Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,963
edits
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (update links) |
No edit summary |
||
| (12 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope|wppage=Hooker with a heart of gold}}
[[File:hwhg.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|''"You know, Jill, you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month -- he must have been a happy man."''
|'''Cheyenne'''|''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]''}}
▲{{quote|''"You know, Jill, you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month -- he must have been a happy man."'' |'''Cheyenne''', ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]''}}
This is a sex worker (Prostitute, Stripper, or Porn Star) who is a good person and might become a love interest for a main character. Underneath the sex kitten exterior there's actually a sweet, innocent flower that needs nurturing. If she doesn't get killed off by an angry pimp, you can typically expect her past to either be quickly forgotten or be mentioned / alluded to constantly.
Line 12:
This trope is only about prostitutes and other professional sex workers. For people who have casual sex [[For Happiness|for the pleasure of it]] rather than for money, see instead [[Good Bad Girl]] and [[Ethical Slut]]. However, the tropes can overlap when it comes to the most benevolent forms of sex work. Both are liable to be against any form of sex work that is exploitative and/or emotionally damaging, but might consider some forms relatively safe and thus approve of them.
Sometimes these women
Some may take pity on a protagonist and offer him or her a place in [[This Bed of Roses]].
{{examples}}▼
See also [[Asian Hooker Stereotype]], [[Gold Digger]], [[High Class Call Girl]], and [[Son of a Whore]].
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In the second episode of the ''[[Weiss Kreuz]]'' series, Yohji Kudo meets and befriends the prostitute Maki, who betrays her pimp for him and ends up dead because of it. Yohji later kills the pimp both to avenge her and because the pimp was one of the targets of Weiss' original mission. Meeting Maki just made the pimp seem that much more despicable, so he enjoys it more than he would have otherwise.
Line 30 ⟶ 32:
* Helena Montoya from the manga ''[[Eden: It's an Endless World!]]'' is a complex example. Her relationship with main character Elijah Ballard is part lover, part [[Cool Big Sis|big sister]] and despite having a bit of a mean streak at times [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|genuinely cares about him]]. Notable in that she chooses to be a prostitute of her own free will and continues this during her relationship with Elijah, sometimes literally doing it in front of him, causing Elijah [[Am I Just a Toy to You?|quite some mental anguish]].
* In a roundabout way, Peorth of ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]''; She's a wish-granting goddess who specializes in romantic wishes (both literal and as a euphemism).
* Implied but never fully confirmed in regards to Terry's first girlfriend Lily from the ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' first movie. She's very beautiful, [[Hourglass Hottie|curvy]], nicknamed the "Queen of South Town", first wears a [[Woman in White|white dress with]] a generous cleavage, is a part of [[Big Bad|Geese Howard]]'s entourage, and throws a rose in the air with the promise of spending a whole night with the man who catches
* Yumi Komagata in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', loyal to her lover Makoto Shishio until the very end, as well as a [[Broken Bird]] and Soujiro's [[Cool Big Sis]].
** [[Son of a Whore|Yahiko]]'s [[Ill Girl]] mother was this before she died, and when an enemy tries to use his mother's profession as a slur against Yahiko [[Shut UP, Hannibal|he replies that he's proud to be her son]] since she did everything she could to take care of him.
* Inami from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]'', who was a brothel madam before joining Takiko and her group.
* ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' has a twisted example of a woman who is a prostitute and has a heart of gold... and a split personality, each of which takes only one of these two features.
* [[Amakusa 1637]] gives us Kichou aka Kikuhime, the gorgeous mistress of a cruel daimyo who befriends [[The Hero
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Stacy-X was a member of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' after her brothel was destroyed, and had a rivalry with Husk for Archangel's affections. Sadly, she was [[Put on a Bus]] and wasn't mentioned again until ''[[House of M]]'' some 3 years later, where she lost her powers and was killed shortly after the Decimation.
