In a 1732 series of prints, A Harlot’s Progress, William Hogarth highlights the moral weakness and systems of exploitation that he saw at work in 18th-century English society. The series of six images tells the story of ‘Hackabout Moll’, the simple country girl drawn into prostitution following her arrival in the city. In this image – plate four – Moll is in London's Bridewell prison, being punished by being forced to beat hemp to make rope. She wears much finer clothes than the other female prisoners (Hogarth may have drawn on a contemporary newspaper report of a prostitute in prison 'beating hemp in a gown very richly laced with silver'), for which she is ridiculed by a woman – another prisoner or the gaoler’s wife – standing over her. Next to the harlot is a well-dressed older man. The playing-cards on the ground indicate that he has lost his money through gambling. In the background is a black woman beating hemp. Her presence in the picture may be intended as a reminder that at this time prostitutes in Britain could face transportation to the colonies as punishment.