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The Country Wife Summary...

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The Country Wife Summary Act I -

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Prologue: spoken by Horner (nominal protagonist), gives the conventional ‘apology’ for the play: anticipates that the ‘wits’ in the audience will criticise the play By taking the audience into his confidence with his frequent asides, Horner makes us virtual accomplices in his trickery: audience largely approves of as it provides entertainment and the moral satisfaction of seeing corruption exposed However, Horner has few positive attributes and his wit is entirely negative, exposing and exploiting both women and men in society The play’s action begins with Harry Horner explaining to The Quack his brilliant ruse for making a conquest of London’s upper-class ladies Horner has spread a rumour that a treatment for venereal disease rendered him impotent – new status as a eunuch will gain him access to ladies whose husbands would otherwise consider him dangerous Sir Jasper Fidget enters with his wife, Lady Fidget – Sir Jasper believes Horner’s story as he appears cold to both his Fidget’s sister and wife and therefore subsequently arranges for Horner to act as his wife’s new chaperone and companion Horner exclaims in the realisation that his plan is already succeeding: husbands and guardians like Sir Jasper will now give him free access to their ladies Fidget resembles Pinchwife in taking no interest in his wife except to seek measures to prevent her disgracing him through adultery Horner can discern from the ladies’ reactions to him who is likely to respond to his advances: if a woman finds the notion of a eunuch disgusting, he will know that ‘she loves the sport’ The rumour of his impotence will provide cover for the ladies themselves, who may desire Horner but will not wish to sully their reputations Frank Harcourt and Mr Dorilant (Horner’s friends) enter and speak with him about women, wine and friendship – express their sympathy as they also believe that Horner is impotent The fatuous Mr Sparkish arrives and bores the three friends with his pretensions to wit Sparkish is a caricature of the many slow-witted poseurs of the day who tried to imitate the fashionable London libertines but who lacked the requisite intelligence and flair Jack Pinchwife (archetypal, jealous husband) enters and Horner correctly discerns that he has recently been married Pinchwife, who has not heard the rumours, privately fears that Horner will cuckold him – the men discuss Pinchwife’s reasons for marrying and his choice of wide: Pinchwife’s contempt for women becomes clear Horner is able to articulate brilliantly Wycherley’s own condemnation of Restoration society A wife, to Pinchwife’s mind, is essentially a long-term prostitute whose sexuality requires that money should change hands: he looks on the new Mrs Pinchwife as a sexual object, to whose service he has guaranteed access: a wife is a kind of chattel, and once the husband has acquired her, his main interest is in maintaining her value Pinchwife has returned to London from the countryside to see his sister married to Mr Sparkish Pinchwife posits that he has married a ‘country wife’ in order to not have to worry that she will, like a ‘London wife’ commit adultery: he also claims that his wife will not attract rivals with her looks or desire fashionable company

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Becomes apparent that Horner had seen Mrs Pinchwife the say before, Mr Pinchwife becomes uncomfortable and departs

