In the History of Apollonius, King of Tyre, a novelistic tale from the sixth century C.E., Apollonius’ daughter Tharsia is carried off by pirates and sold to a pimp. But when she next encounters her father, she is able to describe herself as “an innocent maiden who keeps virginity inviolate amidst the shipwreck of chastity,” and sings a little song that begins:

I make my way through filth, but am unaffected by the filth,
as a rose among thorns is not pierced by their barbs.
Pirates carried me off when they attacked with wicked sword,
and now, though sold to a pimp, I have never sullied my purity.

I wonder if Justice Barrett can make the same claim. Borne along by the enthusiasm of religious extremists and manic reactionaries, she has made her way, guided by the Pirate, Donald Trump, and the Pimp, Mitch McConnell, through the brothel that is the Republican senate all the way to the Supreme Court. Has she come through all this filth without being affected by it? Justice Barrett is by all accounts an honest and moral person. Did she hold her nose as she passed through the nomination and confirmation process, or did she come to accept the smell of partisan dishonesty? We wait to see.