The country wife characters

The countrywife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. He is not perfect, however, and occasionally gives in to the temptation to hurt others with harsh words. Join stageagent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. A notorious london rake who, in order to gain sexual access to respectable women, spreads the rumor that disease has rendered him impotent. Is william wycherley critiquing only the nobility in the country wife, or is the play making a statement about the nature of people, regardless of their social status. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and antipuritan ideology, a. Horner is the most insightful of all the wits in the play, often drawing out and commenting on the moral failings of others. This relevance is certainly seen in the country husband. Harry horner the rake the quack the doctor sir jaspet fidget cuckold lady fidget crouquette h arcourt companion of horner dorilant another companion sparkishanother companion jack pinchwife rakecuckold margery pincwife country girl alithea town girl act i development of plot. As a genre, restoration comedy is notable for displaying a recrudescence of bawdiness, the public expression of which had been suppressed under the puritans, and for taking a satirical, or even cynical, view of marriage and sexuality. Marriage vs a libertine philosophy in wycherleys the country.

In 1753, however, bluenose killjoys at last convinced the public that the play was completely unacceptable and. Francis, however, feels that he has been given a second chance to live life. Female sexual agency in william wycherleys the country wife. Throughout the play, the term cuckold is used almost in a casual way. For example, the dual meaning in pinchwifes name provides a basis for the discussion of an emerging lesson in the play. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay topics, and key themes like the social perception of innocence in the city versus in the country and illness and disease as consequences of romance. Kumalo is an elderly zulu priest who has spent all of his life in the village of ndotsheni. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The excellent new staging of the country wife at the mcginncazale theatre a coproduction of two theater companies, honkbark. Bbc play of the month the country wife tv episode 1977 imdb. Pinchwife in particular is known for his possessiveness. The vicious rake is invariably presented as a despicable, if wealthy person, who thrives on scheming and intrigue.

Popular for its lively characters and its double entendres, the bawdy comedy was. They have been hidden, and, as it might appear, destroyed by an education. When i read the man of mode, i was delighted by it. The country wife characters from litcharts the creators. The country wife by william wycherely stock characters. Harry horner character timeline in the country wife the timeline below shows where the character harry horner appears in the country wife. The character of harry horner in the country wife from. The country wife study guide contains a biography of william wycherly, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. London, england there will be one 10minute intermission. Apr 07, 2011 the country wife the rake character duration. Analysis of the country wife one of the most significant aspects of this play is the way that it ends.

The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710. First published in 1950, a country wife deals with gentle joys and occasional mishaps during the van dorens quarter century of married life up to that date. The country husband opens as francis weed, a middleaged family man, is aboard a plane that is making an emergency crash landing in a corn field. Most of the characters in the country wife have characternames. Front matter indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse compositum illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper. The the country wife quotes below are all either spoken by harry horner or refer to harry horner.

Mar 30, 2020 the country wife, comedy of manners in five acts by restoration dramatist william wycherley, performed and published in 1675. Agnes in the school for wives is a simple and amiable girl, whose heart is indeed full of love, but of love sanctioned by honour, morality, and religion. A quack is as fit for a pimp, as a midwife for a bawd. A product of the tolerant early restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and antipuritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time.

Sparkish a character in the country wife by william wycherley author portrayals. William wycherleys, the country wife, is a play reflective of a new erathe restorationwhich followed an elevenyear period of harsh puritanical rule under oliver cromwell. Find movie and film cast and crew information for the country wife 1977 on allmovie. Sparkish, engaged to alithea sir jaspar fidget, a noble gentleman mrs. This is an old tradition in british drama, a carry over from medieval. While his wife does appear, primarily to mourn absalom, she never says muchin fact, she never even gets a name.

At the time, some observers thought that wycherley had modeled horner on the notorious libertine the earl of rochester. Its characters were gallants, ladies and gentleman of rank. Studying the comedy of the country wife english literature. The country wife project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Dorothy van doren writes beguilingly about the summers she and husband mark van doren led at the connecticut farm they purchased as newlyweds in the early 20th century. He is frequently married and abuses his wife examples are pinchwife in the country wife or sir john brute in vanbrugh s the provokd wife. Literary critics have agreed on the plays extraordinary dramatic power, but have been puzzled as to its final meaning.

