Tis Pity She's a Whore, John Ford's revenge tragedy, offers a view into the infamous world of Parma, where the (dominant characters' lives revolve around ethically corrupt, cunning and capricious relationships. Although there is an apparent reckoning and judgment of Annabella as a "whore", Ford offers a contemporary and idyllic return of the double conventional standard for women through the repetition of hypocrisy and debauchery throughout the play. Say No to Plagiarism Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? he original essay “Lolita” follows the tale of a prison story, about a comical and peculiar narrator named Humbert, who falls in love with and ensnares his young stepdaughter. Let's remember the novel from Humbert's point of view but, when you delve deeper into it, it is very clear that the power Humber holds as a narrator is somewhat manipulative and quite frightening. Lolita admires popular culture with her friends; she likes to mix freely with others and, like most prepubescent girls, tends to be dramatic and scandalous. However, when she screams and rebels against Humbert, she displays more than the frustration of an ordinary teenager: she clearly feels trapped by her arrangement with Humbert, but, being a young woman, she is powerless to escape. . The most common misconception in the literature is that dominance and masculinity go hand in hand. Ford refutes this through Annabella's rise to power throughout the final acts of the play, before her inevitable death. In order to consolidate her power, Annabella reiterates that her marriage to Soranzo provides a platform for her reputation. We witness her rise to power in the fourth act when she reaffirms that “it was not for love” that she chose to marry Soranzo. In the midst of their argument, she declares, “I chose you…for honor.” The use of pronouns is important in the act: using “I” before “you” highlights how she prioritizes herself over her husband. This would be the complete opposite of what one would expect from the patriarchal Caroline England. In a male-dominated society, men would be superior and would always exercise authority. In this situation, however, Annabella is the person in control, and this is further proven by the verb "choose." Annabella “chose” Soranzo, demonstrating how she governs herself without being influenced by a man. According to Alison Findlay, Annabella "attempts to reconcile her situation by identifying with the Virgin Mary", meaning that she almost tries to mediate the confrontation by reflecting herself and her situation onto that of the Virgin Mary. Mary is a crucial figurehead in the Bible – although the Catholic Church was renowned for its corruption and debauchery, Christianity was the primary religion of Caroline England and the intrinsic faith that everyone followed. Annabella associating herself with the Blessed Mother suggests how she places herself on a pedestal, as if she shares the same power and power as Mary. This illustrates the power that Annabella exudes when she equates herself with someone of great importance, even though women of the time would never be classified that way. Gender can often determine whether literary characters will have power or not; this is obviously shown in Tis Pity She's a Whore - Hippolita is seen as one of, if not the only, character with competence and ability to defend her position as a woman in Caroline England. That being said, its power is contestedmainly through two of the male characters – Soranzo and Vasquez, as he seduces her to death. Soranzo's stance towards infidelity constitutes the clearest case of hypocrisy and irony in 'Tis Pity by accentuating the hypocrisy of his wanderings. As Hippolita first sets out against Soranzo, he denounces Hippolita for “her monstrous life,” advising her to “learn to repent and die; for, by my honor, / I hate thee and they lust,” despite how Soranzo was the person who sought out and charmed Hippolita despite the fact that she was a married woman. This scene parallels his confrontation with Annabella's pregnancy, in which he confronts Annabella, calling her a "trumpet, famous whore!" » and portraying her as an “adulterer”. Soranzo's over-the-top overreaction to Annabella's pregnancy highlights his unexpected use of "two-facedness," because in fact, Annabella had not committed infidelity before her marriage, while Soranzo had charmed a married woman. Through the unexpected juxtaposition of Soranzo's relationships within the play, Ford highlights the deception of men while discreetly scrutinizing the double standards applied to women. Sex as a tool of power is only transitory. As an unreliable narrator, Humbert's hubris and appeals to sympathy make his telling of the story dubious. The novel is his prison story; he tells the story, claiming that Dolores held control of the relationship because she was the one who seduced him. In 1950s America, we know that Humbert obviously has the upper hand, as an adult male. After Charlotte's death, he was Dolores' legal guardian, responsible for her in all respects – he frequently repeats that she would have nowhere to go if she left him. The primary power of the storyteller, Humbert, is his need to prove to himself that he is the master of everything: of other individuals, of his own desires, of