in 2 The Honest Whore (2 The Converted Courtesan) — Dekker, Thomas
Metadata
Play
2 The Honest Whore (2 The Converted Courtesan)
Author
Dekker, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1630
First performance
1605
Decade
1630s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Prince Henry's Men
Speech prefix(es)
Bryan. | Bry.
Words
432
Characters
2025
Typicality
0.32 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A20065
BritDrama no.
1459
Cluster
Cluster 16 — Errand servants & brief parts
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
No so crees sa me, my Lady will have some little Ting in her pelly first. I fart di Lady is run away from dee, a mighty deal of ground, she sent me back for dine own sweet face, I pray dee come my Lord away, wut tow go now? A pox a de Horses nose, he is a lousy rascally fellow, when I came to gird his belly, his scurvy guts rum bled, di Horse farted in my face, and dow knowest, and Irish man cannot abide a fart, but I have saddled de Hobbyhorse, di fine Hobby is ready, I pray dee my good sweet Lord, wit tow go now, and I will-runne to de Devil before dee? No foot la, my Lady will have me Lord sheet wid her, my Lord will sheet in de one side, and my Lady sheet in de toder side. Come I pray dee, wut come sweet face? Go. Faat Satins? faat Silvers, faat low Gentlefolks? dow pratest dow knowest not what, yfaat la. By dis hand and bod dow sayest true, if I did so, o how? I know not a letter a de Book yfaat la. Never, sa crees sa me, never; he may run at a tow sand rings yfaat, and I never hold his stirrup, till he leap in to de saddle. By S. Patrick, Madam, I never touch my Lords Diamond, nor ever had to do, yfaat la, with any of his pre cious stones. Slawne loot, fare de well, fare de well. Ah marragh frofat boddah breen. Faat meanest thou by this now? I faat, I care not. I, do predy, I had rather have thee make a scabbard of my guts, and let out all de Irish puddings in my poor belly, den to be a false knave to de I faat, I will never see dine own sweet face more. A mawhid deer a gram, fare de well, fare de well, I will go steal Cows again in Ireland. No faat la, I cannot go dis four or tree days. I faat, I doubt my pate shall be knocked: but sa crees sa me, for your shakes, I will run to any Linen Draper in hell, come preddy. I predee now let me have de best wares. Faat a Devil pratest tow so, a pox on dee, I preddee let me see some Hollen, to make Linen shirts, for fear my body be lousy. Pox on de gardens, and de weeds, and de fools cap dear, and de clouts; hear? dost make a Hobbyhorse of me.
Plot summary
Plot — 2 The Honest Whore (2 The Converted Courtesan)
On his way to court, Hippolito receives petitioners, including the reformed courtesan Bellafront: she wants his help in petitioning the Duke to pardon her husband Matheo, who has been condemned to death for homicide. Hippolito solicits the help of Bellafront’s father Orlando, but he is still morally outraged at her former sexual misconduct. Nevertheless he secretly arranges for Matheo’s release, and enters his household disguised as a servingman, Pacheco. Matheo proves dissolute, and when ‘Pacheco’ gives him money for safe keeping, he gambles it all away. Bellafront is trying not to let poverty and Matheo’s prodigality force her back into prostitution. Hippolito, who converted her from whoredom, now tries to seduce her back again. She sends ‘Pacheco’ to return his love-tokens, but ‘Pacheco’ instead takes them to Infelice, who identifies them as her own gifts to Hippolito. She interrogates Hippolito’s go-between, Brian the footman, then tells her husband that Brian gave her the love-tokens and had an affair with her. Brian is dismissed and goes home to Ireland. Desperate for money, Matheo strips the gown from his wife’s back and sells it. Lodovico promises to furnish him as a gentleman, so he is properly dressed when Orlando visits in his own person. The old man feigns lack of sympathy, then returns as Pacheco in time to prevent Matheo assaulting Bellafront. Prompted by Orlando, the Duke takes a hand: he issues a warrant to arrest Matheo for robbing two pedlars (who were actually Orlando’s men); and, hearing that Hippolito is in love with a whore, but not knowing her identity, passes new anti-prostitution laws. Meanwhile, Candido is married a second time, but his bride tests his patience with unruly behaviour on their wedding day. He determines to tame her, and Lodovico helps in the guise of an apprentice; she submits herself after a mock duel with measuring sticks. Some gallants attempt to seduce her into a brothel, but fail, and Candido still keeps his temper when, drawn to an alehouse for a business deal, he is forced to drink to a bawd’s health. Matheo is arrested at the alehouse on the Duke’s warrant, and Candido too for receiving the cloth stolen from the pedlars. At Bridewell, Matheo admits the robbery, but attempts to incriminate Bellafront out of jealousy for her supposed relationship with Hippolito. Orlando explains everything, and accepts his daughter’s forgiveness of her husband. The visitors see some of Bridewell’s new inmates: a pander and…