Central Focus in "The Country Wife" - Essay Sample

The central focus in the play “The Country Wife” by William Wycherley’s comic book revolves primarily around the idea of artificiality, materialism, and pretense surrounding marriage. The author wrote the play during the earlier Restoration period, where people held anti-puritan and aristocratic ideologies towards marriage and sex. In this play, marriage does not incorporate traditional morals such as trust, love, and fidelity. Instead, marriage is a social norm filled with lust, materialism, intense emotions, and infidelity. Thus, the play reveals marriage as a social institution full of materialistic intent with little focus on traditional marriage morals such as fidelity and love.

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In this excerpt, characters seem to be concerned by their reputation, forcing them to lie. Horner acknowledges the reputation of the women around him “I know not, your reputation frightened me more as much as your faces invited me.” In return, the ladies acknowledge that men use their reputation to deceive the world with less suspicion. Lady Fidget says that “our reputation! Lord, why should you not think we women make use of our reputation as you men of yours? Only to deceive the world with less suspicion…” additionally admits that women are like men; they both use their reputation to deceive people who cannot suspect.

This excerpt demonstrates a lack of affection and matrimonial love; instead, marriages are filled with hypocrisy and corrupted by the urban lifestyle. The author satirizes the pretense betrayed in marriages. Lady Fidget satirically explains how men go out for business reasons to meet other ladies avoiding their families. Later in the text, the writer employs Sir Jasper and Pinchwife to demonstrate an ignorant and paranoid picture that ironically facilitated their wives to the rake. On the same note, Mrs. Dainty Fidget expresses her displeasure on how men nowadays choose mistresses as other kinds of stuff. She says, “the filthy toads choose mistresses now as they do stuff, for having been fancied and worn by others” this shows how infidelity has hit marriages hard. Women openly know what their husbands are doing, but they can’t just leave that marriage; instead, they decide to do the same. Lady Fidget, in her statement, openly admits that wildness in a man is a desirable quality. Women seem to be attracted to this kind of man outside their marriage.

From the excerpt, Lady Fidget and Dainty ended up being adulterous and unfaithful later at some point. They demonstrate that they do not care about their husbands and are willing to do anything to fulfill their sexual desires. At the start of the excerpt, Lady Fidget says, “drink thou representative of a husband. Damn, husband!” It shows how these wives genuinely hate their husbands. She later says, “Ay, we have all reasons to curse them.” It demonstrates the caricature the author employs to show disrespect and unfaithfulness among the couples. Arguably, men deserve to cuckolding in reality by discarding their wives. Lady Fidget explains how men assume business often to avoid their wives and join those they love.

Lack of respect for the husbands is demonstrated clearly throughout the excerpt. Lady Fidget starts by saying, “Drink thou a representative of a Husband. Damn a Husband.” she later says that they have all reasons to curse them. It clear those women’s intentions revolve around sexual satisfaction, infidelity, unfaithfulness, and hatred towards their husbands. Throughout the play, the author brings out the characters in marriages to protect their reputation. People are in a marriage for the sake of outward appearance. Women use sex as a revengeful tool against men to attain a moral victory by becoming cuckolds.

Moreover, the story brings out materialism as one of the primary reasons men go for mistresses. Mrs. Squeamish describes the mistresses as common and cheap as Lady Fidget further adds, “whilst women of quality, like the richest stuff, lie untumbled and unasked for.” From the statement, these women seem provoked because their husbands go for worthless mistresses. They sound to be comfortable if their husband would choose to be with rich and quality mistresses. The witty appetites of men lead them to a typical road and imitation. Lady Fidget explains paradoxically how men decide to share those cheap and common ladies instead of having quality rich stuff women whom they will not share by anybody else. She says, “…when you were a man, why you rather chose to club with a multitude in a common house, for entertainment, than to be the only guest at a good table.”

In conclusion, the author has carefully demonstrated the materialistic and artificiality of marriages in the play. The play depicts marriages as lethal social institutions to romance. Women perceive marriage as a hindrance that robs them of their freedom. All women in this excerpt see men as the reason behind un-functional families. All they are doing is to revenge against their husbands. Their marriages have deprived them of affection, love, and sex. The only reason they are holding on to these marriages is to protect their public image. Lady Fidget says, “our reputation! Lord, don’t why you should think that we women make use of our reputation as you men of yours? Only to deceive the world with less suspicion.”

Reference

Wycherley, W. (2014). The country wife. A&C Black.