The Country Wife

by

William Wycherley

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Blindness Symbol Icon

Blindness is associated with love in The Country Wife, which reflects the theatrical and literary traditions which Wycherly is drawing on throughout his play. When Harcourt first meets Alithea (Sparkish, her fiancé, introduces him to her), he claims that he could look at her “until he was as blind” as Sparkish. When Sparkish asks what Harcourt means, Harcourt tells him that he is “stock blind” because he is a “true lover.” In the theatrical tradition, love is often associated with the Greek God Cupid who is portrayed as blindfolded. This imagery implies that lovers are biased towards their beloved and can see no evil in them; therefore, it is easy to be fooled in love and they are metaphorically “blind.” Wycherly, who is writing an ironic and satirical comedy, subverts this tradition because the only real “lovers” in the play, Alithea and Harcourt, are able to see clearly where others are not. For example, Harcourt sees immediately that Sparkish does not really love Alithea and is marrying her for her money and Alithea literally sees through Harcourt’s disguise when he comes to her dressed as a parson. Sparkish, who is not a lover, is the one who is metaphorically blind. He cannot see the truth about himself, or his friends, who make fun of him constantly and really dislike him. While Sparkish does not believe Alithea at the end of the play when she is accused of having an affair with Horner, Harcourt knows instantly that this rumor is false and he correctly stands up for Alithea’s innocence. The theatrical and mercenery nature of love among the cynical characters is further emphasized when it is contrasted with Margery’s love letter to Horner. Horner says that it is the first love letter “without flames, darts” or “destinies.” This reference to darts is a reference to cupid and suggests that, while more experienced lovers may write extravagant confessions of love, these confessions are false compared with Margery’s unaffected and honest confession of love. Again, this suggests that it is lovers who see clearly and who are not blind in Wycherly’s play.

Blindness Quotes in The Country Wife

The The Country Wife quotes below all refer to the symbol of Blindness. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reputation, Appearance, and Hypocrisy  Theme Icon
).
Act 2 Quotes

Pinchwife: Ay, my dear, you must love me only, and not be like the naughty town-women, who only hate their husbands and love every man else; love plays, visits, fine coaches, fine clothes, fiddles, balls, treats, and so lead a wicked town-life.

Margery Pinchwife: Nay, if to enjoy all these things be a town-life, London is not so bad a place, dear.

Pinchwife: How! If you love me, you must hate London.

Alithea: The fool has forbid me discovering to her the pleasures of the town, and he is now setting her agog upon them himself.

Related Characters: Margery Pinchwife (speaker), Pinchwife (speaker), Alithea (speaker)
Related Symbols: Blindness
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
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