The Country Wife

by

William Wycherley

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The Country Wife: Act 1 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
In his house in London, Harry Horner is in discussion with his doctor, who is “a Quack;” an old-fashioned term for a doctor, usually an unreliable or fraudulent one. Horner asks the doctor if he has followed Horner’s instructions; indeed, the Quack has told everyone in the town that Horner is “as bad as a eunuch.” Horner is anxious to know that the rumor will spread, and the Quack assures him that he has told all the women he knows and has told them to keep it a secret.
The doctor clearly has a reputation as unscrupulous and willing to do whatever his clients pay him for. Therefore, Horner knows he can pay him to spread a false rumor—something a more scrupulous doctor would hopefully refuse to do. A “eunuch” is a term for a man who has been castrated. The Quack suggests that women cannot keep a secret and are more likely to pass something on if it is told in confidence. Gossiping was historically considered a primarily female habit and women were historically considered less reliable than men.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Quotes
Literary Devices
The Quack thinks that, once this rumor has spread, women will want nothing to do with Horner. Horner cheerfully agrees that women will avoid him as much as they avoid their husbands; his only fear is that people will not believe the rumor. He checks that the Quack has got his story straight and told the townspeople that Horner has been accidentally castrated by a French surgeon who was treating him for venereal disease. The doctor assures Horner that he has said just this, and that people are likely to believe it because Horner has just come back from France.
Horner implies that married women dislike and avoid their own husbands. This reflects common ideas about marriage in this period, which suggests that people forced to spend all their time together in marriage inevitably end up hating one another. In this period, British people considered France a seat of aristocratic decadence and sexuality, which Restoration culture emulated. It was assumed, therefore, that French doctors were familiar with venereal disease, although STIs would have been rife in both France and England in this period. Horner likely chooses a French surgeon for his alleged operation because, in London, everyone knows everyone else’s business, whereas a French surgeon would not be known, and, therefore, the truth of Horner’s story cannot be questioned.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Literary Devices
The Quack also thinks that people will believe Horner’s story because, since his return from France, Horner has hardly been out in public. The Quack confesses that, although he has been paid to spread rumors for young men before, these rumors tended to be the opposite of the one Horner has spread. Horner says that it is only “vain” men who want to be thought of as better than they are, and that he has other plans.
Horner has hidden himself so that others will assume he is too ashamed to go out. As a well-known London “rake,” Horner’s reputation as a womanizer is assumed to be very important to him. The doctor points out that young men generally use rumors to make themselves sound more virile and successful with women, rather than less.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Quotes
The Quack feels that Horner’s approach is ridiculous and says that he would not advertise his business by criticizing his own practice. Horner, however, retorts that boasting is worthless and that those who are truly gifted rarely advertise themselves as such and, instead, are modest about their abilities.
Horner believes that actions speak louder than words and that a reputation is meaningless if one cannot back it up with proof. This is contrary to the general trend in Restoration society: that reputation is everything and that the appearance of something is as good as the reality. Horner believes instead that people who boast a lot are often compensating for their lack of ability.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
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Horner’s servant enters and announces visitors; a gentleman and two ladies. Horner is afraid that it is someone who has heard and does not believe the rumors, but he is relieved when Sir Jasper Fidget (who Horner thinks is a “fool”) enters with his wife, Lady Fidget, and sister, Mrs. Dainty Fidget, and claims that his coach has broken down outside Horner’s house.
Horner has clearly had a formidable reputation as a womanizer if people will not believe the rumor of his impotence. It also suggests that news is unreliable in Restoration London. Sir Jasper says that his coach has broken down, but, really, he is interested in scandal and wants an excuse to visit Horner so he can verify the gossip he has heard.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Sir Jasper tries to introduce Horner to his wife and sister, but Horner will have nothing to do with them. Sir Jasper has heard the rumor about Horner’s impotence and feels that Horner’s behavior proves this to be true.
Horner pretends to hate women and want nothing to do with them because, he implies, they are the cause of his impotence. He claims to have caught a venereal disease from a woman and, when being treated for this, was accidentally castrated. Therefore, he pretends to blame women for his condition.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Sir Jasper thinks this is hilarious, but the ladies are offended by Horner’s attitude. Lady Fidget remarks that men like Horner hate virtuous women. Horner tells Lady Fidget that he has nothing to offer her, as he has brought nothing back from France that she might enjoy; not even a “bawdy picture” or a copy of L’Ecoles des Filles. Lady Fidget accuses Horner of compromising her “honor” and Horner tells her that he would if he could, which seems to pique Lady Fidget’s interest.
