THE COUNTRY WIFE

By William Wycherley

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 William

Wycherley (c.1640 31 December 1715) was

anEnglishdramatist of theRestoration period, best known for
the playsThe Country WifeandThe Plain Dealer.
He was born atClive, ShropshirenearShrewsbury, where his
family was settled on a moderate estate of about 600 a year.
LikeJohn Vanbrugh, Wycherley spent some years of his
adolescence inFrance, where he was sent, at fifteen, to be
educated in the heart of the "precious" circle on the banks of
theCharente.
However, on his two last comedies The Country
WifeandThe Plain Dealer that sustain Wycherley's
reputation.The Country Wife, produced in 1672 or 1673 and
published in 1675, is full of wit, ingenuity, high spirits and
conventional humour.

William Wycherley's

The Country Wifeis aRestoration comedywritten in 1675

byWilliam Wycherley. A product of the tolerant earlyRestorationperiod,
the play reflects anaristocratic and anti-Puritanideology, and was
controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself
contains a lewd pun. It is based on several plays by Molire, with added
features
that
1670s
London
audiences
demanded:colloquialprosedialoguein place of Molire'sverse, a
complicated, fast-pacedplottangle, and manysexjokes. It turns on two
indelicate plot devices: arake's trick of pretendingimpotencein order to
safely have clandestine affairs with married women, and the arrival in
London of an inexperienced young "country wife", with her discovery of the
joys of town life, especially the fascinating London men.
The scandalous trick and the frank language have for much of the
play's history kept it off the stage and out of print. Between 1753 and
1924,The Country Wifewas considered too outrageous to be performed at
all and was replaced on the stage byDavid Garrick's cleaned-up and bland
versionThe Country Girl, now a forgotten curiosity.The original play is
again a stage favourite today, and is also acclaimed byacademiccritics,
who praise its linguistic energy, sharp socialsatire, and openness to
different
interpretations.

After the 18-yearPuritanstage ban was lifted at theRestorationof the

monarchy in 1660, the theatrical life of London recreated itself quickly and
abundantly. During the reign ofCharles II(16601685), playwrights such
asJohn Dryden,George Etherege,Aphra Behn, and William Wycherley wrote
comedies that triumphantly reassert aristocratic dominance and prestige after
the years ofmiddle classpower duringOliver Cromwell'sCommonwealth.
Reflecting the atmosphere of theCourt, these plays celebrate a lifestyle of
sensual intrigue and conquest, especially conquest that served to humiliate
the husbands of the London middle classes and to avenge, in the sensual
arena, the marginalization and exile suffered byroyalistsunder Cromwell.
Charles' personal interest in the stage nourished Restoration drama, and his
most favouredcourtierswere poets, playwrights, and men of wit, such asJohn
Wilmot, Earl of Rochester,Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, and William
Wycherley. Wycherley had no title or wealth, but had by 1675 already
recommended himself by two well-received comedies and had been admitted to
the inner circle, sharing the conversation and sometimes themistressesof
Charles, who "was extremely fond of him upon account of his wit".In 1675, at
age 35 (at the time the portrait top right was painted), he created a sensation
withThe Country Wife, greeted as the bawdiest and wittiest play yet seen on
the English stage.

Historical background
courtly habits during the time of King Charles II
Prominent sexuality
the moral virtue of society viewed by William Wycherley
degradation of society through the genre and theme
Contrast of rural and urban values referring to the whole play
Actors are not permanent feature and may change as the plot develops (Margery
for example)
Values of the town: cultivated sociability, enlightened wit, liberal sexual mores
and fashionable elegance
Values of the country boredom, boorish, entertainments, dullness, conservative
sexual morals and an old-fashioned lack of sophistication

Act I

Frank Horner instructs a "doctor" to spread the word around

London that Horner is impotent. The impotence, is the result of a
sexually transmitted disease caught in Paris. Horner wants to
spread this rumor in order to seduce London's high society women.
These wealthy women will be caught off guard if they believe him
to be impotent, they will not suspect his intentions to be sexually
motivated.This stratagem actually takes up a very small portion of
the play's plot. The consequence of Horne's ploy is really what
most of the play is about. Inferring from Horners aversion to
ladies that the rumors of his impotence are true, Sir Jasper
arranges for Horner to act as his wifes new chaperone and
companion. Jack Pinchwife enters, and Horner correctly discerns
that he has recently gotten married. Pinchwife, who has not heard
the rumors, privately fears that Horner will cuckold him. When it
comes out that Horner has seen the new Mrs. Pinchwife, the day
before at the theater, Pinchwife becomes uncomfortable and
departs.

