The Country Wife - Wycherley, Sintesi del corso di Letteratura Inglese

Scarica The Country Wife - Wycherley e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Letteratura Inglese solo su Docsity! RESTORATION DRAMA It’s in the second half of the 17th century. The monarchy was restored in 1660 after some revolutions and a civil war, when England had become a Republic. The social life in courts was restored too, also the theatre. Restoration drama developed in a different way compared to Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. It’s a different kind of theatre: - Political control  only 2 theatres were authorized to perform in London but they were enough because after the Puritan’s laws theatre was not to famous among the population. - Gender of performers  thanks to the Royal Decree, women were allowed to act - Shape of theatre  theatres were indoors (during Elizabethan drama they were outdoors and use in daylight, but they were destroyed during the revolution). Private indoor theatres were present also before the Revolution. After the Restoration companies perform in private buildings. Then the architect Christopher Wren designed the Duke’s Theatre and the Royal Theatre, where The Country Wife was performed). The shape was that of a fan: at the beginning there was a stage similar to that of Elizabethan called apron stage (actors move in this part of the stage), but then it will be receded - Reproduction of reality (parallel to the realism in prose between the late 17 th and the beginning of the 18th century)  actors performed to the apron stage next to the audience, they were very close to them and this adds realism. Realism was increased thanks to sceneries, which were moving painted backdrops that may change the context of the action. Theatre was not a theatre of words like Shakespeare. Realism was also increased because women can perform. THE COUNTRY WIFE There are 3 plot in the play: 1) Horner’s trick, he pretends to be impotent due to a venereal disease taken in France in order to be able to conquer husbands’ trust and can sex with their wives (like Lady Fidget) without ruining their reputation (reputation>honour for them) 2) Pinchwife tries to keep his wife away from Horner in order to not being cuckold by him 3) Harcourt’s flirt with Alithea In many Restoration comedies, these plots are centred in marriage and its risks, which was an important theme at the time. Marriage was a contract between families, women were subordinated to their husbands, they had not their properties, rights or they cannot get a divorce. Many writers criticized this and they wanted a free marriage Another important theme in the play is the opposition between the city, London life (centre of fashion and wit, especially around the court) and the countryside. Another important theme is the relationship between wives and husbands. This play is also studied by some critics. Gender Criticism studies how gender identities influence many literary works.  PROLOGUE – Horner addresses to the audience. He says that playwrights and poets are very brave because they are not tired of writing for an audience even if the audience doesn’t appreciate their work. In fact, they anticipate a negative reaction from the audience, they fight with critics creating a prologue in which they attack them. They fight to make themselves hear. Their work will not ask them to live but to obtain the best term from them. He knows that he’s just an actor and he will please the audience with what they want. But he will act badly if the audience wants to murder their work. Actors will give the audience whatever they want to win their approval. In Restoration theatres audience would not sit and watch but they were noisy and they participated in the action with their comments. For this reason authors have to please their audience in their writing. But he says that he will continue writing works even if they don’t like them. The first part reflects Wycherley’s point of view, the second part is about the actor’s point of view. Actors do not care about the quality of the work but about the audience’s reactions. So if the audience doesn’t like a play, the actor will act badly to make the audience laugh. The playwright’s work is affected by the actor’s interpretation and the audience’s reaction. ACT 1  Scene 1 – it’s set in London. Horner speaks with Quack, his doctor. He asks him to spread the rumour that he had become impotent, eunuch. He wants people to believe that he’s not sexually active any longer, because husbands will not be afraid of leaving their wives with him and he will have free access to them. He repeats “city” 3 times: it represents the emerging financial middle class. Quack mentions Whitehall, which is the court. There are all sectors of higher society that were performed in Restoration Drama. The high society represents the heroes of these comedies (= London Comedies) like Horner. The high society were those who went to the theatre at the time. Horner wants to have access of wives of the higher society because he knows that they hate their husbands. It’s one of the themes of the play  hypocrisy in marriage. This comedy is a comedy of manners, it’s a satire against the customs and manners of the high society of London. Horner compares husbands to