women will be still fighting to make their way into the wall of Men’s perceptive patriarchy and issues that Men are grappling with generations & Centuries.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER in the movie which is a true biography
Veronica Franco (1546–1591) was an Italian poet and courtesan in 16th-century Venice. She is renowned for her notable clientele, feminist advocacy, literary contributions, and philanthropy. Her humanist education and surviving cultural contributions make Veronica Franco a compelling case study for the accomplishments of Courtesans in the late Venetian Renaissance.
In her notable works, Capitoli in Terze rime and Lettere familiari a diversi (“Familiar Letters to Various People”), Franco uses perceived virtue, reason, and fairness to advise male patricians and other associates. Her writings serve as a
display of her intellect and social connections. She was able to exercise greater autonomy in her authorship than other traditional Venetian women due to her established reputation and influence.
Catherine McCormack as Veronica Franco, some of her dialogues
- (Catherine McCormack) “You — all of you — you who hunger so for what I give, but cannot bear to see such power in a woman. You call God’s greatest gift — ourselves, our yearning, our need to love — you call it filth and sin and heresy.”
- When we too are armed and trained, we can convince men that we have hands, feet, and a heart like yours; and although we may be delicate and soft, some men who are delicate are also strong; and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards. Women have not yet realized this, for if they should decide to do
o, they would be able to fight you until death; and to prove that I speak the truth, amongst so many women, I will be the first to act, setting an example for them to follow. —Veronica Franco 1546-1591
- https://dornsife.usc.edu/veronica-franco/poems-and-letters/ read her work in this link