Lady Fidget has a reputation for being a notoriously “virtuous” woman. She pretends to shun the company of “rakes” like Horner and pretends to be offended by any mention of sex. As French culture was notoriously lewd, British aristocrats, imitating French nobility, would buy risqué French art which contained nudes. L’Ecoles des Filles was a French pornographic novel, often cited as the first work of pornography. Lady Fidget pretends to be insulted but there is an innuendo implied when she asks how Horner intends to compromise “her honor;” it implies she wants to have sex with him.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Sir Jasper is highly amused and whispers to Lady Fidget and Mrs. Dainty Fidget that Horner cannot “wrong their honor” because he is impotent. The women are disgusted and urge Sir Jasper to take them away. Sir Jasper dismisses their complaints and tells them to stay with Horner while he attends to some business in town.
Sir Jasper tells the ladies that Horner cannot have sex with them. Although the ladies pretend to be “virtuous” and, therefore, to be disgusted by sex, they seem more disgusted by the idea of a man who cannot have sex with them. The use of the innuendo “wrong their honor” to imply sex suggests that it is considered “wrong” or dishonorable for a woman to enjoy sex.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
The ladies are distressed about being left with a man, but Sir Jasper reminds them that Horner is “innocent” and cannot interfere with them. He leaves feeling very pleased with himself because he has found a way to entertain his wife and sister and no longer has to worry about what they are doing while he is at work.
Sir Jasper believes that he has got one over on his wife and sister by getting them off his hands, and that he has used Horner to his advantage by persuading him to take the women off his hands. However, he has naively fallen straight into Horner’s trap and left the ladies with a man who wants to seduce them and whom they want to be seduced by.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Literary Devices
Lady Fidget and Mrs. Dainty Fidget refuse to stay with Horner and hurriedly leave. The Quack laments that Horner has ruined his reputation with women, but Horner seems pleased with this turn of events. Horner explains that, because of the rumor, men like Sir Jasper will freely leave their wives with him and this arrangement will allow him to have countless new mistresses.
As the ladies do not know that Horner’s impotence is an untrue rumor, they react with genuine disgust to a man who cannot have sex with them, and, therefore, cannot provide them with anything they want.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
The Quack wonders how Horner will be able to seduce women who believe he is impotent, but Horner thinks that his pretended impotence will give him an advantage. He will be able to tell which women want to have sex with him because they will be horrified when they hear of his impotence. He will also have the advantage of being able to spend time with married women, in front of their husbands, without arousing suspicion.
Horner believes that women who show an aversion to impotent men prove that they love sex. As friendship between the genders was not encouraged in this period, so the women in the play have no other use for a man and are only interested in men they can have sex with.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Quotes
The Quack is baffled by Horner’s confidence, but he wishes him luck and leaves to attend to his patients. After he leaves, Horner’s friends Harcourt and Dorilant arrive. They want to find out if Horner is ready to face public life again; he was mocked at the theatre the previous night because of his “impotence.” They are surprised that he is taking it so well, as Horner seems unaffected by this public ridicule. Horner wants to know what the fashionable women have said about him and Harcourt tells him that the women do not feel any sympathy for him because women never pity men, even if the man has lost everything for the sake of a woman.
This shows what a small world Restoration London is. News travels fast and everyone has already heard of Horner’s impotence. The theatre is not just a place of entertainment but also an important social meeting place where news is spread and people go to be seen with other fashionable people. Horner is not at all interested in his reputation. He is only interested in bedding women and does not mind if, publicly, women are disgusted by him as long as privately he can seduce them. Harcourt’s comment about “sympathy” shows the “battle of sexes” mentally that is bred between men and women in Restoration society.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Dorilant commiserates with Horner and tells him that, although he can no longer seduce women, he will be able to spend time with them in the capacity of a servant or a “half-man.” Horner dismisses his concern and says that the loss of female company means that he can spend more time with his male friends, whose company he enjoys more than women’s.
The use of the term “half-man” to denote impotence suggests that Restoration society valued virility and sexual prowess above all else in men. There was a celebration of macho culture in this period and men aspired to be rakish and promiscuous. It was common to look down on things considered feminine, which Horner demonstrates when he claims to despise female company. In this type of mindset, men only pursue women for sex and as conquests, rather than as companions.
Themes
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Literary Devices
Horner says that it is impossible to have both women and money and the three men launch into a witty tirade about the disadvantages of loving women. Horner announces that he will enjoy his celibate life and, while they are bantering, Horner’s servant enters to tell them that Sparkish is downstairs.
A common misogynistic stereotype about women was that they were shallow and only interested in money and, therefore, would take advantage of men for their wealth. In the play this is undercut, however, as Sparkish tries to marry Alithea for her money.
