Ashley Gerbec

Professor McKeever
Honors English
October 6, 2014
10 Allusions Defined
Jezebel as an Allusion
The Phoenician princess, Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, alludes to prostitutes.
She was criticized for promoting the worship of the god Baal. Baal was the god of fertility.
Jezebel was known as one of the most evil women in the bible for being a prostitute and
attempting to destroy the prophets of Israel. She hired Baal prophets to murder the followers of
Yahweh. She was condemned for her use of cosmetics and her way of dressing. As Anthony
Trollope wrote in 1857, in Bar Chester Towers, I am surprised that you should leave my
company to attend on such a painted Jezebel as that (qtd. In Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 315).
She represented prostitutes until her death when she dressed inappropriately and put on a lot of
makeup for her arranged death. She was thrown out a window and devoured by dogs. Now, a lot
of lingerie companies use her name for their clothing line, since she represents shamelessness.

Mary Magdalene as an Allusion

In the New Testament, the biblical character Mary Magdalene alludes to prostitutes.
There is much speculation that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She was identified as a sinful
woman committing adultery. She was cured of the seven demons thought to be causing her to be
a prostitute, once she became a follower of Jesus. Jesus forgave her for adultery when she
washed his feet. It is rumored she then became his wife; since she was there for his crucifixion

and also his resurrection. John Calsworthy wrote in A Man of Property, Assisting the
Magdalenes of London! What a weird and terrifying interest (qtd. In Delahunty, Dignen, and
Stock 316). Calsworthy is alluding to the weird interest of assisting prostitutes, who are so often
shunned by society. Jesus forgave her, which prevented a death by stoning, for her sin of
adultery.
Lais as an Allusion
The beautiful, expensive, Greek courtesan, Lais, alludes to prostitutes. Lais lived in
Corinth, in the fourth century BC. It is famously remembered that the speaker Demosthenes
asked for her services, but turned her down after she told him her price of ten thousand dollars.
Many women were jealous of her for her beauty, which led to them killing her. One of her most
popular clients was the philosopher, Aristippus, who according to rumors she eventually lived
with. As a prostitute, she was not only expected to have sex, but also to be able to engage in
conversations such as art and politics. As George Sala wrote in 1859, in Twice Around the Clock
, She on the bay, yonder, is Lais. Yonder goes Aspasia... Some of those dashing delightful
creatures have covered themselves with shame, and their mothers with grief (qtd. In Sala 200).
Many women were jealous of her beauty, which eventually led to her death of a group of women
murdering her.

Phryne as an Allusion
The Greek prostitute Mnsart, better known as Phyrne, alludes to prostitutes. She was
given the nickname Phyrne meaning toad, because she was a prostitute. She was so beautiful
that many statues were created of her claiming she was a product of Aphrodite. Others thought
she handled her beauty the wrong way by selling her body and walking into the sea naked. She

made so much money as a prostitute that she paid for the rebuilding of the walls of Thebes after
Alexander the Great destroyed them. She was eventually put on trial for impiety, but was
acquitted after she revealed herself topless to the judge and jury. It is claimed they were so
hypnotized by her beauty that they dropped all charges. In Point Counter Part, Huxley wrote
Her underclothes are positively Phrynean (qtd. In Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 316). Huxley
is expressing the undergarments resemble something a prostitute such as Phryne would wear.

The Whore of Babylon as an Allusion

A Christian figure of evil, The Whore of Babylon, serves as an allusion to prostitutes. She
was given the title "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the
Earth." This title was inscribed onto her forehead. She was associated as an Anti Christ. The
Whore of Babylon was always dressed elegantly in purple colors, and decked with gold and
pearls. Alice Thomas Ellis alluded to the prostitute appearance of the Whore of Babylon, in her
novel The 27th Kingdom, Now there was Valentine- toute belle- and Mrs. OConnor, who at her
best mightily resembled the Whore of Babylon (qtd. In Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 317). She
was constantly committing fornication and therefore shunned by many. She was pictured riding
on a beast with seven horns and ten heads. The beast was thought to symbolize how she became
connected to the evil kingdom. The connection to the beast is what initiated her decision to be a
prostitute.
Cleopatra as an Allusion
Cleopatra, the beautiful queen of Egypt, alludes to female beauty. She intrigued many
men and women with her beauty. She also familiarized with subtle skills of seduction, very
intelligent, played many instruments, danced and was beautiful. She had a large nose and chin,

