The hooker with a heart of gold also the whore with a heart of gold or the tart with a heart is a stock character involving a courtesan or prostitute with a hidden integrity and kindness. The character, traditionally female, is usually an example of irony : an allegedly immoral woman who demonstrates virtues absent in a woman morally correct for the role. This character is often a pivotal, but peripheral, character in literature and motion pictures, usually giving key advice or serving as a go-between.
She is sometimes established in contrast to another female character who is morally correct but frigid or otherwise unyielding. Hookers with hearts of gold are sometimes reluctant prostitutes due to either desperation or coercion from a pimp. Or her prostitution may reflect an overall lust for life, as in Ilya in Never on Sunday. Therefore, this might be considered not just an archetype but also fairly universal, and somewhat indicative of various societies' complex ideas about sexual decency and moral character.
A variation on the theme, the dancer stripper with a heart of gold, is a tamer version of the character. The fictitious courtesan Chandramukhi in Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay 's highly acclaimed Bengali novel Devdas has been adapted into film numerous times, most notably into Hindi in and with the character-role of "Chandramukhi" being played by actresses Vyjayanthimala and Madhuri Dixit , respectively. Chandramukhi here fulfils Devdas' desire of feeling loved which was betrayed by Parvati Paro.
In opera and musical theater, a hooker with a heart of gold is most often portrayed by a mezzo-soprano. She is portrayed in a tragic light and often dies a tragic death. Another classic example of the "Tart with a heart" character is the character of Nancy in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist and the stage musical derived from it, Oliver!
In television history, the "tart with a heart" has become an important archetype in serial drama and soap opera , especially in Britain. Characters of this nature are often depicted as having tragic lives, but put on a front when in public to create the illusion of happiness.
