Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for 1923 season 2, episode 4.Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) had a strange run-in with a woman being tarred and feathered in1923, and a few parts of that moment, like the Temperance Society, might need an explanation. Since the very beginning,1923has been dedicated to showing the worst and ugliest parts of American history in the 1920s. From the Native American boarding schools that separated children from parents to the rampant bigotryAlexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) experienced at Ellis Island,1923certainly cannot be accused of romanticizing the past. That trend continued in1923season 2, episode 4when Spencer encountered the Temperance Society.
Spencer had been brought to Fort Worth, Texas, after his ill-fated attempt at bootlegging prohibited whiskey. When he and the police officer riding with him got into town, they saw a woman being paraded through the street by a mob of women wearing black dresses. The officer explained that “the Temperance Society caught themselves a prostitute,” but1923didn’t explain who the Temperance Society was or why they had covered the sex worker in tar and feathers. Unfortunately, like many other things in theYellowstonespinoff show, that scene was based on real history.
The Temperance Society Tar & Feathering Scene In 1923 Explained
The Temperance Society Was Punishing The Sex Worker For “Immodesty,” Which Was Common In The 1920s
The Temperance Society was a group that espoused many of the notions of the larger Temperance Movement in America throughout the 19th and early 20th century.The Temperance Movement, broadly speaking, was against alcohol and the “vices” it encouraged, and strongly supported prohibition(viaEncyclopedia Britannica). It was a largely Christian social movement, and while it mainly targeted alcohol and bootlegging, members of the Temperance Society would also target people they determined to be sinners, such as sex workers. That’s why many of the women dressed in black in1923were holding signs that read “Prostitution is a sickness,” and the like.
Why Spencer Did THAT In 1923 Season 2 Episode 4’s Ending
Spencer Dutton made a questionable choice at the end of 1923, so it’s worth breaking down to find out why and how it pertains to his future.
As for the tarring and feathering the prostitute received in1923, there’s actually an even longer history. Tarring and feathering has been used as a punishment for centuries, though it’s mostly known for being used by American revolutionaries against the British during the American Revolutionary War. It involves covering someone in tar (which is not necessarily boiling, and therefore not deadly) and sticking feathers in the sticky tar.Tarring and feathering is essentially a form of public humiliation, and in1923, the Temperance Society subjected the prostitute to it both to punish her and to show the rest of Fort Worth that prostitution would not be tolerated.
Why Spencer Frees The Prostitute The Temperance Society Tarred & Feathered
Spencer Has A Strong Sense Of Justice & The Prostitute Helped Cover His Escape
Luckily for the prostitute in1923, Spencer saved her from the Temperance Society, but it wasn’t entirely clear why he did so. Spencer was running away from the police, but he went out of his way to cut the prostitute’s binds. At the most fundamental level,Spencer freed the prostitute because he has a very strong sense of justice, and he knew that the punishment she was getting was too cruel for the crime she committed. As aloof as he tries to be, Spencer always steps in when innocent people are being harmed, as he did when Luca (Andy Dispensa) was being raped on the ship.
Another, probably less important, reason Spencer freed the prostitute is because he was running from the police.By freeing the prostitute, Spencer disrupted and confused the Temperance Society and the entire crowd in the street, which slowed down the cop who was chasing him. The prostitute was essentially a diversion that allowed Spencer enough time to get onto the train without being caught. However, that likely only freed Spencer up to discover a new atrocity in a future episode of1923season 2.