Act II - Mrs Margery Pinchwife complains to her sister-in-law, Alethea Pinchwife, that her new husband has confined her indoors: women discuss Pinchwife’s jealousy - Immediately upon her first appearance, the country wife Margery shows her innocence and ingenuousness: her own inclination is like a child, simply to trust and love that which is familiar to her – her natural kindliness holds out despite the fact that Pinchwife treats her brusquely at best. Even at this easy stage, the possibility of rebellion is discernable – marriage showing signs of weakness - Pinchwife informs Margery that a licentious man at the theatre has fallen in love with her; Margery is delighted, but Pinchwife explains that he does not want her mixing with men at the theatre and soon Pinchwife locks her away in another room - Sparkish who is going to marry Alethea, arrives with Harcourt to show off his fiancé: however, Harcourt end up falling in love with Alethea: clearly makes advances – Sparkish is too obtuse to comprehend the drift of Harcourt’s dialogue: Sparkish event invites Harcourt to ‘go with her into a corner, and try if she has wit’ - Sparkish is imperturbable, not because of his great sophistication, but rather because he is too self-centred to imagine that other people could have interests that conflict with his - Harcourt posits to Alethea that Sparkish’s lack of jealousy shows that he does not love her: Alethea comments that it in fact shows that he has confidence in her virtue - When Alethea reports to Sparkish that Harcourt has offended her by criticizing him and making advance to her, Sparkish excuses this behaviour as typical of fashionable men - Pinchwife is surprised about the arrival of Lady Fidget, Dainty Fidget and Mistress Squeamish: ladies have come to see Margery, but Pinchwife invents excuses why they cannot: ladies lament the mistreatment of upper-class wives by their husbands - Also discuss adultery: questions whether It is worse for an upper-class woman to commit adultery with an upper-class man or with a less illustrious partner: agreeing that it injures no one’s honour as long as its secret - Sir Jasper confirms that Horner will be the ladies chaperone - Although the Fidgets’ marriage is a respectable one, it is certainly loveless: their affinity is only in terms of their mutual love of money - Lady Fidget rejects the idea of spending time with a eunuch, but Horner informs Lady Fidget in confidence that his impotence is a sham: she is delighted, and the pair establish an implicit intention to undertake a liaison - Sir Jasper is neglectful and apathetic towards his wife, while Pinchwife is vigilant and possessive towards his – what the husbands have in common is a view of their spouses as inferior beings with whom sexual bonds are the only desirable form of intimacy Act III - Margery and Alethea discuss the restrictions Pinchwife has imposed on Margery: Margery is upset regarding her exclusion from the fashionable existence of the London ladies: Pinchwife enters and then accuse Alethea of being a disreputable lady and claims that he is excited to marry her off to Sparkish and then return to the country with Margery

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Pinchwife’s comic flaw is his obsessive jealousy proceeding not from love but from his sense that Margery is his property Kachur summarizes Pinchwife’s ‘chauvinistic tenets’ as holding that ‘women are inherently inferior’ One of the conventional poses of the town wit is the misogynistic denigration of women and marriage, and the corresponding praise of male friendship Margery protests, saying that she wants to stay in London, after hearing of the young gentleman who fell in love with her at the theatre: Pinchwife gives in and decides to disguise Margery as a young man and takes her out Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant stand bantering in the New Exchange: Harcourt confesses that he is in love with Alethea – needs to prevent her marriage with Sparkish Horner, recognizing Margery beneath her disguise, makes his move right under Pinchwife’s nose; Pinchwife cannot intervene without admitting to the disguise and humiliating himself Harcourt gets Sparkish to plead with Alethea, and in begging for reconciliation he covertly expresses his love for her Sparkish welcomes Harcourt’s attentions as a compliment to Alethea: Sparkish’s main interest in Alethea appears to derive from her ability to inspire envy in other men – values her not for intrinsic worth but as a piece of property, the ownership of which reflects well on him and feeds his vanity – total lack of emotional investment Harcourt is in stark contrast to Sparkish as he values Alethea for her intelligence, virtue and honour – believes she is over-qualified to be Sparkish’s life partner Alethea becomes frustrated with Sparkish, who refuses to recognize that Harcourt is actually trying to steal her away from him Some critics posit that the Harcourt-Alethea plot is one of the weaker elements in the play: Alethea’s characteristics make it seem unlikely that she would need Harcourt’s assistance to discover the vapidity of Sparkish When Pinchwife’s back is turned, Horner manages to make off with Margery After Margery returns with her arms full of gifts from Horner, suspects that he has been cuckolded and prepares to leave Sir Jasper then enters too fetch Horner for his wife

Act IV - Lucy (Alethea’s maid) disapproves of her upcoming wedding with Sparkish and continues to advocate for Harcourt: two women argue about the nature of honour - Clear that Alethea’s virtues has not precluded her assimilating some of London’s superficial priories and expectations: made the typical urban mistake of confusing reality with appearance and her deference to popular opinion, which threatens to trap her in her engagement even after she has recognized Sparkish’s inferiority - Clear that Alethea holds noble statements, but she misplaces her ideals on a man who lacks her virtue and substance - Both Alethea and Mr Pinchwife (brother and sister) have settled for foolish spouses on the theory that a fool will be easy to control: Alethea does not fear unfaithfulness but the domestic tyranny she has seen bestowed upon Margery: longs to maintain her independence - Alethea concedes that she loves Harcourt rather than Sparkish, but states that her sense of justice will not permit her to deceive or injure Sparkish: believes that she will grow to love Sparkish after marrying him

