Jeanine Mae D.

Alvarico
Masquerade Joanna Taylor
Marxist

Piccadilly and Mayfair

The adult historical romance novel “Masquerade” was written by Joanna Taylor because she
was inspired by the movie “Pretty Woman”. The events took place in Regency London where
there are different people of a different statuses in each place .Piccadilly was considered where
the poor mingled and Mayfair was where the elite would stay. Characters from all walks of life
were present in the book– from an old man selling birds to a socialite noble. Various parts of
the book show how social classes were related to each other. There are instances when women
are looked down upon by men of their same social status. Masquerade is like a mix of
Pygmalion and Pretty Woman (Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede, 2015).

From the first few chapters, Piccadilly was so stereotyped that it was said the gutter-whores,
drinkers, and even slaves reside there. In fact, when Lord Hayes passed by because he was lost
with his hybrid horse, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Instantly, people who were clamouring by
the streets stared to look up at him, as if wondering how he could’ve gotten there. It was
depicted that the whores, who wished to woo him, immediately straightened up to fix
theirselves– cheap dress, threadbare gloves, white face paint, rouge lip and all.

Meanwhile in another chapter of the book, when Elizabeth “Lizzy” Ward was hired by Lord
Hayes for a week to be his escort, they go to many events in order to be seen by the public. The
rich keep up appearances to remind the rest that they are the upper-class. Many parts of the
novel show how girls were oppressed the most. One time when Lizzy was tasked to shop for a
dress for a special dinner with Lord Hayes’ guests, she was left no choice but to buy clothes
from the rich streets of Mayfair. Since she wasn’t dressed up like one of the rich just yet, a city
beadle, who she thought was going to help her, ended up embarrassing her because of her get-
up.

The difference between the higher and lower classes were very accurately defined, especially
when Lizzy landed in Edward's house and started to see how her previous life looked life and
how "the other half" lives (Agi, 2015).The nobles were married to each other for convenience–
what they could gain in terms of business, agriculture, and riches. After marriage, men could go
around having intercourse with courtesans while the wives gossiped all the time and envied the
whores their husbands spent their time with. Mrs. Wilkes’ house, a business near Mayfair that
was infamous throughout Regency London because of how many young girls they’d have
available to be toyed with by old dukes, played a big role in the main protagonist’s life. Even
after leaving that place, Lizzy still feels violated in every way that she clings to her own
semblance of dignity (her first paper bill). She was only able to free from the claws of that
wretched place when she ran away with three more girls.
In various occasions, it was mentioned that the only way for a woman to be liberated is either
when they marry a wealthy gentleman or when they would travel to America to start over a
new leaf for forty thousand guineas. At that point in time in London, the status quo involved
oppressed women married to ruthless nobles that were business tycoons, courtesans and
whores, and the upper-class looking down on those of a lower status. Resolution between Lizzy
and Lord Hayes was accomplished only then when they avoided social conflicts and left
everything behind to sail to America.