**
* In ''Year One,'' [[Frank Miller]]'s reboot of ''[[Batman]]'', Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is a prostitute who becomes a costumed criminal. In ''[[Long Halloween]],'' set shortly after ''Year One,'' she has given up that lifestyle and used the money she stole to become anti-heroine, member of society, and friend/love interest from Bruce Wayne.
* Averted in ''[[Sin City]]'' where the prostitutes of Old Town are armed to the teeth and are willing to mow down anyone who gets in their way. [[Black and Grey Morality|Which still]] [[Crapsack World|makes them better]] [[Wretched Hive|than the ones they do mow down]].
Line 47 ⟶ 49:
== [[Fan
* Joey in the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series]]'' fanfiction ''[[Decks Fall, Everyone Dies
▲* Joey in the [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series]] fanfiction ''[[Decks Fall, Everyone Dies|Decks Fall]] [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6474469/1/Decks_Fall_Everyone_Dies Everyone Dies]''.
Line 57 ⟶ 58:
* Vivian Ward of the the [[Julia Roberts]] film ''[[Pretty Woman]]''.
* The Tarantino film ''[[True Romance]]'', played straight if very very fast.
* ''[[Killing Zoe]]'', by former Tarantino writing partner [[The Rules of Attraction|Roger Avary]], can best be described as what happens when a
* ''[[The Girl Next Door (film)|The Girl Next Door]]'', where Elisha Cuthbert's former-pornstar character actually ends up with the main character at the end, and they presumably live happily ever after.
* Lynn Bracken from ''[[L.A. Confidential]]''.
Line 67 ⟶ 68:
* Ophelia in ''[[Trading Places]]''. She explains that she might be a hooker, but she does not use drugs, she does not have a pimp, and at her current pace she will have enough money to retire in five years, which puts her far in advance of many other women, both in and out of her profession. She helps out Winthrope because she feels guilty that she accidently ruined his relationship with his fiancée.
* Linda Ash in ''[[Mighty Aphrodite]]''.
* Parodied / lampshaded in the trope-attacking movie ''[[Rustlers' Rhapsody]]'', when the cowboy breezes into town and the drunk offers to show him how it is, he points out a prostitute. "But I bet she has a heart of gold." "How did you know?"
* Mona Stangley in ''[[The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas]]''.
* The stripper Cassidy in ''[[The Wrestler]]''. She represents Randy's second chance at living his life outside of the shadow of his former wrestling career. {{spoiler|He ultimately spurns her love for a most likely suicidal wrestling match}}.
Line 73 ⟶ 74:
* Straight example of the Soiled Dove: Dallas in ''[[Stagecoach]]''.
* V from the Melanie Griffith film ''[[Milk Money]]''.
**
* Paul Muni encounters one in ''[[I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang]]''.
* Myra in ''[[Waterloo Bridge]]''.
* Irma ([[Shirley MacLaine]]) in the [[Billy Wilder]] romantic comedy ''[[Irma La Douce]]''.
* Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) in ''[[Risky Business]]''.
* Belinda in ''[[
* All four main characters in ''[[Bad Girls Film]] Bad Girls''.
* Sera (Elisabeth Shue) in ''[[Leaving Las Vegas]]''
Line 100 ⟶ 101:
* Sofia Semenovna Marmeladova from [[Fyodor Dostoevsky|Dostoevsky]]'s ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'', who comes complete with a [[Single Mom Stripper|really heartbreaking story to justify her prostitution]] and ends up as a love interest as well as a sort of spiritual guide to the murderer Raskolnikoff, taking his confession of his sins and guiding him to the beginning of a "New Life."
* Nancy from ''[[Oliver Twist]]''. It's only implied in the original, but in the foreword to a later edition, Dickens confirmed that she was in fact a prostitute.
* Emily's best friend Martha from ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' is explicitely said to be this. The people of Yarmouth except for the Peggotty family hated her to death because of this, so Emily helped her to leave for London so she won't carry the stigma anymore. {{spoiler|Martha later becomes a [[Chekhov's Gunman|Chekhov's Gunwoman]], helping Daniel and David find the missing Emily.}}.
