Fans of the Pillory
Here we see a prisoner-slave confined in the town square pillory, surrounded by his betters – all of whom are big fans of the public pillory as a means of punishing slaves.
Let’s examine in more detail the slave’s public humiliation:
Ø Firstly, we note that he has a large, heavy boulder chained to his neck. Ha! Ha! No wonder his neck is bowed low – that dirty boulder must weigh a ton! But it’s only right that the prisoner-slave should be forced to look downwards at the dirty ground in shame. After all, the words on the pillory publicly declare his weakness for all to see – ‘Fool’; ‘Socks’; ‘Slave’. They say it all really – he is a foolwho is a slave of other people’s socks. No wonder the locals delight in despising him!
Ø The second thing we note is that a middle-aged, Asian mistress is mock-fanning him with her dainty, female fan – supposedly doing her best to keep him cool whilst her middle-aged husband pokes him in the backs of his knees and thighs with a dirty stick. Ha! Ha! That stick’s gotta hurt when you have no way of protecting your legs from it. No wonder the slave is suffering from stress and needs to be cooled down – though it is clear from the expression on her pretty face that the middle-aged Asian mistress isn’t fanning the fool out of sympathy for him, but out of pleasure at the sight of his suffering at the hands of her beloved husband. And rightly so!
Ø Meanwhile the prisoner’s uniformed, female guard is taking a well-earned rest as she sits back and lets the general public tease and torment her charge for a change. See how she is clearly enjoying the sight of her prisoner being both poked in the legs and mock-fanned by the middle-aged, Asian couple. She herself appears to be of Indian origins – and, as the prisoner is designated as a ‘socks slave’, I suppose we ought to point out that she is wearing bright blue socks with her matching, blue uniform
Ø Up on the wooden balcony overlooking the scene are three more happy witnesses
o A somewhat plump, ginger-haired mistress who is seated on the edge of the platform with her legs dangling down meaning that we can see her thick, white bootsocks as she relishes the slave’s pain and humiliation. See how she is cocking her pretty head to one side in order to get a better view
o Beside her stands a thin Indian or Pakistani girl in blue and white trainers with what appear to be multicoloured socks. She is standing with her hands on her shapely hips, no doubt contemplating what she will do to him when it is her turn to torment the slave! He will be, after all, completely at her sweet feminine mercy
o Next to her is a traditionally clothed, elderly and bearded ‘Righteous’ man (i.e a member of the Gynarchy’s cult of the Righteous). Needless to say, a man like this believes wholeheartedly in the public exposition and humiliation of prisoner-slaves and he is clearly surveying the scene with firm approval. We don’t know if the slave is interested or not, but this particular master-sir is wearing britches and white, knee-length, silken stockings inside his black, buckle shoes.
Ø Finally, to the side of the pillory, we observe a happy couple and their pet dog. The mistress-madam appears to be enjoying a cigarette whilst she simultaneously enjoys watching the slave being humbled and hurt. She is wearing pale blue socks with red and white sneakers. Meanwhile her grey-socked, black-shoed male partner is standing with his arm protectively around her. That’s because he’s a scholar and a gentleman. Ha! Ha! Unlike the semi-naked prisoner slave, this handsome man will never be exposed to public gaze in the pillory. That’s because he is a free man, and attractive to women. He is very much the prisoner-slave’s superior and better – along with everyone else in the scene (including the dog).
Of course, come nightfall his mockers will all leave him to retire to the comfort of their warm homes and their nice, comfortable beds, leaving only the slave to sleep standing up in the town square – still with that heavy boulder adorning his scrawny neck. Ha! Ha! If he does manage to get any sleep I expect it will be fitful and with a painful crick in his neck. And then tomorrow he will face another day of mocking and humiliation, for his sentence is for three days and nights in the stocks. This has only been day one.
Maybe the public will start to lose interest in him. What do you think? What else should they do to the helpless prisoner-slave in the pillory in order to keep themselves amused?