high cheekbones, and beautiful dark hair. Nathanial Hawthorne wrote in his novel The Marble
Faun, in 1860, In a word, all Cleopatra- fierce, voluptuous, passionate, tenderand full of..
rapturous enchantment (qtd. in Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 34). The name Cleopatra is used
to illustrate a woman of exotic beauty and allure.

Aspasia as an Allusion
Aspasia, the well-known Greek courtesan, who ran a brothel in Athens, is an allusion to
prostitutes. After moving to Athens, she was considered a hetaera. A hetaera is a non- Athenian
and because of this she could not marry her love from Athens, Pericles, because he was a true
Athenian. She started scandal by moving in with him, unmarried, and having a son with him. She
was outspoken and spent a lot of time speaking out on issues. This made her a target of personal
attacks. On the contrary, other people looked up to her and imitated her ways of staying
fashionable and keeping up with business in the prostitute lifestyle. As an example, Thomas
Love Peacock writes in his 1831 novel, Crotchet Castle, The husband would not go home to eat
his dinner, but preferred the company of some Aspasia(qtd. in Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock
314).

Madonna as an Allusion
Madonna, the mother of Jesus Christ, serves as an allusion to female beauty. Many
sculptures and paintings were created of her. These symbolized a woman of serene and saintly
beauty. Sharyn McCrumb wrote in 1996, in The Hangmans Beautiful Daughter, Wynonna was
pretty because she was twenty-something, but Naomi was something out of a Renaissance
painting, a mountain Madonna (qtd. In Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 36). She was looked up to

as the Queen of Heaven. Everyone wanted to use her as their subject of their artwork because
she was so divine and beautiful. People viewed her as sacred because of her incredible beauty.
Madonna is often pictured in art work with her baby Jesus. Being a mother, who is so
compassionate to children, made her admired even more for her beauty. Her good qualities
defined what women idolized and wanted to mimic to accomplish having female beauty.
Marilyn Monroe as an Allusion
Marilyn Monroe, the American film actress, defined as a Hollywood sex symbol, alludes to
female beauty. She was a beautiful blonde woman, who combined her beauty with innocence and
vulnerability. She was in many American films. Men admired her and women idolized her. As
Annie Ross wrote in 1995, in Moving Image, A small, curvaceous woman with platinum blonde
hair sashayed towards us across the newroom like some latter-day Marilyn Monroe (qtd. in
Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 36). This allusion shows how women until this day still mimic her
hairstyles, makeup, and fashion trends from years ago.
Aphrodite as an Allusion
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure, alludes to female beauty. She was
thought to be born from the sea-foam on the shores of the island of Cythera. Other gods feared
that because of her beauty, it would cause rivalry, interrupt peace and lead to war. Zeus forced
her to marry Hephaestus, because his ugliness and deformity was not a threat. Alan Sillitoe wrote
in, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Eighteen he remembered her, and not too tall,
with almost masculine features below short chestnut hair: brown eyes, full cheeks and
proportionate lips, like Aphrodite his inward eye had commented time and time again, only a
little sweeter (qtd. in Delahunty, Dignen, and Stock 33). She had many lovers because of her

beauty. Her beauty made her desirable and admired by men and women from her time, and still
admired by many today.

Works Cited
Delahunty, Andrew, Sheila Dignen, and Penny Stock. The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions. New
York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print

Sala, George. Twice Around the Clock. London: Marsh, 1862. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.