* Kamala in [[Hermann Hesse]]'s ''[[Siddhartha]]''.
* [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[The Good Person Of Szechwan]]'' features Shen Te as the female lead character. Turns out she is {{spoiler|the [[Gender Bender|male]] [[Manipulative Bastard]] Shui Ta}}, too.
* Traditionally, Mary Magdalene, friend of Jesus has been depicted as a harlot, but this comes from tradition and not from [[The Bible|scripture]]. For an excellent revision of Mary, read [[Christopher Moore]]'s ''[[Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff|Lamb the Gospel According To Biff]]'', which is essentially a subversion of the entire New Testament.
** There is a scriptural example in the Old Testament, with Rahab (see Joshua 2), helping two Israelite spies escape Jericho. She even ends up as one of Jesus's ancestors.
** The Book of Hosea is a subversion. The prophet Hosea was told by God to marry the harlot Gomer (no, not that [[The Andy Griffith Show|Gomer]]) as a metaphor for God's relationship with Israel. [[Humans Are
* This ''is'' a character type that shows up in a lot of Christian fiction. Can be done extremely well (a la Francine Rivers) or not.
* Grushenka from ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' is depicted as this for most of the book. It doesn't help that [[Hello, Nurse!|her beauty]] is such that a man can't really take his eyes off her. But later on, we learn that she's a nice person at heart, not the manipulative slut we'd imagined. Some people would be disappointed by that.
* Reet, Carrot's acquaintance in the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[
** [[Punny Name|Rosie Palm]] is shown as a regular seamstress in ''[[
** The SoLid DoVEs in ''[[
* Esmenet, one of the main characters of ''[[Second Apocalypse]]'', is like this.
* Fantine in ''[[Les Misérables (novel)|Les Misérables]]'' turns to prostitution as the only available way to support her daughter and herself, in that order. Neither the book nor [[Les Misérables (theatre)|the world-famous musical]] takes her occupation lightly: the musical devotes an [[Lyrical Dissonance|upbeat musical number]] to the dehumanizing life of a seaside hooker. The book is still more detailed about it, but then again, the book details everything.
Line 134 ⟶ 135:
* The [[Shadowleague]] books give us Rochalla, who is only a prostitute because she needs to buy medicine for her younger brothers and sisters, all of whom are dying of the plague.
* Honoré de Balzac, being a 19th century author, ''loves'' this trope. In his works, we find Esther in ''Scenes from a Courtesan's Life'', Coralie in ''Lost Illusions'', arguably Marana in ''The Maranas'' short story or even the eponymous ''Girl with the Golden Eyes'' (though there are [[Depraved Bisexual|other]] [[Psycho Lesbian|issues]] at work there)... Of course, it tends to [[Redemption Equals Death|end badly]] for the poor girl. Generally speaking, Balzac likes his [[Good Bad Girl]]s.
* This is double subverted in ''Got'', a crime novel by an anonymous author who goes by the letter D. The protagonist has had several (paid) experiences with the prostitute in question, and strongly respects her even though he is aware she does not love him. Then he happens to bring a [[Briefcase Full of Money]] to their latest tryst, on his way to deliver it to a crime boss, and of course she can't resist the temptation to steal it. The double subversion comes in that she's not the villain
* Xaviera Hollander described herself as this in her autobiography ''The Happy Hooker''.
* Alma Schmidt (aka "Lorene"), Prewitt's girlfriend in James Jones' ''[[From Here to Eternity]]''. (In the film version, this was sanitized by making the character a "hostess" at a nightclub.)
Line 140 ⟶ 141:
* Belle Watling, the madam with a heart of gold, in ''[[Gone with the Wind]]'', who always has clear moral insight, strangely enough, and donates generously to the cause. (Other characters of this type named Belle are probably [[Meaningful Name|allusions to her]].) The [[Literary Necrophilia|authorized sequel]] ''Rhett Butler's People'' makes her even more sympathetic by revealing that she fell in love with Rhett and had his child.
