On a Daniel Defoe novel
Picked up a Norton edition of Defoe’s Moll Flanders, a rather long novel published in 1722 in England about a woman who is basically a tough prostitute.
Haven’t really read it yet but plan to. The 18th century seems to be the time of the birth of the novel for literary professors, and the concept of prostitution interests me. There is a huge pornography business in the US if we are honest, and that is akin to prostitution.
Morally, I think both prostitution and porn are wrong, but, in my opinion, they can help some socially awkward men. Porn is embarrassing but legal in the US. Prostitution is formally illegal and I think rare, but how would vice police ever really know unless it was blatant?
Of course, the main issue is whether prostitution is spreading venereal disease. Real romance is better too. But again some men are socially awkward.