Taking A Look At The Positives

Although Ophelia is living in a brothel house, Trethewey uses refined language throughout the poems when describing Ophelia’s environment. Threthewey does not in any way glorify prostitution. However, though she does explain certain off-putting characteristics, she portrays some of the posh positives that come along with the job as well.  She describes the house as “high-classed” with “polished mahogany, potted ferns, [and] rugs two inches thick” (11).

The lady who runs the brothel is called “Countess.” Countess tends to refer to a noblewoman. I find it ironic that “Countess” runs a brothel, considering how sleazy the idea of a prostitution house is.  Although apparently contradictory, the boss’s title, “Countess,” makes the brothel seem more elegant.

While prostitution is an undesirable job for numerous reasons, the work is extremely advantageous for Ophelia. She “[saves] what [she pays] for board, [and] what [she earns] is [hers]” (15). Not only is Ophelia earning a living, she does not have to spend her income on housing. She can instead invest that money towards “[buying her] mother some teeth, [and paying] to have her new well dug” (15). Ophelia can now afford to pay for the necessary things she could not have afforded in the past.

The job is crude and degrading, but it does not involve tedious labor. Ophelia did not have to work in a factory or do field labor. She did not suffer the tragedies that sometimes occurred in factories, like the “clothing factory [where] so many women [died] in a fire” (22).

Through this job, Ophelia found her vocation, photography and modeling. She “spent a little of [her] savings on a Kodak”(27). After meeting a photographer, Bellocq, at the brothel. She became a model and apprentice. It was Ophelia’s calling. She observes the way “the camera can dissect the body, render it reflecting light or gathering darkness” (27). Ophelia has an eye for this hobby. Through this unpleasant means of earning a living, she has found her passion.