* Lula from the [[Stephanie Plum]] novels...sort of. When she first meets Stephanie, she is, indeed, a ho'; after she's maimed lightly and tied up on Stephanie's fire escape, she opts to leave the sexing life to become a bounty hunter herself. She routinely brings up "back when I was a ho'" as it relates to the current situation. She has kind of a stereotypical "sassy black woman" attitude about her that would conflict less with the trope if she were smarter in general. She's incredibly gung-ho about the ''idea'' of being a bounty hunter, but, as a consequence of aforementioned not-that-brightness, she has a tendency to [[Stop Helping Me!|make things worse]].
* ''[[In Death]]'': Played with. It is played straight with one licensed companion in ''Purity In Death'', but it is made clear that she is still young, shiny, and innocent. Then you have Charles Monroe, who is a male licensed companion who eventually left the profession to become a sex therapist. Some of the prostitutes are portrayed as between good and bad, and some of them are [[Complete Monster
* In the Naguib Mahfouz novel, ''The Thief and the Dogs,'' there's a character named Nur. She's been in love with the main character since before the story began, is sweet, helpful, honest, and is portrayed as a victim swept up in the [[Anti-Hero]]'s rampage of murder and crime, all the while remaining dogmatically optimistic about her lot in life and determined to overcome it. Oh, and did I mention she's a prostitute?
* Corbie in ''[[Doctrine of Labyrinths]]'' is a prostitute when [[Gentleman Wizard|Felix]] [[Jerkass Woobie|Harrowgate]] meets her. She helps him find a cheap hotel, helps him learn a strange city... and he takes her as his apprentice.
Line 146 ⟶ 147:
* The prostitute Boule de Suif in [[Guy de Maupassant]]'s "Boule de Suif" refuses to sleep with a Prussian officer out of patriotism, but her rich and snobbish traveling companions (who constantly insult her even though she shared food with them! because she's that nice) tell her French soldiers are dying because the officer won't let the nuns continue on to the hospital unless she gives in. So she does. She is pretty much the only moral non-hypocritical character in the story.
== [[Live
* In the 1988 ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' Christmas special "Dates", Raquel Turner was introduced as one of these. She wanted to be an actress, but could only get not-real-acting jobs like stripogram or (in her second appearance) magician's assistant.
* In a similar vein there was Cassiopeia on [[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|the original ''
** [[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|The
* Laurie, Sam's friend on ''[[The West Wing]]''.
** Lisa Edelstein is believable as a call girl, as opposed to a streetwalker. She's no less convincing as a law student than as [[House (TV series)|a doctor]]. It's the combination that requires a [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]. Oddly enough, she shows more cleavage in her role as a doctor than in her role as a call girl.
Line 167 ⟶ 168:
* In an episode of ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Justine Bateman plays a highly paid hooker who Michael (played by her brother, Jason Bateman) mistakes for his long lost sister. He hires her as an accountant due to this misunderstanding, and puts her in charge of a huge amount of money. Michael suggests the fact she doesn't steal it means that she isn't his sister.
* Kelly Ball, a character from Channel 4's ''[[Shameless]]'' fits this trope. She is a better parental figure to Liam Gallagher than any other character.
* ''[[Saturday Night Live
{{quote|'''Priest''': Makes you wonder. How the guy upstairs fit that big heart into that nine
'''Bartender''': It also makes you wonder. [[Crowning Moment of Funny|How do people have sex with her]]? }}
* The character KC Koloski on ''[[China Beach]]'' might at times seem to be a subversion or aversion of this trope, but with the way she constantly helps the others (even when she seemingly doesn't want to, she does it anyhow), she's actually an embodiment of it.
Line 180 ⟶ 181:
* Ruby in ''[[Wild Boys]]''.