his destiny, and of the telling of the story itself. Time and again in Lolita we see Humbert's most extraordinary activities and feelings, not because of his physical desires but rather his mental need to win, have, and control. The roles of each gender are very fundamental and traditional for him: women must be controlled and men must seek ownership of women. From time to time, Humbert claims to demonstrate his predominance in different ways, for example by misleading psychologists into assuming that he is homosexual. Moreover, he even alludes to his own "exotic" sexuality as evidence of a very refined taste, a sense of taste better than that of the normal man. Before the end of the book, we see that Humbert's control over his needs goes beyond missing the particulars of his needs and is the real reason for his burdens. We see a similar, toxic relationship where the adult exploits the child in Alissa Nutting's Tampa. In the simplest terms, “Lolita” can be described as the two-part story of Humbert’s association with the young girl. In the first part he takes it and makes it his own, and in the second part he loses it. Note that this has nothing to do with Humbert's wrongdoing, his physical needs, his own history, or his appearance in his life. These are mostly just important segments of the narrative about how he wants and gets a nymphet and thus how she escapes his grasp. The first part ends with a chilling article about Lolita's situation: "In the middle of the night she came into my room sobbing, and we made up very gently. You see, she had absolutely nowhere to go". This is the climax of Humbert's possession of Lolita: she has nono other choice than him, and has not begun to understand the power she exercises over him, as he has over her. Obviously, she quickly grows to hate Humbert even though he delights in possessing the nymphet. Ford also accommodates the use of the term "whore" when representing Annabella through the judgment of the Cardinal, who curiously plays the role of the most amoral and corrupt character in the play, despite being a religious expert. In the final scenes of the play, the cardinal appears to be fulfilling his religious duty by advising Giovanni to “strive again to cry out to heaven.” However, just moments after saying this, he arranges for Putana to be "ta'en/Out of town, for example, for love,/There to be reduced to ashes" with no prompting or legitimate explanation behind it. his murder Shortly after, he collects all the property from the bodies in the area, basically desecrating the valuables of the recently deceased individuals By having such a degenerate and indecent character speak the last line of the play, ". Who couldn't say, "It's a shame she's a whore?" Ford raises doubt about Annabella's judgment. Finally, the portrayal of Annabella as a prostitute seems to be inconsequential in contrast to the debasement. savage male figures in 'Tis Pity and offers an investigation into the judgment of women in contemporary society Ford uses this as a method to highlight how religion has always given power to men, but not necessarily women at that. those who used religion as a means of power would most likely be those who use power in corrupt and evil ways. Putana is not a character that the audience automatically sympathizes with. She encourages the incestuous relationship between Giovanni and Annabella, which shows. her moral compass misguided and abusing the position of influence and trust between her and Annabella, her student and charge. For both contemporary and more modern audiences, this encouragement is undeniably inappropriate. Additionally, when the relationship ends due to Annabella's pregnancy, Putana is tearful and distraught, showing that she is incorrigible and completely unaware of the consequences her irresponsible actions can have. Despite this, the treatment she inflicts on her at the hands of Vasques is no less disgusting or atrocious. Vasquez takes it upon himself to punish Putana for his encouragement of Giovanni and Annabella's affection for each other, so orders the banditti to gouge out his eyes in a twisted but symbolic punishment. The fact that Vasquez would feel capable of doing this to someone, because they are a woman, is shocking, and there is no doubt that he would not treat a man the same way. Vasquez treats Hippolita no better and takes it upon himself to poison her for her misdeeds: “your own malicious treachery has killed you.” His murderous act was met with support from all parties present at the event, with the chorus exclaiming at this “wonderful justice!” » Soranzo's crimes are no less obvious than those of Hippolita: both plotted to kill Richardetto and then marry, and yet he is seen as the victim of Hippolita's affections. If he were a woman, he would be a murderer, but in the corrupt society in which the play takes place, justice is replaced by vengeance. Dolores changes completely throughout the novel, even though she has only reached about six years old. At the beginning of the novel, she is an honest, but explicitly experienced twelve-year-old girl. Humbert forces her to progress toward an even more fully sexual being, but she never seems to realize that her sexual activities with Humbert are completely different from her dalliances with..