The Razor's Edge

The characters’ attitudes toward women’s professional livelihood speaks to the misogyny of the era and to women’s radically limited social and economic freedom at the time. Suzanne describes marriage as being still the only really satisfactory job for a woman, but it is not the only employment available; she also alludes to possibilities of being an actress or a sex worker, suggesting that these two options are at least more interesting than, say, secretarial work.

The author touches more than once, directly and indirectly, on the idea of sex work, in the most basic sense of women being obligated (or expected) to supply sex as payment for a man’s custody or financial provision. For example, Larry mentions a woman in Spain who offered sex as payment for his help. Suzanne herself provides sexual companionship and housekeeping as compensation for room and board with artists. Maugham narrates a scene with a sex worker in the café where he and Larry sit talking through the night. In a scene symbolizing women’s abject and internalized subjugation, the worker’s procurer strikes her, and, when others intervene, she insists to them that she deserved the punishment.

A wealthier woman might be kept by one particular man to serve as a companion when he was away from his wife, as Suzanne’s final lover does. In her earlier life, Suzanne “works” as a kind of serial wife. In addition to exchanging her body (through both sex and modeling) for financial support, Suzanne cooks, cleans, and sews for the men she stays with. In short, she does all the jobs Isabel would pay other women to do for her. Suzanne, however, is her own “mistress” (so to speak), free to leave if a man becomes abusive or is unable to support her.

Women did have some limited opportunities to earn money, i.e., the jobs that men would not deign to do. Factory work became available to women in the early 1800s. The work was low-paid and often exhausting, and because most men found it too menial, manufacturers turned to women, who were willing to work for one-half to one-third what their male coworkers earned. Despite the drawbacks, women like Larry’s Spanish lover appreciated the independence that came from earning their own money. It allowed them to supplement the family income or support themselves and their children if a husband died.

Suzanne was able to send her daughter, Odette, to a convent school. Many convents supported themselves by teaching, and some were specifically dedicated to providing a good education to girls, but even a girl with a good education might not find it of much use. Suzanne suggests that Odette might get office work, but it would be low-paid and tedious.

Maugham doesn’t mention it, but for women of Isabel’s social class, the availability of higher education opened up the possibility of professional work if a woman had enough determination. Isabel would certainly have had the strength of will, but she lacks the intellectual curiosity or the adventurous spirit that would make it worth the effort. For Isabel, marriage represents a life of security and luxury. She has never been required to exert herself to overcome hardship. Suzanne anticipates a similar kind of life when she marries her wealthy manufacturer, but she shows a shrewdness about money and the effort required to get it. Isabel’s role is to spend Gray’s money in a way that advertises his success and value to society.