In case anyone is still thinking that Hogarth was some horrible misogynist, observe how readily he draws attention to the rake as well as to the harlot. While the sexes have their peculiar strengths and weaknesses, the struggle between virtue and vice is a universal human condition.
The paintings for A Harlot's Progress were lost in a fire, but those for A Rake's Progress survive, and so the lover of detail can make comparisons with the engravings.
Upon the death of his merchant father, Tom Rakewell finally inherits his fortune. As he is being fitted for a new suit, he dismisses his pregnant fiancée, Sarah Young. Clearly he believes there are now greater things in store. She weeps as she hold his ring, and her angry mother displays his many love letters, but to no avail. Tom is going places!
The room is packed with references to the dangers of loving money. The estate's administrator is already stealing from Tom's bag of coins. The coat of arms over the door has three vises together with the motto "Beware". The portrait of the father over the mantle shows him busy counting his cash.
The rich often acquire their wealth through greed, and so it is hardly surprising that the father was also a miser. A servant uncovers a hidden stash of coins while decorating the house for mourning, The poor cat has not been fed. A roasting spit has been locked away in the closet, indicating that the master did not spend on entertaining guests.
In the engraved version, an account book reveals that the father meticuluously recorded getting rid of a bad shilling, and it appears the old man used the leather from a Bible to resole his shoe. I would laugh at the whole scene if I didn't know so many people who are sadly very much like this.
My immediate instinct is to have far less sympathy for Tom than I do for Moll, and yet they are both equally victims of society's deceptions.
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