Dangerous Beauty

My boyfriend saw that I had rented Dangerous Beauty from Blockbuster and asked if I were some type of horn dog... or something along those lines! ;) Yes, Kate McCormack is stunning and there are two tasteful sex scenes, but I find the movie intriguing. I watched it years ago when I was in college and was instantly transported to Venis during the Renaissance period. The costumes are accurate, the dialogue appropriate, and it's clear that women have two choices: marry and be confined to needlepoint the rest of your life or become a courtesan and get an education in order to entertain the gentleman. Veronica Franco is the main character who falls in love with a man above her station, Marco Venier. When he tells her they cannot wed he states "Love does not an inheritance make." Veronica's mother seizes the opportunity of her broken heart to teach her the art of seducing men. However, it is not until she realizes that courtesans can visit the library that she actually embraces her fate. Veronica is an intelligent, quick witted, beautiful poet and because of this captures the hearts of all the men who pay her wages. She becomes a national asset after seducing a neighboring king, in return getting needed ships for war. The city turns toward the end of the story from alive and vibrant to sick with disease and plague. The religious zealots point the blame at the courtesans screaming witchcraft and somehow forget to condemn the men who kept them in employment. The story is captivating and full of human nature. Yes, the cover is sexual and most people would walk by it- but it is a classic story of romance set in a time where sex was something that was natural and not be done in the dark. People embraced themselves and the wishes of their body, but there remained a struggle to do what society expected of you. Marriage was a contract. Love was love.