What are the stock characters in The Country Wife?
The Country Wife Characters
- Harry Horner. Harry Horner is a wealthy London socialite who has a reputation as a great “wit” and a notorious womanizer.
- Margery Pinchwife. Margery is the young bride of Pinchwife and the titular “country wife.”
- Pinchwife.
- Sir Jasper Fidget.
- Lady Fidget.
- Mrs.
- Mrs.
- Sparkish.
What is the central character of the play The Country Wife?
Harry Horner
Harry Horner. The protagonist of the play, Horner, is a well-known playboy in London. After a trip to France, he pretends to have become impotent because of a venereal disease that he supposedly caught abroad in order to convince married men to allow him to have access to their wives.
Who is the country wife in the play The Country Wife?
lusty Margery
The main plot concerns the activities of lusty Margery, a country woman whose jealous husband, Mr. Pinchwife, sequesters her at home to ensure her fidelity. At a rare outing to the theatre she is noticed by Mr.
Who is Horner in Country Wife?
Warren Beatty
The 1975 movie Shampoo, with Warren Beatty as the Horner character, is a somewhat distant version of The Country Wife after exactly 300 years, reportedly inspired by the Chichester Festival production of 1969.
What are the main themes in The Country Wife?
The Country Wife Themes
- Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy. William Wycherly’s The Country Wife criticizes Restoration society (late 17th century England) for its hypocrisy.
- Love, Marriage, and Misogyny.
- Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire.
- Town vs.
Is a sister in law of Lady Fidget?
Lady Fidget is Sir Jasper Fidget’s wife and, ironically, a woman known in the town for being extremely virtuous and “honorable.” She spends most of her time with her sister in law, Mrs. Dainty Fidget, and her friend Mrs.
Who is Sparkish in The Country Wife?
Sparkish is a vain, foolish socialite who is obsessed with his reputation and “honor,” has an extremely high opinion of himself, and is easily tricked by the clever characters in the play, such as Harcourt and Horner. Sparkish is engaged to Pinchwife’s sister, Alithea, but he is only marrying her for her money.
Who is Lady Fidget?
What is the message of Country Wife?
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy
William Wycherly’s The Country Wife criticizes Restoration society (late 17th century England) for its hypocrisy. Harry Horner, a wealthy “rake” who spends his time pursuing women and hedonism, spreads a rumor that he has contracted a venereal disease and has been made impotent.
What does the play The Country Wife say about gender and gender relations?
The play depicts the constant struggle of dominance between females and males. Pinchwife believes that “if we do not cheat women, they’ll cheat us”, his extreme jealous becomes his downfall. He exposes her to other men in hopes it will make her more faithful but it shows her there are different men out there.
What is the relationship between Mr and Mrs Pinchwife?
Pinchwife is Margery’s husband. He is obsessively jealous and is terrified of being made to look foolish and of gaining a reputation as a “cuckold.” He has chosen Margery for a wife because he believes that she is innocent and naïve and therefore easy to control.
What happens at the end of The Country Wife?
At the end of the play, Mr. and Mrs. Pinchwife remain unhappily together while Harcourt presumably marries Alithea, and Horner goes on to keep bedding unhappy wives who can preserve their honor and reputation under the ruse that Horner is incapable of defiling them.
What does Pinchwife attempt to have his wife write to Horner?
Pinchwife tells Margery to open the letter with the word “Sir” and, when Margery asks if it should not be “Dear Sir,” Pinchwife threatens to carve the word “whore” on her face with his knife. Pinchwife instructs Margery to write to Horner that his kisses repulsed her and that she wants nothing more to do with him.
What is the relationship between Horner and Lady Fidget?
She is the female counterpart of Horner in everything except what society expects from her, because she is a woman and he is a man.