The Country Wife is set in England during the Restoration period (1660-1688), which Wycherley himself lived through. Preceded by the Commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell, the Restoration period—as the name suggests—began with the restoration of the monarchy after King Charles II returned from exile. The monarchy had been previously upended by Cromwell in the Glorious Revolution, during which King Charles I was executed and power was ceded to parliament. Following the return of Charles II and the restoration of the monarchy to power, there was a significant resurgence and expansion of art, literature, and scientific discovery.
Furthermore, the Restoration era saw the rise of sexual libertinism, a response to Oliver Cromwell's Puritan values. Sexual libertines asserted their right to engage in sexual intercourse outside of marriage, resisting institutional structures and engaging in all manner of hedonistic indulgences. This philosophy features heavily in The Country Wife as a matter of discussion, with both male and female characters regularly engaging in flirtation and seduction outside the bounds of marriage.
The dichotomy between town and country is also crucial to the setting of The Country Wife, given that it provides structure to some of the crucial moral and social conflicts in this comedy of manners. The countryside represents traditional values, chastity, and Puritanism. The city, on the other hand, is a locus of sexual liberation and intellectual exploration, where traditional roles can be superseded.