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Alethea must learn that the kind of trust and autonomy she seeks will only be truly valuable when they are bestowed by a man of sense and integrity, not when they are the result of the indifferent of a frivolous man with no emotional intelligence Alethea also reveals that Sparkish’s lack of jealousy is his most attractive trait Sparkish enters with Harcourt, who is disguised as the parson – Alethea sees through the disguise and submits to what she knows will be an invalid marriage ceremony Pinchwife interrogates Margery regarding her encounter with Horner: Margery confirms that Horner lavished her with gifts and kissed her in a manner she found mortifyingly exotic - Pinchwife understands that he will have to take further measures to ensure that Horner does not have any further successes with his wife In order to thwart the developing romance, Pinchwife forces Margery to compose at his dictation a letter to Horner expressing her disgust with him and renouncing ant further contact: Margery complies under threat of physical harm – however, substitutes a love-letter to be sent to Horner Clear sense that women are subordinate in society: Pinchwife is innately violent – Pinchwife embodies unabashed misogyny, exposing the malevolent basis of his society’s prevalent chauvinism The contrast of Margery’s ebullience with Pinchwife’s brutality and insecurity has the effect to aligning the audience and reader more firmly with the oppressed wide Horner gives The Quack a positive report on the success of his impotence ruse: Lady Fidget then enter seeking her first sexual encounter with Horner: caught in the act by Sir Jasper – Lady Fidget explains that she was merely ticking Horner, which shockingly satisfies her oblivious husband One of Wycherley’s most effective comic devices is the use of a speech which a fool interprets in its obvious sense but which the wittier characters and the audience interpret in its covert, real significance The failure of Sir Jasper to see properly, is as much a moral failure, deriving from selfishness and materialistic freed as an epistemological one Lady Fidget and Horner leave once again to discuss china and have a liaison behind the locked door, unbeknownst to Sir Jasper China signifies that Horner to these ladies is no more than just an object: Horner now has more lovers than he is physically capable of satisfying – Horner is reduced to the image of a sexual object, typically used as a description for women Pinchwife delivers Margery’s letter to Horner: Pinchwife wants Horner not to cuckold him Pinchwife and Sparkish discuss the latter’s marriage to Alethea, which may be invalid, as the authenticity of the parson is now in doubt Sparkish invites Horner to dine with him and Pinchwife – Horner accepts, on the condition that Margery will be invited Margery thinks longingly of Horner and composes another love letter: Pinchwife enters and is about to commit a violent act upon her when Sparkish walks in Margery has realised that she has become trapped in a wretched existence: undergoes an awakening in which she strives to create her own happiness

Act V - Pinchwife directs Margery to finish the letter to Horner as she had intended: Margery cleverly finishes it in Althea’s name - Pinchwife warms to the idea of marrying Alethea to Horner instead of Sparkish: believes that it would safeguard his own marriage - meanwhile, with Lucy’s help