rich men and gamesters, wives were seen as property. Horner’s character is very clever, humorous, he represents the character of the Wit. He’s able to entertain and please people with great ability. France is seen as the cause of his disease, at the time it was seen as a libertine country. But France was an inspiration for theatre thanks to Moliere (Wycherley studied there and he was influenced by their culture too). - Sir Jasper Fidget, his wife Lady Fidget and his sister Mrs Dainty Fidget arrive. They have heard of the false rumour, he keeps laughing at Horner’s condition. Horner defines him a “former fool”. Horner confirms that he became impotent and says that he hates women (= I have taken my leave of the sex), they are monsters. Jaspar keeps repeating “sir” because he’s very formal and Horner imitates him to make fun of him. Horner says that he cannot make husbands cuckolds any longer (he makes horns too), Jasper laughs and mentions Mercury. It’s a pun  it can refer to the God of Wit, or to the winged helmet of Mercury (similar to horns) or mercury that cured venereal diseases (the one who made Horner impotent). The women are disgusted by him because he hates women. They call themselves “women of virtue and quality” because they love their husbands. Horner unmasked their hypocrisy: he says that their virtue is their hypocrisy. There’s a pun on “could”: Lady Fidget is offended by him and asks him if he ruined her honour, Horner said “If I could” but Jasper misinterpreted it, connecting it with his impotence. Jasper leaves his wife with Horner while he’s doing some business because now he’s impotent and she cannot betray him (he suggests to play cards together = he makes fun of him). Horner’s plan is working. Jasper is going to Whitehall, to the king’s council. He represents the patriarchal society, a society in which women had not dominant roles. Jasper sees Horner as emasculate, not virile and he gives him a domestic role as if he were a woman. But Horner’s plan will change social and sexual categories. Jasper goes away, Lady Fidget and Mrs Dainty go away too because they pretend to be disgusted by him. - Horner exposes the hypocrisy of the society. There’s a pun in “disabuse”: it means “show them the real truth, that he’s sexually active” or “free them from falsehood”, liberate their true sexual desire creates amusement. Pinchwife is angry with his sister and accuses her of corrupting his wife, of being immoral and imprudent. His sister replies that the honour of their family will be destroyed by Margery and not by her (= prediction) because she only takes some innocent freedom in the town but she goes out with honourable friends. Alithea makes some references to his brother scandalous past (=ill women frequent my lodgings, also Horner calls him whoremaster). She’s a female wit, with a great linguistic abilities. In the Puritan point of view, women are corrupted and they have to be taught by men like Pinchwife. Pinchwife asks her sister not to tell Margery about beautiful places in the city in which she can find good men, he wants to keep her ignorant. Margery tells him that he loves the countryside more that the city but she’s still curious to know more about London. Pinchwife affirms that women in the city have a wicked life because they don’t love their husbands and they are only interested in plays, clothes and balls. He’s trying to making her hate London because he wants to be able to control her. But this increases Margery’s curiosity and desire. He forbids her to go the theatre again but she says that this prohibition makes her desire to go there more than before. At the time theatre was a place of social life and eroticism, where women’s bodies were exposed. Pinchwife tries to repress her desire but at the same time he had already taken her there, so she had already tasted this feeling. The more she’s locked up at home, the more she desires a social life. Alithea is very witty because she comments her brother’s behaviour in many asides ironically. He doesn’t want to take her to the theatre because he’s afraid that someone might like her and she can fall in love with someone else, he doesn’t want to be a cuckold. He tells her that Horner was in love with her. This increases her desire to know Horner (he’s behaving in an absurd way because he’s going against himself). - Sparkish and Harcourt enter. Margery is locked in a room by her husband, who also calls her “baggage” (sgualdrina). Sparkish (=fop) has brought Harcourt (=wit) to meet Alithea, whom is going to marry tomorrow. There’s a pun in “know”  Sparkish wants Hercourt to know her wife, Pinchwife is referring to knowing sexually. He’s a fop, so he’s not jealous: he wants them to see his fiancée and he wants her to welcome them (he will ask them to stay alone to talk and know them better). Pinchwife doesn’t understand this behaviour, he was more jealous and we see this is his asides (=monstrous, wonderful). Sparish insists in looking at his fiancée, they had to admire her beauty. He’s happy because he notices that Harcourt likes her. Alithea makes fun of Harcourt for being a wit (they had a negative vision of marriage). Harcourt is flirting to his wife in front of him but he doesn’t realize that. Harcourt says that he’s sad because she’s marring