The severity of the peace terms which the Allies forced on defeated Germany after World War I led to increased privation and hardships for many of his citizens, including those who had been relatively well-to-do before the war. Prostitution grew to alarming proportions, its ranks swelled by women from many walks of life who could see no other way of making a living. Dix pounced upon this cankerous social phenomenon as a symptom of the greater cynicism, despair and decadence afflicting post-war Germany. In the present work, Dix pulls back the curtain on the life of an older procuress. Overweight, unappealing, completely devoid of romantic or sentimental fantasy, she is the emblem of a society in decay and without hope for the future. Nevertheless, while taking the role of social critic, Dix sees humor and irony in this scene and feels compassion for his subject, qualities which combine to exemplify the objectivist sensibility in post-war German painting.