--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whore or courtesan, she put on a great…" description: "\"“Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show.”\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg" --- # Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show. ![“Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg) > ““Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She critiques a woman's performance of societal expectations, likening it to a staged act. **In simple terms:** She calls out superficial roles imposed on women. Key Takeaway Question and challenge imposed stereotypes. Themes gender performance identity societal pressure Mood critical poetic Type feminist analytical When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - media portrayal - social gatherings Key Concepts feminist critique social masks authenticity Questions to Reflect On - In what ways do we perform gender roles? - How can authenticity be expressed? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex female experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesan/) [Courtesan Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesan-great-5328010/) [Great Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-little-1349635/) [Whore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whore/) [Whore Courtesan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whore-courtesan-5328009/) ## Related quotes > [Mankind is made great or little by its own will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/mankind-is-made-great-or-little-by-its-own-will/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-is-truly-great-who-is-little-in-his-own-eyes-and-makes-nothing-of/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Great cry little wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sreenadh/great-cry-little-wool/) [Sreenadh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sreenadh/) > [The great put the little on the hooke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-great-put-the-little-on-the-hooke/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Little things are great to little men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/little-things-are-great-to-little-men/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [True greatness consists in being great in little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simmons/true-greatness-consists-in-being-great-in-little-things/) [Charles Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simmons/) > [The conformation of his mind was such that whatever was little seemed to him great, and whatever was great seemed to him little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-conformation-of-his-mind-was-such-that-whatever-was-little-seemed/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [He is truly great that is little in himself, and that maketh no account of any height of honors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-is-truly-great-that-is-little-in-himself-and-that-maketh-no/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [The great would have none great and the little all little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-great-would-have-none-great-and-the-little-all-little/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Be as subjective as you want. It's a great little racket. I'm glad we found it actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-labash/be-as-subjective-as-you-want-it-s-a-great-little-racket-i-m-glad-we/) [Matt Labash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-labash/) > [“If you knew how great your little dreams are, you wouldn’t let them die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-you-knew-how-great-your-little-dreams-are-you-wouldn-t-let-them-die/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [All of us, the great and the little have need of each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/all-of-us-the-great-and-the-little-have-need-of-each-other/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [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/) > [“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/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## 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/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-word-for-her-in-paris-a-courtesan-who-had-made-it-to-the-stage/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-pearl-courtesan-of-the-demi-monde/) [Browse all 23 Courtesan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Plath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-little-show/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courtesan" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-little-show/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/sylvia-plath-149_courtesan_whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-li_3093215.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whore or courtesan, she put on a great little show.” — Sylvia Plath", "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": "Sylvia Plath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Whore or courtesan, she put on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-little-show/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/whore-or-courtesan-she-put-on-a-great-little-show/#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 } } ] } ```