Sparkish, he would like to break this match. Sparkish thinks that his friend is only kind to him, he also thinks he’s very funny (= that was prettily said of me, ha?). He’s compassionate about his friend because he’s sad (= poor Frank), he thinks that Harcourt is sad because he’s losing a friend now that he’s married. Harcourt is sad because he’s fallen in love with his wife. He courts her, he says that he can look at her until becoming blind (=theme, true lovers are blind, stock blind). Then he leaves them together in the corner to talk privately. Alithea tries to tell him that it’s not right but he doesn’t listen to her. Meanwhile, Pinchwife tells him off because he’s letting another man court his sister without doing anything and he tries to separate them but Sparkish stops him. They start a fight. Harcourt and Alithea are talking, he asks her to break her marriage but she says she cannot do it, she wants to be loyal to Sparkish. Harcourt tries to change her mind, he says he loves her and that Sparkish doesn’t because he’s not jealous (= it’s the infallible sign of love). Alithea answers that he’s not jealous only because he trusts her and that he loves her because he’ll marry her. But Harcourt says that he’s marring her for money, because marriage was a sign of interest (=theme), he wanted to make a fortune. But he was truly in love with her, he wasn’t interested in money. She marries him because she doesn’t want to lose her reputation. When he’s flirting with her, she calls her husband because she needs help but he says that it’s not true that he’s flirting, he’s not jealous. Alithea wants to tell Sparkish what Harcourt did, she said that he offended him. Harcourt offends her husband (= coward, idiot, wretch) and she wants to tell this to Sparkish. He said that he’s not offended because they are always joking. He always says “we wits” because he’s convinced to be a wit. He’s convinced that Harcourt said this to be funny. There’s a pun: “parts” is referred to “intellect” but also to “sexual parts”. He’s not offended by any of the insults but only by “idiot”. He’s angry because his wit/intellect has been insulted. That’s a characteristic of the fop: he wants to be clever as a wit but he’s not, he’s only ridiculed. He’s ready to fight against Harcourt but Alithea stops him. - There’s an opposition between the characters  true wits are clever, intelligent (Harcourt, Alithea, Horner), fops are not (Sparkish), he wishes to be a wit. Pinchwife is witless. The opposition between witwoulds and truewits is the linguistic language. For example there are 2 metaphors very common in the play  war (it’s represented by the word “enemy”) and game. Truewits always defeat linguistically fops. - Alithea admits that she feels something for him and she defends him. She’s torn between her honour and her feelings. Here begins their story (= third plot). Sparkish invites her to go to the play together, he invites also Harcourt to stay with her, so he can continue courting her. Harcourt and Alithea are a witty couple, they court each other with linguistic witty and they will have an happy ending. Harcourt and Horner are 2 rakes but they are different  Harcourt is a libertine who changes his behaviour because he really loves Alithea (=reformed rake) ; Horner is a ruthless libertine, he doesn’t love Margery. - Lady Fidget, Mrs Dainty Fidget and Mrs Squeamish arrive. They have come to take Margery to the play but he didn’t want her to go to the theatre anymore. He makes himself ridiculous by telling them many excuses, he tells them that his wife is not at home but they don’t believe him. He also tells them that his wife has a smallpox but they are expert because they all had it. He has no choice but going away (= quit the field, another word related to war). Once alone, they start complaining about their husbands and men of quality’s behaviour. They think that wives are neglected and that men of quality do not respect women of quality like them, they offend their honour saying that they lied with them when it’s not true. But they say that they will not lose their honour if they go with common men, instead of men of quality. Another important part of the comedy of manners was gossip and conversations. Their conversation is about the loss of honour  it depends on the men one loses her honour to, it’s not a standard value but a relative value (= hypocrisy). In the conversation they also mention their sexual desire but they suddenly change the subject (= Dainty said that the pleasure should be less). Their desire wants to come out and it will come out thanks to Horner. - Sir Jasper, Horner and Dorilant arrive. The 3 women pretend to be scandalized by the 2 libertines (Horner and Dorilant), they want to leave the room. She also asks her husband not to tell the word “naked”, he uses it metaphorically. In an aside, Horner says that they only pretend to have an honour but in reality they have not. Jasper has some business to do at Whitehall so he asks Horner to keep them company at the theatre. But they are horrified by him, they are disgusted. Horner’s monologue  he points their hypocrisy, they pretend to have an honour by censuring other people. He compares them to critics and fops, who pretend to have a wit criticizing others. Horner pretends to hate