Act III
Margery Pinchwife complains to her sister-in-law, Alethea Pinchwife,
that her new husband has confined her indoors and will not let her see the
sights in London. The women discuss Pinchwifes jealousy, and Margery
expresses her admiration of the actors she saw at the theater yesterday.
Pinchwife enters and impresses both wife and sister with the importance
of Margerys remaining ignorant of the ways of the town. Pinchwife
explains that a licentious man at the theater has seen her and fallen in
love with her.
Sparkish, who is to marry Alethea tomorrow, arrives with Harcourt to
show off his fiance to him. Harcourt falls in love with Alethea
immediately upon seeing her, and he cleverly makes advances to her
under the nose of Sparkish, who is too obtuse to comprehend the drift of
Harcourts dialogue. Pinchwife is surprised by the arrival of Lady Fidget,
Dainty Fidget, and Mistress Squeamish.
Sir Jasper arrives with Horner, saying that he has business to attend
to and that the ladies must accept Horner as their chaperone. Lady Fidget
rejects the idea of spending time with an eunuch, but Sir Jasper wins her
cooperation by suggesting that she might win money off Horner at cards.
Horner tells Lady Fidget in confidence that his impotence is a sham. She
is delighted with this news, and the pair establish an implicit intention to
undertake a liaison.

Act III
Margery and Alethea discuss the restrictions Pinchwife has imposed
on Margery. Pinchwife says that he is looking forward to marrying Alethea
off to Sparkish and then returning with Margery to the country. Margery
protests, saying that she wants to stay in London and walk abroad.
Pinchwife finally decides to disguise Margery as a young man and take her
out for an airing. In the next scene, Harcourt confesses that he is in love
with Alethea and needs a way of preventing her marriage to Sparkish.
Sparkish himself then approaches, and soon Pinchwife enters with Alethea
and the disguised Margery. Horner, recognizing Margery beneath her
disguise, makes his move right under Pinchwifes nose; Pinchwife cannot
intervene without admitting to the disguise and humiliating himself.
Meanwhile, Harcourt gets Sparkish to plead for him to Alethea, and in
begging for reconciliation he covertly expresses his love for her. When
Pinchwifes back is turned, Horner manages to make off with Margery.
Pinchwife searches in vain for his wife, who soon returns with her arms full
of gifts from Horner. Pinchwife, suspecting that he has been cuckolded,
prepares to leave.

Act IV
Aletheas maid Lucy finishes dressing her mistress for the wedding with
Sparkish. Lucy disapproves of the match, however, and continues to advocate
for Harcourt. The two women argue about the nature of honor and whether it
is prudent or just for Alethea to marry a man she does not love, simply
because she previously agreed to it. Alethea also reveals that Sparkishs lack
of jealousy is, to her, his most attractive quality. Sparkish enters with
Harcourt, who is disguised as his fictional brother Ned, the parson, who is
to officiate at the wedding. Alethea tries in vain to make Sparkish see
through the disguise; eventually she gives up and agrees to submit to what
she knows will be an invalid marriage ceremony.
In the next scene, Pinchwife interrogates Margery regarding her
encounter with Horner. Pinchwife is not yet a cuckold, but he sees that he
will have to take measures to ensure that Horner does not have any further
success with his wife. Pinchwife forces Margery to compose at his dictation a
letter to Horner expressing her disgust with him and renouncing any further
contact. Margery complies under threat of physical harm, but once the letter
is finished and Pinchwifes back is turned, she substitutes a love-letter for the
harsh one Pinchwife dictated.

In the next scene, Horner gives The Quack a positive report on the
success of his impotence ruse. The Quack then conceals himself as Lady
Fidget enters, seeking her first sexual encounter with Horner. After some
preliminary fretting over her reputation, she embraces Horner just in time to
be caught in the act by Sir Jasper, who enters unexpectedly. Lady Fidgets
outrageous explanation, that she was merely determining whether Horner is
ticklish, satisfies her oblivious husband.
After a brief discussion between Horner and The Quack, Pinchwife reenters with Sparkish. Pinchwife and Sparkish are discussing the latters
marriage to Alethea, which may be invalid, as the authenticity of the parson
is now in doubt. Horner expresses disappointment in Aletheas attachment to
Sparkish; he is thinking of Harcourts hopes, though Pinchwife takes him to
be disappointed for his own sake. Pinchwife exits, and Sparkish invites
Horner to dine with him and Pinchwife. Horner accepts, on the condition that
Margery will be invited.
In the next scene, Margery thinks longingly of Horner and sits down to
write another letter to him. Pinchwife enters, reads the letter she is
composing, and is about to commit a violent act upon her when Sparkish
walks in and puts a stop to it, leading Pinchwife off to dinner.

