Different view of Oharu

The truth is, Oharu never resisted, or refused, anything at all that others had tried to push on to her, even when she knew their intentions. Sometimes she would feign and put up a brief fight, but then would quickly accept whatever it was that others tried to lay on her, be it sexual/romantic advances, manipulation and abuse, or other sorts of advice and persuasion. There is a difference between defeat and forfeit, and Oharu always chose the latter.

In making her seem as passive and helpless and victim-y as possible, Mizoguchi perhaps unwittingly made the events that happened to her seem all the more like the logical, necessary and "fateful" outcome of her own nature and character. They become the inevitable realization of her own inner, true ("passive") desires, which merely mirrored those of the people around her (ie, society).

For what was Oharu's greatest attribute in her life? It was her beauty, her looks. This was emphasized by Mizoguchi himself time and again. And Oharu knew this, and tried to somehow maintain it throughout her life. Just witness her flirting with and half-casting off would-be suitors from the very beginning. And what do you call someone who uses their beauty or looks to try to gain advantage in life, as an instrument of power? Really, in its barest (no pun intended) essence, it's a Prostitute. And that's what Oharu ended up being. Which was perhaps, as Mizoguchi shows us, her real nature all along.

Beauty has all the power of a dangerous explosive, but if you don't know how to use it properly, the first one you kill is always yourself.