women because he’s impotent, Jasper tries to convince him. Dorilant suggests that he can keep their company but Fidget thinks that Horner will be better for this role. Dorilant says that he has no hidden intentions with them, he only wants to keep their company. There’s another reference to gamers  ombre player was a play of cards, it’s related to gamesters and libertines. Horner compares women to dogs, but he says that dogs are better that women because they are more faithful. The women are angrier and Jasper tries to calm them. He says that he can play cards with them because he’s a very good player and he loves playing too. Besides, he has a lot of money too (= reference to games). Lady Fidget is convinced because of the money. To convince Horner he offers him the job of gallons, he couldn’t court women but he could work with them, play with them, eat with them. He invites him at his house to spend time with his wife, play cards with her. Jasper told his wife about Horner’s emasculation. Lady Fidget’s behaviour towards Horner changes, she understands that he’s pretending to have lost his virility. Horner makes fun of Jasper with the word “freedom”  he (and Lady Fidget) uses this with a sexual meaning, Jasper has a different meaning. It’s typical of the comedy, they play with linguistic words creating puns and double meaning that the husbands cannot understand but the wives and the wits can. Squeamish says that Horner is a good playfellow but it’s a double meaning (= gamers), she says that he’ll be her sexual fellow. - Horner and Lady Fidget are speaking alone. In their conversation they use many double meaning, they increase their sexual desire. She thanks him for being a man of honour who sacrifice his reputation for women of honour. She says that he’s sacrificing his reputation so that they can have sex together. He will be suffering a big shame (= being considered impotent) so that women don’t lose their reputation. She makes sure his virility is still intact (= perfectly repeated 2 times). He says that she can try him (= have sex with him) and that her reputation will be safe because nobody will believe him if he says the truth. They use words subtly, they don’t use the literal meaning of a word but the double meaning, they don’t use scandalous words. So she allows him to have sex with her. Here it’s presented an important theme  the importance of appearance over reality: if their appearances are safe, they’re safe too. - There are other double meaning: Jasper says “pleasure” but with a different meaning than Horner/ Lady Fidget. His pleasure is business, go to Whitehall, their pleasure is sex. in his phrase there’s a chiasmus  business/pleasure. The closing lines are poetical from Lady Fidget, she plays with the double meaning of “business” (make money vs her pleasure). In the Elizabethan Drama, rhyming lines were a sign of changing in the stage. Here the final lines are ironical and witty. Horner makes fun at Jasper (= as I’d have it means that his plan worked, he can have sex with her). Lady Fidget says that she would rather laid with Horner than to name him (= that’s what she will do). ACT 3  Scene 1 – it’s in Pinchwife’s house. The opening is similar to the opening of Act 2. Margery is depressed because she can’t go to town and she speaks with Alithea. She compares herself as a poor bird in a cage (simile). This image is very famous to describe women’s oppression, it will be used also by Mary Wollstonecraft in her feminist pamphlet “A vindication of the righs of woman”. She envies Alithea who is free to go everywhere she wants. Margery wants to live a good life like town ladies, she wants to go to dancing, wear beautiful dresses and play ninepins (= birilli, it’s a play related to the countryside). - Pinchwife arrives and he tells his sister off because she’s increasing Margery’s desire of going out. She said she’s a bad example for Margery. Alithea says that it’s his fault, because he took her to the theatre yesterday and now she wants to go out again. Pinchwife insists that his wife was innocent until she met Alithea. HH e believes that forbidding Margery something will prevent her of sinning but Alithea know that if she’s not allowed to do something, her desire is stronger. Pinchwife represents Puritans, he’s also a misogynist because he sees his sister as an object to give to Sparkish. He’s happy because tomorrow Alithea will marry Sparkish and he will get rid of her. Alithea is a wit, she is sarcastic in her answers, she makes fun of her brother. Pinchwife says that the tomorrow they’ll be back to the countryside but Margery is ill and melancholic because she’s still thinking about Horner. Pinchwife says that her illness will make him jealous but Margery doesn’t know what that means (= innocent). In an aside, Pinchwife says that it’s his fault if she makes him cuckold because he’s the maker of his own fortune. Margery asks him to take her to the theatre because she wants to see the actors and Horner. Margery is innocent with the ways of the city, she doesn’t know that she has to be loyal to Pinchwife. She doesn’t know that she has to loves to be envied by others, he says that having rivals is more exciting because it’s boring to love someone alone. Then he leaves to go to Whitehall. Harcourt tells