caricature - lucy

Caricature

Priscilla Berringfield (she is a prostitute)
Definition by negation: The woman was not a woman of feminine ideals, in fact if she were ever to be referred to as a lady, it would only be by one who was very inebriated.

Reputation: In the Victorian era, prostitutes were either painted as impure and/or soiled, and being in need of cleansing. They began to be referred to as the ‘Greater Social Evil’ because there was an increase in the number of prostitutes, especially in London. This is possibly due to the fact that there were 4% more women than men during an 1861 census. Alternatively, they were seen as ‘fallen women’, who did not choose they’re circumstances and were in need of help/saving.

Physical Description: Priscilla wears a low-cut Victorian style dress and a corset that enhances her ‘assets’. She wears excessive make up and one of those fake beauty marks on her left cheek.

Mannerism: She is prone to laughing at everything a man would say during a conversation, while trailing her hands down her bodice, clearly trying to draw their attention there.

Circumstance of Meeting: One evening when he was out with his friends drinking and Herbert isn’t there because he could not come that evening, Pip attempts to return home but is even more drunk that usual. He gets robbed and knocked out, and when he wakes up he finds himself in a seedier part of the city and it is fairly late out. He literally almost runs into Priscilla, who is fairly amused by him being there.

Dialogue:
Priscilla: Why hello there young man.
Pip: (is disturbed and trying to avoid her)
Pr: What are you doing in this area?
Pip: (continues to say nothing)
Pr: It isn’t very gentlemanly of you to ignore the queries of a lady.
Pip: You are not a lady.
Pr: And why not? Do I not dress well enough? Is my speech not eloquent enough? Am I not feminine enough to be a lady?
Pip: It is because you are a prostitute.
Pr: And a prostitute is not a lady?
Pip: No
Pr: And why is that?
Pip: Because a lady is supposed to be pure and unsoiled, and you are not. You are what is called the ‘Greater Social Evil.’
Pr: And where did you here that?
Pip: From people.
Pr: But you’ve never spoken to those that are of the ‘Greater Social Evil’?
Pip: No.
Pr: So you have never spoken to someone with firsthand experience?
Pip: No
Pr: Don’t you think you should? For all you know, most of us did not choose this profession, but had it forced upon them.
Pip: I doubt that. *leaves*
Pr: *laughs*