- All's Well That Ends Well
- Antony and Cleopatra
- As You Like It
- The Comedy of Errors
- Coriolanus
- Cymbeline
- Hamlet
- Henry IV, Part 1
- Henry IV, Part 2
- Henry V
- Henry VI, Part 1
- Henry VI, Part 2
- Henry VI, Part 3
- Henry VIII
- Julius Caesar
- King John
- King Lear
- Love's Labor's Lost
- A Lover's Complaint
- Macbeth
- Measure for Measure
- The Merchant of Venice
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Othello
- Pericles
- The Rape of Lucrece
- Richard II
- Richard III
- Romeo and Juliet
- Shakespeare's Sonnets
- The Taming of the Shrew
- The Tempest
- Timon of Athens
- Titus Andronicus
- Troilus and Cressida
- Twelfth Night
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Venus and Adonis
- The Winter's Tale
Before offering Jo money to help her throughout her pregnancy, Helen accuses her of being foolish and misguided. Her various judgments (“man mad,” “a silly little whore”) demonstrate her preoccupation with social categories and for her daughter’s reputation. Instead of helping Jo, these comments are insulting, aiming to add shame and public dishonor to Jo’s pre-existing list of troubles.
Jo’s reaction is not to justify her choices but rather to declare her independence from Helen’s judgment while also comparing herself directly to her mother, who is guilty of exactly the same things as Jo. Jo’s resistance to Helen’s attacks shows…