her that he will come to see her the next morning but Pinchwife takes her away from him. He had understood Harcourt’s real intentions. They are an insult for him because his sister’s honour is connected to his own, so she cannot lose it. - Horner and Dorilant arrive. Pinchwife is trying to escape because he says that he has some business to do. Horner asks him about that pretty young boy who was with him and he said it’s Margery’s brother. He insists that he should stay with them while Pinchwife does his business but Pinchwife refuses. Horner sees that the boy looks like Margery, the lady he was in love with and Margery finally realizes that he was her admires. He’s very happy and she said that she is already in love. Pinchwife notices the chemistry between them. Maybe Horner, Dorilant and Harcourt have discovered her disguise because they make many references and comparisons to Margery’s beauty. Horner says that her wife is very beautiful, Pinchwife should be jealous because every men will love her. Pinchwife doesn’t want to let him/her with Horner because he thinks he will be influenced badly by him. They describe her as a glorious creature, the most beautiful on earth. Margery is very pleased and she almost reveals herself. Pinchwife is tortured by the 3 wits, he says that it’s a rack for him (= ruota della tortura). - Horner notices that Pinchwife is suffering for the situation, so he continues to torture him. They kiss the young boy/Margery in front of him with the excuse of giving these kisses to his sister. Pinchwife is furious but he cannot reveal her identity. Margery is very happy for this, she repeats “indeed” 2 times. Horner manages to walk away with Margery. When Pinchwife discovers this, he speaks fragmentally, because he’s very tortured and suffering. Alithea and Lucy wanted to follow them but Harcourt and Dorilant stop them. Pinchwife looks for them but he cannot find them, so he blames his sister. Meanwhile Harcourt continues to seducing Alithea. Margery returns with some oranges and dried fruit. Pinchwife makes some allusions of him becoming a cuckold: he touches his forehead to say that he will have horns soon, and he says that Horner has squeezed his orange (= Margery), that’s why she’s out of breath. Margery is innocent and doesn’t realize the sexual allusion behind these oranges. - Jasper arrives and tells that his wife is waiting for Horner at their house. Dorilant wants to come with him but Jasper says that they cannot stay with women of honour, Horner can because he’s impotent. These women don’t want to stay with those rakes. Horner leaves with Jasper. Dorilant and Harcourt comment on Horner’s fortune of being surrounding by women and they are sorry for him because he cannot use this privilege. Margery offers half of the orange to her husband, who throws it away. He says that while Horner provided the treat, he’s the one who’s paying for it (= he will be cuckold). The last 2 lines rhyme and they are seen as a changing in stage. ACT 4  Scene 1 – it’s in Pinchwife’s house. It’s the next morning, Lucy dresses Alithea for her wedding with ornaments and perfumes. She admits that Alithea is pretty but she says that she thinks she has wasted her effort because she compares Sparkish’s bed with a stinking grave. She compares her wedding with a death because Alithea will be mistreated by a man who doesn’t love her. Lucy is angry because Alithea sent Harcourt away but she says that it’s because she loves him and she cannot betray Sparkish, she had already promised her love to him. She cannot change her mind because of her honour or break the engagement. She is truly honourable (≠ Lady Fidget) and she cannot cheat on Sparkish even if she doesn’t like him. Lucy thinks that Alithea cannot marry someone she doesn’t like but Alithea says that time will make her love him, Lucy disagrees. She compares this with someone who play to become rich (= gaming), they only lose the little they had before it. Lucy finds Sparkish a fool, whereas Harcourt a real gentlemen with a wit. - Lucy thinks that women put so much interest in their honour but it’s not good. Alithea feels obliged to marry Sparkish because he has faith in her honour and because he’s not jealous, which is an important thing in a man. He’s not jealous because he doesn’t care about her and he doesn’t notice it. But Lucy tells her that Sparkish’s virtue is credulity, and it’s not positive because he looks like a fool. Alithea doesn’t want to marry a jealous husband because they treat badly their wives (= Margery). She’s afraid that a jealous husband sends her to the country (= Margery). Lucy says that the country terrifies the city girl as the thought of going in a monastery. Lucy’s idea of marriage is love instead of a contract. - Sparkish arrives with Harcourt dressed as a parson. He says he’s Harcourt’s brother, Ned, who was a parson. Sparkish is so fooland he believes it. Alithea recognizes him and she’s amazed by all Harcourt’s tricks to end her marriage. Lucy recognizes him too, she does a double meaning: she says that Ned/Harcourt will be her own chaplain and he will preach in her pulpit soon (= have sex with her). Sparkish explains that Ned and Frank are twins, they are so alike and that’s why she is confused. This is a strategy often used in the theatre to create comedy, misunderstandings and deceits (es. Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors). He’s convinced that Frank called his brother to help them, but Harcourt is making fun of him (wit ≠ fop). Sparkish believes to be too intelligent to be fooled but he is. Alithea tries to convince him but he doesn’t believe her (he’s too stupid). Lucy says that he looks like a chaplain (= servants know them very well because they had often relationships with them) because he also speak as a chaplain. Harcourt insists that he’s a chaplain and he wants to marry them that morning. Alithea wants to postpone the wedding, Lucy tries to convince her too and Sparkish takes her away to marry her. Harcourt says that he wants to marry her, it’s a pun  “marry” means also to perform a ceremony or marry.  Scene 2 – it’s in Pinchwife’s bedroom. Margery and him are in bed together. Pinchwife asks her what happened between her and Horner when he took her away. She’s inexperienced and she doesn’t understand jealousy. She thinks he’s asking that because he likes to hear the story. He takes advantage of her innocence because he’s looking for some inconsistences in her story, he wants to see if she’s lying. He looks like a policeman, he feels pleasure while he’s asking her that (maybe because he’s masochist or because he’s happy to have a power over her). - She says that Horner took her inside a house to give her dried fruit and china oranges (= it’s an important word for Horner, it means sex and seduction). Then he kissed her many times and told her to bring these kisses to Margery. Then he said that he would have been there the next day to see Margery. Pinchwife is happy because she’s too innocent and she confesses this innocently, she cannot realize what really happened. She also said that he kissed her with his tongue and she liked it too, she would do it again because he’s a good man and she cannot resist him. She’s too innocent to understand that she cannot admit this to Pinchwife. Pinchwife is a misogynist because he says that women are born to be slave, they are fool and silly but thanks to love they learn to deceive. He says an apostrophe against love  women are inferior to man, they are created to be oppressed by nature and heaven (biology and religion are important in a patriarch society). So he wants to stop her before love teaches her how to deceive him. He admits that she loves him, but not enough yet. He has a plan to stop this: he asks her to take a paper, a pen and ink. - He wants her to write a letter to Horner, he’s going to dictate what she will write. But she’s confused because she knows that letters should be sent from the country to London and vice versa. But Horner is in the town so she can see him. At first she seems like she’s no more innocent but she is, because she trusts her husband when he says that she can write a letter to someone in the town if the husband says that. He dictates that Horner’s kisses disgusted her and that she doesn’t want to see him again. Margery tries not to write something that her husband dictates but her husband obliges her to do it, then she finishes the letter. Pinchwife is violent with her, he calls her “whore”. Pinchwife’s controls have gone against him  he wanted to control her but he increased her desire, he talked to her about men, he took her to the theatre. His insult can be symbolic because he’s the one who enters her to the London society. Pinchwife goes and takes a wax and a candle to close the letter. - When he’s out, she reflects on what to do. She doesn’t want to send him this letter because it’s not true. But she’s afraid that her husband kills her if she doesn’t send it. She decides to send a second letter to Horner in which she confesses her love. Pinchwife has tried to keep his wife under his control but he has freed her. He taught her how to write letters, he didn’t want to because he wanted to keep her ignorant. This is a parody of Puritanism, which tries to keep people away from vices by censuring them but they are only encouraging them. Margery is ignorant of the way of the town but she learns quickly, she learns how to trick her husband. She learns to be a lady of the town. Her husband arrives and checks the letter. She gives him the first letter but she asks him to seal the letter. She swaps the 2 letters and seals the second one. Pinchwife goes out to send the letter to Horner. She easily tricks him because she’s learning fast. While he’s out, he locks her up in her bedroom and he denies her to come at the window. He’s very manipulated, violent and he thinks he’s superior to her. At the end, he reflects in an aside that women are very dangerous and he has to keep them even with deceits. He sees her as an object, he has to keep it away from other men that would like to possess her. He compares her as a forced town, which has to be protected from the enemies.  