Tristan blames the existence of prostitution on society, specifically the inequality that existed between men and women during the Victorian era. She states, “…let this monstrosity be attributed to our social state and let women by absolved from it!” Tristen points out that had women been afforded the same opportunities as men, the need to engage in prostitution would not have been nearly as bad as it was during the Victoria era.

“Magdalen” by Amy Levy is a poem that takes the point of view of a woman who lives as a prostitute. Her life is cold and sad; she was forced into prostitution because of a man she thought loved her. By the end of the poem, the narrator dies of some unnamed disease. Tristan gives an account of the prostitutes she happened to encounter. Many of them were “half-dressed, [and] bare to the waist, they were shocking and disgusting…” (Tristan). The end of Levy’s poem really puts into perspective what Tristan meant when she wrote, “when a dog dies he is watched by his master, whereas the prostitute ends on a street corner without anyone’s throwing her a glance of pity.” Levy’s poem is full of lonliness, the narrator stops caring about her life in the end and is ready to move on. Tristan pointed out in her article that many women who go into prostitution usually do not make it past 4 years.

Personally, I blame the men of the Victorian period. They judged women who went into prostitution, but it was really the men who left the women with no other options. Also, prostitution would not have been a good alternative for these women if sex selling weren’t so popular. Obviously there were men who were willing to pay or there wouldn’t have been “80,000 to 100,000 girls” (Tristan) living by prostitution. Prostitution was by no means an easier life for these women, but it was a way for them to try to take back their lives. For many of them, it was the last thing standing between feeding themselves or starving to death.