The House of Illusions A Study in Genet's The Balcony

Abstract

The definition of "prostitute" and prostitution is a difficult one and a
question over which the legislators of many lands and nations differed. A
notable feature of prostitution is its epidemic increase at times of war,
revolution and armed commotion, on account of economic, social and
psychological factors generated by such conditions of mortal conflicts. Wars
invariably deprive young wives and lovers of their men folk, resulting in
financial , sexual and emotional frustrations . At no time is the natural
balance between the sexes more seriously disturbed than during wars, when
thousands of men are thrown into one sector of the country and hundreds of
towns and villages are left to women and children only. Loaded with booty
provisions and fat salary, the warrior finds in the starving and displaced
woman an easy target. To the enemy, she is just another victim of war . The
permanent threat of death and the cheapened price of life diminish the
sanctity of human values and at the same time engender a burning desire to
ensure the survival of human life by a crude response to the sex instinct.
Jean Genet's The Balcony , throws light on the world of whoredom where
Madame Irma and her service carries out her clients' outrageous fantasies in
her "House of Illusions".
Finally, the study attempts to diagnose the basic reasons that push women
for harlotry.