Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Country Wife, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy
Love, Marriage, and Misogyny
Theatre, Puritanism, and Forbidden Desire
Town vs. Country
Summary
Analysis
Later that night, in Pinchwife’s house, Pinchwife corners Margery and demands that she finish writing the letter to Horner; he wants to see how she intends to conclude it. Margery resignedly agrees and Pinchwife is shocked when she signs the letter from Alithea. Pinchwife is amazed and Margery tells him that Alithea had Margery write the letter for her so that, if Horner tried to use it to shame her, it would not be in her handwriting.
During their separation, Margery has come up with a plan to protect herself from Pinchwife’s violence if he believes she has tried to “cuckold” him. She passes the blame for the letter onto Alithea because Pinchwife does not care as much about his sister’s honor as he does about his wife’s and Alithea is not yet officially married to Sparkish.
Themes
Pinchwife believes that Margery is telling the truth because he does not believe that she could concoct a story like this. He believes now that Horner is the “rival” that was mentioned to Sparkish and that Alithea has thrown off her marriage because she is in love with him, too. Pinchwife asks where Alithea is and Margery says that she has been crying upstairs all day.
Pinchwife underestimates Margery’s intelligence and so falls for her trick. Margery thinks quickly and demonstrates that, although she is young and naïve, she is clever and a fast learner.
Themes
Pinchwife wants to go and speak with Alithea but Margery stops him and says that she had better go instead. As she leaves the room, Margery wonders how she will get out of this confusing web of lies. While she is gone, Pinchwife thinks happily that he will let Horner marry Alithea because then he will not be interested in Margery, as she will be his sister-in-law.
Pinchwife only thinks about his own reputation and comfort, and not of his wife and sister’s feelings. He wishes to marry Alithea off to Horner, although he believes him to be a dishonorable rake, because it will be convenient for him and set his mind at rest about Margery.
Themes
Margery returns and says that Alithea wants to be taken to Horner’s house so that she can decide the matter with him first. She is so ashamed, Margery says, that she will only come if she is allowed not to speak and to wear a mask and if all the lights are put out. Pinchwife hastily agrees and blows out the candle.
Margery tricks Pinchwife into blowing out the candles so that she can conceal her identity in the darkness.
Themes
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Margery slips out again and comes back masked and dressed as Alithea. Pinchwife goes to lock Margery back in her room and, in the dark, she steals behind him so that he thinks he has locked her in when, in fact, he has not. He then takes Margery by the hand and leads her away to Horner’s.
She returns disguised as Alithea and tricks Pinchwife again. He thinks he has locked Margery in the room and that Alithea is with him, when really it is Margery. These types of identity swaps are common in farce.
Themes
