The Arcades Project - Operi

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this woman from passing beyond the doorstep, because it often happens that she
has the audaeity to step out and intercept passersby. With my own eyes I have seen
these panders take men by the arm or by the coat and, so to speak, force them to
enter their houses." (2) With respect to the interdiction on commerce for prostitutes:
I would also forbid the opening of stores or shops in whichfilles publiques
are installed as milliners, seamstresses, sellers of perfume, and the like. Women
who work in these stores and shops will station themselves at open doors or windows
in order to send signals to passersby . ... There are others more ingenious
who close their doors and windows hut send signals through glass panes unprovided
with curtains; or the curtains are left open just enough to permit easy com­
munication between outside and interior. Some of these women rap against the
front of the shop each time a man passes by, so that he returns to the spot where
the noise was heard; and then such scandalous signs and beckonings ensue as
could escape the attention of no one. All these shops are found in the arcades."
F. F. A. Beraud, Les Filles publiques de Paris et la police qui les regit (Paris and
Leipzig, 1839), vol. 2, pp. 149-150, 152-153. [05a,l]
Beraud declares himself in favor of an unlimited number of brothels. "Art. (13)
Every woman or girl of legal age who has suitable space in her living quarters (at
least two rooms), and who is authorized by her husband if she is married, . .. will
be able, as the proprietor or principal tenant of the house she inhabits, to become
mistress of the house and to obtain a license for operating a brothel." Beraud, Les
Filles publiques de Paris, vol. 2, p. 156. [05a,2]
Beraud's proposal is that every girl, even a minor, should, if she so desires, be
registered as a prostitute. From his argument: "'Your feeling of duty demands a
continual surveillance to protect these children . ... To spurn them is to take on
one's head all the consequences of cruel abandonment. ... They must be registered,
then, and surrounded with all the vigilance of authority. Instead of returning
them to an atmosphere of corruption, let us submit these hardly nubile girls to
a regular life in a house specially designed to receive them . ... Notify their parents.
As soon as they understand that the dissolute life of their daughters will
remain undisclosed, that it is a secret religiously guarded by the administration,
they will consent once agdn to acknowledge them." Beraud, Les Filles publiques,
Pl'. 170-171. [05a,3]
"Why don't . .. the police allow . . some of the mistresses of the better-known
houses of prostitution to give . . . evening parties, balls, and concerts, with the
addition of tables for ecarte? Then, at least, the sharpers could be carefully
watched, whereas in other circles [gambling houses are meant] this is impossible,
seeing that police action . .. there is . .. virtually nil." F. F. A. Beraud, Les Filles
publiques de Paris e' la police qui les regi' (Paris and Leipzig, 1839), vol. 2, p. 202.
[06,1]
"There are . .. epochs, seasons of the year even, which are fatal to the virtue of a
great many young Parisiennes. During these periods, in the licensed brothels and