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Date Posted: 17:35:59 04/06/08 Sun
Author: Cara
Subject: The Pirates of Penzance

For all of the Gilbert and Sullivan fans, here is a mimetic reading of Pirates.

On Frederick's twenty-first birthday he graduates from an apprenticeship to the Pirate King, and announces his intention to leave the pirates and become and honest respectable man. The obvious question here is, where is his model of respectability? If he has only been around pirates, where is the mimetic root of his overgrown conscience?

Frederick unwittingly reveals his model of honesty and principle -- the pirates themselves. He tells them "you're too tender-hearted. You make it a point never to attack a weaker party than yourselves, but when you attack a stronger one, you invariably get thrashed." He also points out that they hold a maxim of "never molesting an orphan". From this evidence it seems clear that the Pirate King has not taught his apprentice piracy at all. He has taught him honesty and humanity.

Too bad the humanity doesn't catch on when Frederick leaves Ruth.

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