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Abstract

Representations of ‘rakes’ and ‘harlots’ in the eighteenth century aligned with and influenced accepted narratives about these groups of people. The upper-class hedonists labelled ‘rakes’ were either seen as rebellious adventurers, challenging a repressive society obsessed with politeness, or out-of-mode transgressors harking to an era of aristocratic privilege. Female sex workers were represented as either lascivious harlots or innocent dupes who had fallen on hard times and been corrupted by society. In A Rake’s Progress and A Harlot’s Progress, William Hogarth depicted his characters as disorderly youths, easily led by corrupt forces including bawds and seasoned rakes. However, his ‘harlot’ was far more innocent than his ‘rake’. She was led to her ultimate doom by external forces, while he was at the mercy of his own wildness. Both ended up as ‘outsiders’ from a society horrified, although fascinated, by each character’s sad demise. However, real ‘rakes’ and ‘harlots’ inadvertently and consciously challenged these narratives with their behaviour and self-representations. This dissertation explores those challenges through scholarly observations and the diaries and memoirs of notorious rakes and high-profile courtesans. It compares the self-representations and historical observations to the contemporary narrative and looks at the tensions between the two groups. It concludes that both ‘rakes’ and ‘harlots’ challenged the narrative but did not share the same levels of agency. The men labelled rakes were often at the mercy of their own addictions, rather than being rebels, but some ‘rakes’ were so entitled that they operated well within society and abused their privilege. Courtesans and other sex workers showed spirit and independence, challenging the system with memoirs and loud, lewd, behaviour, but they remained vulnerable due to their sex. Both groups gained a level of acceptance in society, but they were held at a distance, to be marvelled at and observed. Therefore, they essentially remained outsiders.

Course: History - BA (Hons) - C1087

Date Deposited: 2023-10-11

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14202.html