Dorilant Character Analysis

Dorilant is the companion of Horner and Harcourt and a well-known “rake.” Dorilant does not play a large role in the action of the play but is present in the background of many scenes. He makes up the third of Horner’s party so that the group of three “rakes” mirrors the group of three “honorable” ladies, Lady Fidget, Mrs. Dainty Fidget, and Mrs. Squeamish. Just as Dorilant and his friends know the “honorable” ladies by their reputations, and know that they pretend to be intolerably virtuous, the ladies know Dorilant by his reputation as a “lewd fellow” and refuse to allow him to accompany them to the theatre with Horner for fear that his presence will threaten their public image. Dorilant ends the play a confirmed bachelor and this suggests that he will continue to live a “rakish” life while Harcourt will soon be married to Alithea and while he believes Horner to be impotent.