--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word for her in Paris, a courtesan…" description: "\"“The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to the stage, was grue—it happened so often there was a word for it.”\" — Alexander Chee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png" --- # The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to… ![“The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to the stage, was grue—it happened so often there was a word for it.” quote by Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png) > ““The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to the stage, was grue—it happened so often there was a word for it.”” [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A common term for a frequent phenomenon shows how language reflects social realities. **In simple terms:** Words label repeated experiences. Key Takeaway Notice how language shapes perception. Themes language society labeling culture Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary observational When to use this quote - media analysis - urban studies - psychology - creative writing Key Concepts semantics social norms identity Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect our view of people? - Can we create more nuanced language for common experiences? A Different Perspective Overreliance on labels can oversimplify complex individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesan/) ## Related quotes > [“The dresses are indecent," she said stiffly, the rich silk flowing against her body like water. "But pretty." She shot him another fulminating glance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-campbell/the-dresses-are-indecent-she-said-stiffly-the-rich-silk-flowing/) [Anna Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-campbell/) > [“Let those who love me follow me'Cora Pearl, on being the very first person to dye her hair red in 1864”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-pearl-courtesan-of-the-demi-monde/let-those-who-love-me-follow-me-cora-pearl-on-being-the-very-first/) Cora Pearl courtesan of the demi-monde > [Glory is sometimes a low courtesan who on the road entices many who did not think of her. They are astonished to obtain favors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-14th-prince-of-ligne/glory-is-sometimes-a-low-courtesan-who-on-the-road-entices-many-who/) [Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-14th-prince-of-ligne/) > [I'll live as a courtesan, not as a woman. I'll embrace any man that comes my way. It's not hard giving your body and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hwang-jini/i-ll-live-as-a-courtesan-not-as-a-woman-i-ll-embrace-any-man-that/) Hwang Jini > [She had the underwear of a thirteen-year-old, as well, he thought. He glanced back at her. But the shoes of a courtesan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/she-had-the-underwear-of-a-thirteen-year-old-as-well-he-thought-he/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) > [“Here’s her story, a tale of the bear-keeper’s daughter and the Empire: what happened to her and what happened because of her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-strickland/here-s-her-story-a-tale-of-the-bear-keeper-s-daughter-and-the-empire/) Carol Strickland > [“Wonderful what Hollywood will do to a nobody. It will make a radiant glamour queen out of a drab little wench who ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/wonderful-what-hollywood-will-do-to-a-nobody-it-will-make-a-radiant/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Death is as unexpected in his caprice as a courtesan in her disdain; but death is truer – Death has never forsaken any man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/death-is-as-unexpected-in-his-caprice-as-a-courtesan-in-her-disdain/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [How is it that one woman is…enough…for three men?” “I don’t know.” “She must be a very talented courtesan.” “Callie.” “Well, that was what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/how-is-it-that-one-woman-is-enough-for-three-men-i-don-t-know-she/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [“I have never deceived anyone, for I have never belonged to anyone. My independence was all my wealth: I have known no other happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-pearl/i-have-never-deceived-anyone-for-i-have-never-belonged-to-anyone-my/) Cora Pearl > [Mother went out again tonight, looking like a courtesan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy-toole/mother-went-out-again-tonight-looking-like-a-courtesan/) [John Kennedy Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy-toole/) > [“I watched her, a tall girl with long hair so black that under the stage lighting it coruscated like moonlit liquid. It cascaded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-watched-her-a-tall-girl-with-long-hair-so-black-that-under-the/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [It is something, I thought, when a king can put a courtesan to the blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/it-is-something-i-thought-when-a-king-can-put-a-courtesan-to-the-blush/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [“Finding out that you are not your lover’s only lover hurts, but not as much as discovering that you are the side chick ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/finding-out-that-you-are-not-your-lover-s-only-lover-hurts-but-not-as/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [You have a curious way of arousing one's imagination, stimulating all one's nerves, and making one's pulses beat faster. You put an aureole on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/you-have-a-curious-way-of-arousing-one-s-imagination-stimulating-all/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) ## More by Alexander Chee > [Writers aren't born, they're made - from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/writers-aren-t-born-they-re-made-from-practice-reading-and-a-lot-of/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [I had a naiveté that I would remember the things that I had written already, but I was getting lost in the forest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/i-had-a-naivet-that-i-would-remember-the-things-that-i-had-written/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“None of the young women who wanted her position knew what her position was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/none-of-the-young-women-who-wanted-her-position-knew-what-her/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“Sappho isn't really meant to be read. It's meant to be sung and there were dances for the songs, also. Sappho was a performance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/sappho-isn-t-really-meant-to-be-read-it-s-meant-to-be-sung-and-there/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“Nothing to fear from a fate that was already yours, then, except, perhaps, that it would never leave you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/nothing-to-fear-from-a-fate-that-was-already-yours-then-except/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [As I get ready to buy a new computer, I'm stunned at all the many micro drafts, of different chapters and scenes and whatnot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/as-i-get-ready-to-buy-a-new-computer-i-m-stunned-at-all-the-many/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [Everyone would tell me they couldn't identify with sexual abuse. No one says they can't identify with the tales of the Greek gods and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/everyone-would-tell-me-they-couldn-t-identify-with-sexual-abuse-no/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“When I was a boy and I sang, my voice felt to me like a leak