Sir Jasper Fidget Character Analysis

Sir Jasper Fidget is a wealthy businessman, the husband of Lady Fidget and the brother of Mrs. Dainty Fidget. It is implied that Sir Jasper has made his money through business and is not a member of the nobility. Sir Jasper is a resident of the city, the business center of London, rather than the Town, where members of Charles II’s court and the gentry live. His inferior social status is reflected in his obsession with business rather than sensuality; he prefers to work rather than spend time seducing women. As the Restoration was a period which celebrated aristocracy and the idle pursuits of the very rich, men like Sir Jasper were looked down upon and made to be “fools” on the stage, as they did not meet the ideals of the age and were associated with the common and vulgar practices of business and making money. Sir Jasper is a “cuckold” and represents a stock figure on the Restoration stage. He is totally oblivious to his wife’s infidelity, even inadvertently aiding her in cheating, and he is a figure of ridicule for the audience, who expect to see him outsmarted. Sir Jasper pushes his wife and sister to spend time with Horner and even, ironically, mocks Horner for his impotence. Sir Jasper never realizes that he is being tricked and feels that, instead, he is getting one over on Horner, as he leaves Horner in charge of his wife and sister, whom he views as an annoyance. Sir Jasper’s blindness to Horner’s true motives is most blatantly exploited for laughs in the famous “china scene,” in which Horner makes love to Lady Fidget, under the pretense of fighting with her over a piece of rare china, while Sir Jasper listens happily and makes jokes in an adjoining room.