How does the Duchess change during the course of the story in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"?

The Duchess begins the story as a prostitute who is
ejected from Poker Flat along with her pimp, Mother Shipton. As such, she is crude and
garish, obviously having been corrupted in life. However, what transforms her and other
characters is the arrival of Tom Simson with Piney Woods, who both of them, in their
naivety, do not realise the kind of backgrounds that the Duchess and Mother Shipton come
from, and thus treat them as equals with love and respect. The effect of this is
staggering. Note how, from Piney's first conversation to the Duchess, there is a change
that is registered:

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Piney was actually talking in an impulsive
girlish fashion to the Duchess, who was listening with an interest and animation she had
not shown for many days.

The
love and the care that the Duchess begins to feel towards Piney is what transforms her
from a prostitute to being just as innocent and sinless as Piney herself. Note the
touching and rather poignant discovery that is made of their bodies, which embrace each
other, after their deaths:

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And when the pitying fingers brushed the snow
from their wan faces, you could scarcely have told from the equal peace that dwelt upon
them which was she that had
sinned.

The character of the
Duchess, among others, is one example of how natures can be transformed and innocence
and love, when freely offered, can impact even the hardest
heart.