Themes
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant are dismayed. They dislike Sparkish and feel that he is an arrogant bore who will not take the hint that they don’t like him. Horner exclaims that he despises Sparkish because Sparkish pretends to be something he is not. Harcourt adds that people are usually the opposite of what they pretend to be.
It is ironic and hypocritical that Horner dislikes Sparkish because Sparkish pretends to be something he is not (Horner is pretending to be impotent, after all). Harcourt’s comment implies that almost everyone in Restoration society is a hypocrite because reputation is so important; people wish to be seen as better than they are.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Quotes
Literary Devices
Sparkish bursts in and begins to tease Horner about his impotence. Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant try to make it clear that they do not find Sparkish funny and they try to dissuade him from hanging around. Sparkish insists that he wishes to dine with them, but Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant make excuses until he loses patience and leaves so that he will not be late for the “new play.”
Sparkish is a “false-wit;” a stock character on the Restoration stage. A “false-wit” wrongly believes he is funny and entertaining, but is actually pompous and stupid. He is usually outwitted by the “true-wits,” like Horner, who are genuinely intelligent and calculating. Sparkish is concerned with being a fashionable man and feels he must make an appearance at the theatre, as this is the height of Restoration social life.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
As Sparkish storms off, Mr. Pinchwife enters. Horner says that he can tell that Pinchwife has recently been married because of his glum expression and bad dress. Pinchwife is furious that Horner knows he is married but conceals his rage. Pinchwife says that he is dressed badly because he has been living in the country and has only come to town to arrange for Sparkish to marry his sister. Horner teases Pinchwife and tells him that, once a man is married, it is only a matter of time until he gets a reputation as a “cuckold.”
Marriage is considered bad for men, as it robs them of their freedom. They are believed to be nagged and harangued by their wives. Like marriage, life in the country, compared to the hedonistic and fashionable life in the city, is believed to be dowdy and tiresome. Marriage is believed to be so lethal to romance and sexual attraction between a couple that it is seen as inevitable that they will cheat on each other.
Themes
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Town vs. Country Theme Icon
This jibe infuriates Pinchwife, but he tries to brush it off and tells Horner that he has not married a “London wife.” Horner tells him that it is just as easy to be cheated in the country as it is in the town, and he asks Pinchwife about his new bride. Pinchwife tells Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant that she is plain, stupid and awkward and that, because of this, there is no point bringing her to town or taking her out in society. Although Horner objects, Pinchwife says that this is how he likes his women and implies that he does not intend to educate her.
Pinchwife is under the impression that a “country wife” is more likely to be faithful to him because, he thinks, people from the country are naïve and simple. He believes that a country girl will lack the intelligence needed to have an affair. However, Pinchwife is foolish to assume this and Horner, who is more intelligent than Pinchwife and cannier about human nature, knows that people are the same everywhere. Pinchwife tells the men his wife is stupid and plain so that they will not want to seduce her.
Themes
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Town vs. Country Theme Icon
Horner insists that Pinchwife should bring his wife to town so that she may learn “wit” and conversation. Pinchwife grows angry and says indignantly that his wife will not make him a “cuckold,” even if Horner has his way. Hearing this, Harcourt and Dorilant realize that Pinchwife has not heard the rumors of Horner’s impotence. Horner tells Pinchwife that he saw him at the theatre the previous night with a pretty young woman and Pinchwife is horrified because Horner has seen his wife. He swears that he will never take her to the theatre again. 
Pinchwife assumes that educating a woman will make her dishonest. He believes that withholding knowledge is the way to control people and make them behave, since, without knowledge, they will remain innocent and will not have the experience to choose for themselves whether to be good or bad. This is a parody of Puritanism, which was popular in Britain before the Restoration and which encouraged censorship of vice in society.
Themes
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Town vs. Country Theme Icon
Literary Devices
Horner, Harcourt and Dorilant pester Pinchwife to tell them who this woman was, although they can tell from Pinchwife’s reaction that the pretty young woman at the theatre was his wife. Horner invites Pinchwife to dine with them but Pinchwife storms out. Harcourt jokes that he is going home to beat his wife and Horner remarks that it is common for men like Pinchwife, who have always been promiscuous, to become very jealous in old age.
Although Pinchwife tries to hide his wife’s identity, his furious reaction gives him away. He would not be angry if they had seen him with another woman, because he does not care if people believe he cheats on his wife; only if they believe she cheats on him. This shows that Pinchwife does not really care about his wife—he cares only about his reputation. He is also a hypocrite, as he expects total purity from his wife but not from himself.
Themes
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny  Theme Icon
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire  Theme Icon
Quotes