It would appear that things have gone quite array for our naughty heroine, Moll since we last saw her. Her fabulous pad as been reduced to a barely-tolerable hovel. No longer do fine paintings grace the walls, now all Moll can afford is prints of Macheath and William Sacheverell that any average person could buy off the streets. Moll no longer has the security of being a kept woman, she is a common street prostitute; not the most glamourous of jobs but it puts gin on the table. She has a cat for company who does a very good impression of the compromising position Moll commonly finds herself in by nightfall. Look, she can still afford a maid...a maid with syphilis but a maid just the same! Actually, come to think of it, Moll doesn't look so good either. She has sores festering on her once-virginal face. Judging by the two medicine bottles on her sill; Moll shares the same venereal disease as her grumpy maid. But luckily, alcohol keeps one merry. Moll happily shows the maid the watch she nicked from last night. Oh but Moll, it appears your time has run out!
The magistrat Sir John Gonson has entered her chambers in order to arrest our Covent Garden beauty but is quickly distracted by the witches' hat and broom on the wall. Is our fair one tempering with the occault? Or even more disgusting for the magistrate to envision: perhaps she does a bit of role-playing with her clients? *Shudders* Either way, this doesn't look too good for Moll. Will her sharp wit be able to get her out of this scrap?
A Harlot's Progress: Plate 1
A Harlot's Progress: Plate 2
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ha this is hilarious! Have you ever seen that show Gossip Girl? I can't believe I am admitting to this...but I watch in regularly. (It’s addictive!) Anyway, your commentary reminds me of the show’s narrator.
ReplyDeleteYou have done Hogarth proud.
You are the second person to say that to me, almost word for word, too (about watching the show, not the narrator part). I think I need to stay away from that show for my own safety! But dammit, now I'm curious!
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