The series of plates “A Harlot’s Progress” was the first manifesto, which expressed moral ideas of bourgeois England that had been previously proclaimed by philosophy and literature. The artist did it in the language of fine art and took the story from life. One of the interesting details is how the artist reflects the character of his main heroine. Each of the canvases depicts a particular nodal moment from the life of a village girl Mary, who arrived in London. Having created an organic whole of each scene, the artist connected his images with several important details that preceded and followed one another.
The first scenes of the life story of the prostitute were reflected by Hogarth with the cold objectivity of an observer. However, the following scenes acquire a tragic pathos. The idea of the heroine’s character is gradually developing. In the sixth painting (Mary’s funeral) the angle is more satirical rather than tragic, and it also conveys the peculiarity of this series in its way. Hogarth’s character is a passive and shy girl who is not capable of making independent decisions or bold acts, which predetermines her future destiny, her gradual fall, and death. Nevertheless, from one painting to another, a spectator can notice that the people around the girl are changing over time, and she remains the same, though trying to adapt to urban life.
Mary’s attempts to become a full member of London society fortify the story that Hogarth tells. The artist truthfully and soberly exposes hypocrisy on the example of the attitude towards the girl and her humble nature. He emphasizes the insincerity of society, and Mary looks like a person who is more honest than the people that surround her. He ridicules and condemns idleness and a passion for profit, which are disgusting vices for him. The artist himself said that he did not think about the profitability of his art, did not want to depend on his customers and valued the freedom of a man. Thus, the example of the series “A Harlot’s Progress” shows that his desire to be original was fully realized. Hogarth knew how to choose a topical contemporary plot and reveal it with sober irony and the skills of a professional dramatist.