Act V
The fifth act, which is also the last one, starts with the activities
that take place after dinner, when Pinchwife directs Margery to finish
the letter to Horner , as she has intended. Margery decides to finish it
in a very clever way, in Aletheas name, suggesting about her that shes
in love with Horner. In the next scenes, Pinchwife delivers the
disguised Margery to Horner and then departs to find a person who
will marry Horner and Alethea and Pinchwife then presents Sparkish
with evidence that Alethea has written to Horner and intends to marry
him.
In the next and last scene Lady Fidget, Dainty Fidget, and
Mistress Squeamish all carouse with Horner in his lodging. Lady
Fidget then makes reference to Horners being her lover. The three
ladies quickly agree not to fight over him however, but rather to be
sisters sharares, all keeping each otherssecrets.
When Sir Jasper enters, the group receives notice that Pinchwife
and others are approaching. Pinchwife, accompanied by Alethea,
Harcourt, Sparkish, Lucy, and a parson, wants Horner to attest that
Alethea has visited his lodging. Horner lies, in order to protect
Margery, and affirms this. Alethea, baffled and aware that she is
dishonored by this slander, avows that she regrets the loss of no ones
good opinion but Harcourts.

Margery gives her opinion that the parson should marry Horner to
her rather than to Alethea. Pinchwife, suddenly undeceived, draws his
sword on Margery; Horner objects, and Pinchwife turns to threaten him
instead, then is restrained by Harcourt. Sir Jasper, entering, inquires
what is going on and is amused by the notion of Horners cuckolding
anyone. Pinchwifes seriousness, however, instills in him a fear that
Horner may be virile after all.
Lucy intervenes, claiming that Margerys coming in disguise to
Horners lodging was not an indication that Margery loves Horner but
rather part of Lucys plan to break up Sparkish and Alethea. Margery
objects, however, that her love for Horner is genuine. Pinchwife makes
more threats. Among the concluding remarks, Harcourt indicates his
impatience to be a husband, the Pinchwifes each indicate their distaste for
their marriage, and Lucy insists to Pinchwife that Margerys expression of
love for Horner was but the usual innocent revenge on a husbands
jealousy. Margery reluctantly confirms this lie, and Pinchwife resigns
himself to accepting the story, though it does not convince him: For my
own sake fain I would all believe; / Cuckolds, like lovers, should themselves
deceive.

Harry Horner

Though The Country Wife has provoked a great deal of critical interest,
most of it focuses on Horner. Thomas Fujimura developed a system of
categorization that allowed him to label every character in Restoration
drama a Truewit, Witwoud, or Witless. These categories were based on
Hobbess understanding of wit as equal parts fancy (creativity and
inspiration) and judgment (knowing when to make a comment, how best to
make use of the fancy, etc). The Truewit had both fancy and judgment, the
Witwoud had only fancy, and the Witless had neither. When he applied
these categories to The Country Wife, Fujimura spent the most time on
Horner, though he acknowledged that Harcourt was a Truewit as well,
because his argument was in many ways a response to moralists who said
the play was too smutty to study, a judgment they based on Horners
involvement with women, not Harcourts. Norman Holland was the first to
bring Harcourt and Alithea to the fore.

He argued that they were the moral center of the play and meant to
be contrasted with Horners wrong behavior with women. Before
Holland, most critics had dismissed Harcourt and Alithea.After, they paid
attention to the Harcourt and Alithea plot, but were largely
uninterested in Harcourt and Alithea themselves because they wanted to
find the plays center, the key that would unlock the plays meaning.
Harcourt spends much more time than Horner does with Sparkish,
with whom he shares a plot and interacts throughout the play, and is
thus the more sensible choice when the audience or reader wants to
compare Sparkish to an example of true wit. What is more, within their
shared plot, Sparkish desires Harcourts approval, thus reinforcing that
Harcourt functions as an exemplary wit.

What is more, within their shared plot, Sparkish desires Harcourts

approval, thus reinforcing that Harcourt functions as an exemplary wit.
Eve Sedgwick has argued persuasively that Sparkishs anxious questions
are reserved for Harcourts verdict: Do you approve of my choice? Tell me,
I say, Harcourt, how dost thou like her? Prithee, Frank, dost think my
wife that shall be there a fine person? These questions reveal that Sparkish
considers Harcourt his beau ideal. To meet with Harcourts approval is to
meet with the approval of the wits. It would seem, then, that Sparkish
compares himself to Harcourt.
Returning again to the diagram above, one sees the important role
Harcourt plays in The Country Wife as an exemplary wit. The game of
comparison requires that one compare the false wit to one of the true wits,
who will be used as the exemplary true wit. Both Sparkishs desire for
Harcourts approval and Wycherleys arrangement of scenes and
characters recommend Harcourt over Horner for this purpose.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about Horner is that he

