Today at Heroes and Heartbreakers, Just a Gigolo…Hero?, in which I discuss some of the ways in which romance heroes have been, umm, on the game.
Kate’s Father: I’m sad because, my darling, our poverty has reached such extremes that I can no longer afford to keep us and must look to my own dear tiny darling to sustain me in my frail dotage.
Kate: But father surely…
Kate’s Father: Yes, Kate. I want you to become a prostitute.
Kate: Never! Father.
Kate’s Father: Do you defy me?
Kate: Indeed I do for tis better to die poor than to live in shame and ignominy.
Kate’s Father: No it isn’t.
Kate: I’m young and strong, clever, my nose is pretty. I shall find another way to earn a living.
Kate’s Father: Oh please go on the game. It’s a steady job and you’d be working from home.
—Blackadder series II, “Bells”
