…n remote European hamlets, the local prostitute was often seen as something of a fertility goddess. Wives would turn a blind eye if their husband paid her a visit because it was believed a tryst with her could bring prosperity to their farm. They would go so far as to bake her a pie or put together some preserves and insist that their husband deliver it to that poor woman who lives alone with her clutch of children. This lasted into the early 1900s. Even the local priests would tolerate her, not wanting to tip some delicate balance in the natural …