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Margery concocts a plan to get to Horner’s lodgings: she pretends to Pinchwife that she is going to be disguised as Alethea Significant for Margery’s characterization that the girl who began the play so innocent that she needed the definition of jealousy now wonders to herself ‘what lie I shall tell next’ In addition to Lucy, Mr Pinchwife deserves some of the credit for her new aptitude in deceit: the deceitfulness of the women in the play is a natural result od the neglect and cruelty of the men Pinchwife delivers the disguised Margery and departs to find a parson to marry Horner and Alethea Sparkish is informed by Pinchwife of Alethea’s supposed plans (actually Margery)– he is incensed over the insult Alethea enters and is verbally attacked by Sparkish, thus concluding that she was deceived all along about his good nature – jealousy consists of the rage over the injury to his vanity and indignation Lady Fidget, Dainty Fidget and Mistress Squeamish speak openly of their frustrations with the upper-class men who neglect them The ladies agree to all share Horner as a lover – keep his secrets Margery enters and has resolved to leave Pinchwife and take Horner as her new husband When Sparkish, Pinchwife, Alethea and the Parson enter, Horner lies in order to protect Margery, attesting that Alethea had visited his lodging Margery then enters, and claims that Horner should marry her and not Alethea: Pinchwife suddenly undeceived draws his sword on Margery – Horner objects and Pinchwife turns to threatened him instead Pinchwife’s seriousness instils a fear in Sir Jasper that Horner may be virile after all Lucy intervenes and claims that Margery’s disguise was not an indication that Margery loves Horner, but part of Lucy’s plan to break up Sparkish and Alethea – Margery objects, however, and claims that her love for Horner is genuine The Quack walks in to the relief of Horner, who calls upon him to attest his impotence: Sir Jasper readily accepts this medical testimony, but, Pinchwife is more suspicious – ladies overwhelm Margery with their expressions of confidence in Horner’s deficiency Harcourt indicates his impatience to be a husband – the Pinchwife’s both indicate distaste for their marriage, and Lucy insists to Pinchwife that Margery’s expression of love for Horner, ‘was but the usual innocent revenge on a husband’s jealousy’ Margery reluctantly confirms this lie, and Pinchwife resigns himself to accepting the story even though it does not convince him Horner has tended to bring out the real, base natures of those with whom he interacts: the women are cynical and licentious, the men are stupid and selfish, and Sparkish is a pretender In Restoration plays, adulterous wives usually suffer some humiliation at the end of the play: Wycherley never discredits the adulterous Margery but instead allows her to remain sympathetic at the end Unfaithful women do not merit the reward of happiness, either: only Harcourt and Alethea seem likely to have love and happiness after the close of the curtain Clear that Margery will have to return to the country and will not marry Horner Horner himself ends up as an ultimately lonely figure: committed himself to a life of lying to everyone, with the only exceptions being his upper-class mistresses

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Even though Horner is not physically sterile, he is spiritually and emotionally so: indicates that he can never be a husband, he is incapable of the emotions that constitute spousal love In an epilogue, the actress playing Lady Fidget addresses the rakes in the audience, earning that though the would-be Horner’s may impress other men with their sexual exploits, nevertheless there is no fooling the women

Context of The Country Wife - Restoration comedy: theatrical performances had just resumed in London following their 18-year spell of illegality under the reign of the Puritan Commonwealth - As a genre, Restoration comedy is notable for displaying a recrudescence of bawdiness, the public expression of which has been supressed under the Puritans - In contrast to Elizabethan theatre which had to accommodate an audience consisting of a cross-section of society, Restoration comedy had for its intended audience the English court and other social insiders - Among the Restoration aristocracy, sexual libertinism was fashionable and marriage scorned – marriage in Restoration plays ‘at best as a convenient means of acquiring an income, and at worst as a constant source of jealousy and frustration’ (David Cook and John Swannell) - From the 1660s – 1670s, a shift had occurred in contemporary attitudes toward the institution of marriage: religious awe surrounding the institution of marriage began to diminish – husband was still sovereign, whilst the wife was subservient to him - Historical context surrounding the play clearly prevails in the social, political and moral atmosphere that precipitated The Country Wife Restoration Patent Theatres - During the Restoration, theatre companies needed royal patents in order to stage spoke plays - Unlike the open-air theatres of the Renaissance, the playhouses of the Restoration had enclosed roofs and artificial lighting: seating was in two sections, namely the pit and the galleries – Restoration theatres had benches in the floor beneath the stage - The stage itself had two sections, the proscenium and the inner stage (setting for scenic effects) Separating the two areas of the stage was the proscenium arch, which provided a visual frame for the dramatic action; this architectural distinction of dramatic space from audience space was new to the English theatre Thematic Concepts in the Country Wife The Untenability of Restoration Marriage Arrangements - Two marriages are presented that are sadly typical of the Restoration period: Pinchwife cultivates his wife’s ignorance in order to ensure her fidelity and submissiveness, and Sir Jasper neglects his young wife and seeks to keep her mind off other men by occupying her with trivial pleasures and ‘safe companions’ - Two common assumptions: wives should be kept in ignorance and that wives can be safely neglected - Women, no less than men, desire gratifying sexual contact - Claimed that Horner is merely a ‘catalyzing agent’ enabling the married couples around him to fall apart on their own terms

Hypocrisy - Wycherley was repelled by hypocrisy: the ordinary desire of men and women to be thought more virtuous or gifted than they are - Even the women in the play are scrutinised with the sharpest criticism as their public personas conflict egregiously with their priv...