* An episode of ''[[NCIS]]'' featured a killer who was going after the clients of a prostitute. The team called in a reformed, high-profile call girl, named Holly Snow, to help with the case.
== Manhwa ==
Line 187:
== [[Music]] ==
* In the [[Rock Opera]] ''[[Operation Mindcrime]]'' by [[
* In [[Cab Calloway]]'s famous song "Minnie the Moocher", Minnie is basically this.
{{quote|"She was the roughest, toughest frail/ But Minnie had a heart as big as a whale."}}
Line 205:
== [[Theater]] ==
* Of all things, the musical ''[[Starlight Express]]'', notable for all of its cast being locomotives or railroad cars, has Belle, [
* ''[[Rent]]'' has Mimi Marquez, a dancer at an S&M club. She still manages to get Roger's heart.
* Lucy in the musical ''[[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Jekyll & Hyde]]''.
Line 228:
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Diane in ''[[RPG World]]''. Subverted by the eventual discovery that {{spoiler|although her class is officially "Harlot," she's never actually done the deed and is in fact rather naive when it comes to sex.}}
* Diana and Paul in ''[[
* The pornstar/director/producer Zig Zag from ''[[Sabrina Online]]'' is another subversion; she has the required [[Dark and Troubled Past]] and heart of gold, but loves her job and takes great pride in the quality of what she produces. Later on she pretty much takes up the role of spiritual mentor to the (comparatively) prudish main character and proves a shameless mothering figure to the other members of her studio. She also guest-stars in a number of other [[Web Comics]].
* Not a love interest, but ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' has Danika the stripper, whose life is spared by [[Knight Templar]] Celesto when he finds out she's a single mother.
Line 242:
* [[Metroid|Samus Aran]], of all people, serves this role in ''[[There Will Be Brawl]]''.
* [[The Cinema Snob|Brad Jones']] miniseries "[[The Hooker with a Heart of Gold|Hooker with a Heart of Gold]]" simultaneously plays with, lampshades, and keeps the trope straight in that the hooker in question actually has a ([[Cyborg|cybernetic]]) golden heart. She's still pretty nice, though.
* [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s BFF Nella has a "schoolteacher who is also a whore with a heart of gold" in her [https://web.archive.org/web/20140722220428/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/17773-my-little-pony My Little Pony melodrama]
* [http://askicepack.tumblr.com/ Ice Pack], a fan-made Zebra escort in [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Ponyville]]. He's good enough that many of his clients are repeat customers. However, he has turned down underage clients before, and when an underage filly attempts to buy his services, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120707164700/http://www.ponibooru.org/post/view/81547 he takes her to amusement park instead].
Line 272:
* Courtesan Kitty Fisher who went on to marry money was known for her generosity to the poor.
* Coupled with [[Real Joke Name]] Australian gold medalist Steven Hooker commented on one of the [[Fan Nickname]] involving his accomplishment.
* Possibly, Rahab, a wealthy harlot who lived in Jericho and kept two Hebrew scouts from being discovered by the city guards. This allowed them to return and relay the information to Joshua, which led to the capture of the city. Rahab, for her kindness, was spared by the conquerors. The city of Jericho was pretty much doomed anyway since Joshua and his army had strict orders to level it. Rahab saved
* Julia Bunette prostitute/brothel madam turned her brothel into a hospital when local miners got sick and donated money to the Union side of the Civil War
* Former child star and former drug addict prostitute Lauren Chaplin won awards for her numerous charity work including raising over $2m for underprivileged and abused children and setting up an organisation to help children in the entertainment industry avoid being exploited
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
▲[[Category:Money Tropes]]
[[Category:Tropes About Perverts]]▼
[[Category:Love Interests]]▼
[[Category:Western Characters]]▼
[[Category:Always Female]]▼
[[Category:Index With a Heart of Gold]]
▲[[Category:Love Interests]]
[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]
[[Category:The Oldest Profession]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Western Characters]]
| |||