The Painted Girls

It is about being born downtrodden and staying that way. Hard work makes no difference, he is saying. My lot, the lots of those around me, were cast the moment we were born into the gutter to parents who never managed to step outside the gutter themselves.

Willfulness, such as yours, is exactly what a girl needs to raise herself up to do something useful with her life.

No social being is less protected than the young Parisian girl—by laws, regulations, and social customs.

She was lost to me, a sister who did not love her sister anymore. Such a stupid thing, striking that match.

Maman drops to her knees, grasps the hem of Monsieur LeBlanc’s greatcoat. “You cannot turn us out. My daughters, all three good girls, you would put them on the street?