We see this through one of the themes of the poem which transforms women into puppets or dolls controlled by a higher force. The obvious meaning of puppets is a moving doll resembling a human, but it can also be a derogatory term for a woman lacking individuality (Oxford English Dictionary). The prostitutes are described as “automatons on a string” (line 13), “a mechanical puppet” (line 19), and “a horrible puppet” (line 22). All have definitions referring to control. An automaton is a moving device that resembles a human. A mechanical puppet is a puppet that acts in a regular mechanical manner. A marionette is a puppet with articulated limbs operated by a string or an easily controlled person. Even the word prostitute once meant actress, as well as whore (OED). Women are controlled in two ways. In her encyclopedia article on brothels in Victorian England, Carolyn Egan writes: “brothels operated as if women who sold themselves had to work under the supervision of a madam or pimp.” Literally, prostitutes work under another dominant force, in the form of a madam or a pimp, and they also work under the constraints of society. The prostitutes' characters have moved as far away as possible from Victorian morality, and yet they are still judged by it and subjected to a form of domination. For example, the speaker criticizes the