Note that male agency is omitted syntactically in this sentence. Finally, the philosophical rake, the most attractive libertine figure, is characterised. As a genre, restoration comedy is notable for displaying a recrudescence of bawdiness, the public expression of which had been suppressed under. One of the greatest works in restoration comedy is the country wife by william wycherley. Studying the comedy of the country wife english literature essay. Many accused the country wife of gross obscenity when it debuted in 1675. Wycherleys the country wife and the don juan character. The country wife is the quintessential restoration comedy laced with extraordinary wit, saucy innuendo, and bawdy intrigue. Jan 20, 2010 consensus among the male characters in william wycherleys the country wife presumes the certainty of infidelity among smart women, or women of wit.

Horner, the antihero at the center of the country wife, is a familiar type of the period. A middleaged london man, newly married to the rustic margery. The country wife is a restoration comedy, that is, an english theatrical comedy written during the period 16601710, when theatrical performances resumed in london following their 18year spell of illegality under the reign of the puritan commonwealth. The themes, subjects, and characters continue to be relevant because cheever finds the universality in his characters situations. When he returns home, his wife, julia, and their four children are uninterested in his experience. A notorious london rake who, in order to gain sexual access to respectable women. Consensus among the male characters in william wycherleys the country wife presumes the certainty of infidelity among smart women, or women of wit. The country wife characters in this article, we will discuss the main characters in the play the country wife by william wycherley. William wycherleys country wife offers a wealth of connotative meaning through the names of its characters.

Minor characters in cry, the beloved country shmoop. Wycherleys the country wife, like many comedies of manners, focuses on sexual relations as its primary theme. The country wifewilliam wycherleyfree downloadpdf epub. Sir jasper is an odious figure who is rather unpleasant as he is reckless about horners impotency. My problem with the country wife is that wycherleys writing has none of the charm of his contemporary, george etherege. The same could be said of much seventeenthcentury drama. William wycherleys the country wife was written and first performed in london, in 1675. Pinchwife asserts that good wives and private soldiers should be ignorant. The restored monarch, charles ii, wanted to assert the centrality of the theater in english culture as a way of harkening back to the glory days of the stuart dynasty in the early part of the century, when his grandfather. Here we have horner, the trickster hero of the play, who is determined to sleep around with married women and thereby cuckold their husbands.

Lest she falls prey to the towns temptations, he keeps her under lock and key. The country wife plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips. The country wife characters breakdowns including full descriptions with standard casting requirements and expert analysis. Pinchwife even marries a country wife because he believes her ignorance disinclines her from straying. Wycherleys the country wife and the don juan character anthony kaufman wvilliam wycherleys the country wife 1675 has received voluminous, yet curiously mixed, assessment. Poets like cudgeld bullys, never do at first, or second blow, submit to you. The country wife mcgill school of computer science. Download william wycherleys the country wife for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile. Barbers study the idea of honor in the english drama 15911700 g6teborg, 1957 reveals that, especially after 1660, the word honor was continually on the lips of theatrical characters. Harcourt, his acquaintance, enamored of alithea mr. Thus, lady fidget initially regards horner as a libertine who resolutely opposes women of quality and.

Introduction theater was central to the culture of restoration london. The country wife 1675 a comedy by wycherley, william 16401716 the persons mr. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. The three other male characters are bad husbands and mr. In addition to this he neglects his wife and hence is very different to mr. Date premieredjanuary 1675 place premieredtheatre royal, drury lane original languageenglish genrerestoration comedy settinglondon the country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. If youre interested in the topic of cry, the beloved country and gender, we talk a little bit more about the books somewhat, shall we say, limited portrayals of women in our analyses of gertrude and absaloms girl. The country wife is a restoration comedy written in 1675 by william wycherley. He is a quiet, humble, and gentle man with a strong moral sense and an abiding faith in god.

The country wife characters from litcharts the creators of. It satirizes the sexual duplicity of the aristocracy during the reign of charles ii. Marriage vs a libertine philosophy in wycherleys the. It dealt with the complexity of sexual and marital intrigue and also with adultery and cuckoldry. Jan 19, 2010 william wycherleys country wife offers a wealth of connotative meaning through the names of its characters. Instant downloads of all 1296 litchart pdfs including the country wife. Directed by john demita sound design kelsi halverson stage manager meredith ogwynn the country wife by william wycherly with in alphabetical order. Harry horner is a wealthy london socialite who has a reputation as a great wit and a notorious womanizer. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. The writing was charming and funny, and the characters were likeable.

Pinchwife searches in vain for his wife, who soon returns with her arms full of gifts from horner. The countrywife, a comedy, acted at the theatre royal. Popular for its lively characters and its double entendres, the bawdy comedy was occasionally vilified for immorality. With anthony andrews, leslie sarony, phil daniels, john nettleton. Thus, lady fidget initially regards horner as a libertine who resolutely opposes women of quality and virtue for their love to their husbands i.