The Mysterious Mute Ladies

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
In 18th century Venice, the ultimate tool of seduction for women was a plain mask covered in black velvet. She held it in place with her teeth that bit down on a button, thus making her mute, and her silence deepened the mystery of who she was and what lay behind the mask. The Venetian Moretta Muta mask was the ultimate seduction affectation used by the ladies of the city.

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The heads of the family and the husbands led the wives and the sons to the Piazza [S. Marco], […] had her face covered by a black moretta, which created such contrast to the whiteness of the flesh that it shone, making it highly visible.
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(Gliabiti de veneziani di quasi ogni età con diligenza raccolti, e dipinti nel secoloXVIII: volume III pag. 90 Filippi editore, Venezia)

The mask also allowed those from different social classes to mingle

Presently women's cosmetics is a multi-billion dollar industry, so the thought of covering your face may appear to fly in the face of logic if you wanted to attract men. Venetian women though used a mask that did exactly that, exposing their upper bodies including tinging their nipples with red carmine so that they would be more visible behind a thin, gauzy fabric that covered them.

The seduction was in what was not seen. These plain black masks were called moretta muta masks (the term derives from the adjective "moro" which means dark). Since the lady was holding it in place by biting down on a button on the inside, she was incapable of speaking, unless she removed it and the chase was over. At times referred to as "servetta muta" which translates to "mute servant."

The challenge for the man was to convince her to discard her anonymity, and not only see her face but hear her voice. In truth he did not know what lay behind the mask, so there also lay the allure of an additional risk that the final disclosure would end in disappointment.

The face was considered the window to the soul, but what use was a beautiful body, if there was not a passionate temperament to go with it? During the time when masks were permitted in Venice the
moretta mask was used on a daily basis up to 6 months out of the year if the lady so desired it.

Giovanni Grevembroch who penned wonderful descriptions of Venetian costumes, wrote this in the 18th century:

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The Moretta Masks were used even if it was not carnival time in Venice

During the 17th century, women in Paris would cover their faces with hats when they went out in public to shield their skin from the sun.

A mask, like the moretta was an alternative to keep their skin pale which was very fashionable.

Masks also helped different Venetian social classes to blend, especially after the introduction of  theaters and gambling halls. Aristocrats and those of the lower social classes could rub elbows behind the anonymity of the masks. At this time there was a strict social hierarchy in Venice.

In 17th century France, upper-class women did not go walking in public alone, but prostitutes did. The mask helped create anonymity for a woman who was unaccompanied and did not want to be considered a whore, and be charged with immodesty.

Like sunglasses, the masks created a type of psychic distance.

In the book, Venice Incognito: Masks in the Serene Republic, it's noted that: "starting in the late seventeenth century, Venetians wore masks in public for six months of the year, a practice they continued until the Republic's fall in 1797."

The mask allowed the wearer to act on impulse and without inhibition. Venice during this time prized secrecy.

A well-known figure of the city and time period was Giacomo Casanova, who adopted not only the deceit of a mask, he expanded it to travel under assumed names and personages, in which he would change his wardrobe to suit his chosen character. At the prime of his life when he was known as the Chevalier de Seingalt, none would suspect he was the son of a minor actress.

In Venice, it wasn't only during Carnival that masks were donned — "nobles, clergy, imposters, seducers, con men—could be found mixing at every level of Venetian society. Even a pious nun donned a mask and male attire for her liaison with the libertine Casanova." 

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Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798).

During the Venice carnival of 1754, Casanova was involved in an affair with a nun (M.M.) who lived in a convent on Murano, and dressed himself as Pierrot. He was also romancing C.C. a 14-year-old sent to the convent by her father. A mask enabled her to accompany him to the city, the opera and to gambling halls. M.M. at times would steal out  not only masked but dressed as a man.

The carnival reached its height on what is present day known as Fat Tuesday, or the day before the start of Lent. Assignations would be postponed, and the repentant would attend Mass on Ash Wednesday before enduring 40 days of good behavior at the peril of their souls.

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