sprung from a small and secret star hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/when-i-was-a-boy-and-i-sang-my-voice-felt-to-me-like-a-leak-sprung/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“You ought to know, you were my best friend. You were. I know you loved me. I loved you. No one should have gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/you-ought-to-know-you-were-my-best-friend-you-were-i-know-you-loved/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [Each source that I read, I would look through the bibliography and the footnotes, and use that as a map for the next thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/each-source-that-i-read-i-would-look-through-the-bibliography-and-the/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“Writers aren't born, they're made--from practice, reading, and a lot of caffeine. And sometimes tutelage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/writers-aren-t-born-they-re-made-from-practice-reading-and-a-lot-of-2/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [One of my big inspirations was Céleste Mogador. She was a courtesan who wrote her memoirs in order to pay off her debts, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/one-of-my-big-inspirations-was-c-leste-mogador-she-was-a-courtesan/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [Throughout my reading life, I've enjoyed many memorable meals-if only fictionally. The oysters at dinner near the beginning of Anna Karenina, the dinner Nana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/throughout-my-reading-life-i-ve-enjoyed-many-memorable-meals-if-only/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [I knew it was a risk but what I was after was a novel that is about the feeling that comes with a coincidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/i-knew-it-was-a-risk-but-what-i-was-after-was-a-novel-that-is-about/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“The storm is a glazier. Then fog passes through, touches the cold trees to add to the ice already there. Here the wind spins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-storm-is-a-glazier-then-fog-passes-through-touches-the-cold-trees/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) [Explore all 41 Alexander Chee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) ## More Courtesan quotes > [“The dresses are indecent," she said stiffly, the rich silk flowing against her body like water. "But pretty." She shot him another fulminating glance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-campbell/the-dresses-are-indecent-she-said-stiffly-the-rich-silk-flowing/) [Anna Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-campbell/) > [“Finding out that you are not your lover’s only lover hurts, but not as much as discovering that you are the side chick ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/finding-out-that-you-are-not-your-lover-s-only-lover-hurts-but-not-as/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It is something, I thought, when a king can put a courtesan to the blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/it-is-something-i-thought-when-a-king-can-put-a-courtesan-to-the-blush/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [“I watched her, a tall girl with long hair so black that under the stage lighting it coruscated like moonlit liquid. It cascaded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-watched-her-a-tall-girl-with-long-hair-so-black-that-under-the/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [Mother went out again tonight, looking like a courtesan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy-toole/mother-went-out-again-tonight-looking-like-a-courtesan/) [John Kennedy Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy-toole/) > [“I have never deceived anyone, for I have never belonged to anyone. My independence was all my wealth: I have known no other happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-pearl/i-have-never-deceived-anyone-for-i-have-never-belonged-to-anyone-my/) Cora Pearl > [How is it that one woman is…enough…for three men?” “I don’t know.” “She must be a very talented courtesan.” “Callie.” “Well, that was what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/how-is-it-that-one-woman-is-enough-for-three-men-i-don-t-know-she/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [Death is as unexpected in his caprice as a courtesan in her disdain; but death is truer – Death has never forsaken any man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/death-is-as-unexpected-in-his-caprice-as-a-courtesan-in-her-disdain/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Wonderful what Hollywood will do to a nobody. It will make a radiant glamour queen out of a drab little wench who ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/wonderful-what-hollywood-will-do-to-a-nobody-it-will-make-a-radiant/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Here’s her story, a tale of the bear-keeper’s daughter and the Empire: what happened to her and what happened because of her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-strickland/here-s-her-story-a-tale-of-the-bear-keeper-s-daughter-and-the-empire/) Carol Strickland > [She had the underwear of a thirteen-year-old, as well, he thought. He glanced back at her. But the shoes of a courtesan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/she-had-the-underwear-of-a-thirteen-year-old-as-well-he-thought-he/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) > [I'll live as a courtesan, not as a woman. I'll embrace any man that comes my way. It's not hard giving your body and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hwang-jini/i-ll-live-as-a-courtesan-not-as-a-woman-i-ll-embrace-any-man-that/) Hwang Jini > [Glory is sometimes a low courtesan who on the road entices many who did not think of her. They are astonished to obtain favors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-14th-prince-of-ligne/glory-is-sometimes-a-low-courtesan-who-on-the-road-entices-many-who/) [Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-14th-prince-of-ligne/) > [“Let those who love me follow me'Cora Pearl, on being the very first person to dye her hair red in 1864”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-pearl-courtesan-of-the-demi-monde/let-those-who-love-me-follow-me-cora-pearl-on-being-the-very-first/) Cora Pearl courtesan of the demi-monde > [You have a curious way of arousing one's imagination, stimulating all one's nerves, and making one's pulses beat faster. You put an aureole on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/you-have-a-curious-way-of-arousing-one-s-imagination-stimulating-all/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) [Browse all 23 Courtesan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to the stage, was grue—it happened so often there was a word for it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Chee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-who-had-made-it-to-the-stage/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courtesan" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-who-had-made-it-to-the-stage/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb4/alexander-chee-16129_courtesan_the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-wh_1086025.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The word for her in Paris, a courtesan who had made it to the stage, was grue—it happened so often there was…” — Alexander Chee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Chee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The word for her in Paris,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-who-had-made-it-to-the-stage/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-who-had-made-it-to-the-stage/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```