does not care about being admired. Before the play begins, Horner has
gained the reputation of rake extraordinaire and, as his name suggests,
master cuckold-maker. Most men would envy this reputation, which is a
testament to ones virility and masculinity. Such a reputation, though,
makes husbands wary and prevents ones becoming intimate with civil
ladies. So, Horner creates a new reputation for himself as a eunuch. As
Eve Sedgwick points out, because in one register he withdraws from the
role of rival to that of objecthe is able in another register to achieve an
unrivaled power as an active subject. In his own words, husbands and
keepers, like old rooks, are not to be cheated but by a new unpracticed
trick.
Thus he ruins his reputation among men as a rake to gain new
access to women, to become an invisible rake. This shift in sexual
subjectivity, which does not really take place but is perceived by the other
characters, has no effect on his status as a wit. He continues to exhibit wit
subjectivity, and the other wits continue being friends with him, as though
nothing had changed between them.

Character reference

Harry Horner
A notorious London rake who, in order to gain sexual access to
respectable women, spreads the rumor that venereal disease has
rendered him impotent. Horner is the most insightful of all the wits in
the play, often drawing out and commenting on the moral failings of
others, but in his sexual conduct he is the most depraved.
Jack Pinchwife
A middle-aged London man, newly married to the rustic Margery. A
rake before his marriage, he is now the archetypal jealous husband: he
lives in fear of being cuckolded, not because he loves his wife but
because he believes that he owns her. He is a latent tyrant, potentially
violent.
Margery Pinchwife
The attractive young country wife of the title, Margery is newly
married to Jack Pinchwife and is visiting London for the first time to see
Aletheas wedding. Her unrefined sexual vitality and all-around
naturalness contrast with the hyper-civilized corruption of the
Londoners around her.

Alethea Pinchwife
The younger sister of Jack Pinchwife, who wants to marry her off
for financial reasons. She is engaged to Sparkish, whom she values
because he appears incapable of jealousy; in the course of the play,
however, she attracts the amorous attentions of Harcourt, whom she
begins to value for his intelligence and gallantry. Alethea is the most
straightforwardly admirable person in the play.
Frank Harcourt
A rakish friend of Horner, Harcourt meets Alethea early in the play,
flirts with her in front of Sparkish, and soon falls in love with her. His
devotion to the meritorious Alethea bespeaks his basic good nature, and
in the course of the play he is converted to a vision of marriage based on
mutual love and esteem.
Mr. Dorilant
A rakish friend of Horner and Harcourt.
Mr. Sparkish
A shallow and foolish playboy who considers himself, wrongly, a
wit. He is engaged to Alethea, attracted primarily by her money. He
appears to Alethea incapable of jealousy, but this is true only insofar as
the envy of other men increases the value of his prospective wife,
whom he thinks he owns.

Lucy
Aletheas clever and sensible maidservant. She is skeptical of her
mistresss plans to marry the vapid Sparkish, and she is resourceful in
coming up with schemes to encourage a match with Harcourt.
Sir Jasper Fidget
A man of business who derives no end of amusement from the rumor of
Horners impotence. He is happy to entrust his wife, Lady Fidget, to
Horners company, on the theory that the presence of the supposed eunuch
will keep her occupied and discourage the advances of other, more potent
men.
Lady Fidget
The wife of Sir Jasper Fidget, she is much younger than her husband
and a leading figure in the virtuous gang. Utterly hypocritical, she piques
herself on her virtue in public and avails herself of Horners physical
charms in private.

Dainty Fidget
The unmarried sister of Sir Jasper Fidget. Like Lady Fidget, she is a
member of the virtuous gang and secretly a conquest of Horners.
Mistress Squeamish
A young unmarried woman related to the Fidgets. Like Lady Fidget,
she is a member of the virtuous gang and secretly a conquest of
Horners.
Old Lady Squeamish
The grandmother of Mistress Squeamish; she strives in vain to
preserve her granddaughters purity.
The Quack
The doctor whom Horner enlists to spread the rumor of his
impotence.

Bibliography:
1. David L. Hirst. Commedy of Manners. Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith
Ldt.1979.
2. Trevor R. Griffiths,Simon Trussler. Restoration comedy. London:
Nick Hern Books, 2005.
3. Three Restoration Comedies. Ed. by Normann Marshall. London: Pan
Books Ldt. 1953.
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_Wife
5. http://www.enotes.com/country-wife