Scene 3 – it’s in Horner’s house. The quick has returned to ask Horner how his plan is working and he’s shocked about his progresses. Horner tells that he spent time with civil persons, husbands think that he’s impotent while wives know his secret. He uses the word “civil” ironically, because they’re honourable only in public but not in private. Horner exposes the hypocrisy of the higher society. He uses a religious simile and a metaphor that links religion and theatre. The quack is impressed by this and he wants to know how women behave in private. He tells him that women are more worried for their appearance in the world than their real appearance. They don’t care about sins or vices but they don’t want to give scandals. - Lady Fidget arrives and Horner tells the quack to hide behind a screen to see how his plan is working. That strategy is often used in theatres to discover important secrets, the quack was a spectator (= theatre was very important in this play, the play is very meta-theatrical, there are many theatrical strategies in the play). Horner starts to seduce her but she stops him and tells him to preserve her honour well. He says that her honour will be protected by him and her secret too. Horner is tired to hear her talk about her honour but she says that a woman of her reputation has to be careful, because her friends will surely talk about that. If he tells other woman that he’s impotent, her secret will be ruined, this secret can be only known by them 2 because if more people know that, it will be worst. Horner says that in order to keep her honour, he will sleep with many women to ruin their reputations too. Horner compares himself to Machiavelli  he was used as a symbol of immorality at the time, he was compared to many evil characters too (also in the Elizabethan Drama). These characters are related to the religious Morality Play of the Middle Ages. Rakes were not only negative characters, they can be also heroes because they are against the authority, the society. Rakes are obsessed with eroticism. She hugs him but her husband arrives. She pretends that she’s tickling Horner and her husband believes it. She pretends to be angry at Horner because he was rude to her and because he didn’t catch her. He was her sister, who wants to talk to him. Margery whispers to Horner that she wants to speak to him alone and Pinchwife goes out. Meanwhile he wants to look for a parson to get them married and he will tell everything to Sparkish. He’s happy because he’s got rid of his sister: he compares sisters as usurers’ money (= it’s better when they are invested) and wives to usurers’ money too (= it’s better when they are locked and protected). - Jasper arrives (Horner is tired of him). He tells him that his wife and her friends are organizing a masked ball and they are inviting Horner. Horner accepts. Masked balls were common in the Restoration period, because rich people could flirt without showing their identities and losing their honour.  Scene 3 – it’s set outside, in Piazza of Covent Garden. Pinchwife shows Sparkish the letter that Alithea sent to Horner, Sparkish is shocked, he’s angry with her and he wants to talk to her. In the street he sees Alithea and Lucy and he follows them. They are going in Horner’s house, so he thinks that she has really cheated on him. - He accuses her of cheating on him and she’s confused, she thinks he’s drunk. He calls her “false” and he says he has never loved her, he wanted to marry her only for her money and he planned to leave her after the first night of marriage. He accuses her without listening to her, she cannot explain. Lucy knows about Margery’s plan and she understands everything. She tells Alithea that it’s better because he’s jealous, so he was not a good match. Alithea realises that he doesn’t care about her and she’s happy of having broken up with him. She cannot realises that her brother wants her to marry Horner, she would rather marry Harcourt. She thinks that her brother broke the engagement because he realized that Sparkish is not a good candidate. She feels lucky because she has avoided to a man that would take her in the country to be free of having fun in the city alone, without her.  Scene 4 – in Horner’s house, Lady Fidget, Mrs Dainty and Mrs Squeamish arrived for the masquerade. Horner didn’t have time to talk to Margery and he was afraid that they could see her, so he locks her in the room (= like her husband always does with her, now it’s her lover that treats her as an object). The ladies have brought alcohol and planned to get very drunk. They decided to be honest and to tell the truth in front of Horner. They feel free from social life when they are with him. - Lady Fidget sings a song about their husbands and wine  it’s against those tyrants (= husbands) who oppress them, they leave them in bed alone every night while they are having a party and drinking. Men always choose wine over women and they aren’t allowed to drink, they’re always sober. Men are witty when they drink, women are weak against men because they are sober. So she says that women should drink and have fun too, like men do. Restoration wives are always sad because they are inferior to men, they have not many liberties, they cannot be seen in public like other men because they will be judged, while men can. Wine is their only comfort, they can be brave like men when they drink, they will be honest about their pleasures. They continue to drink and to curse their husbands and keepers. They are angry because men usually prefer common women instead of women of honour. They compare them to stuffs (stoffe)  men choose them because they are cheaper and more common, richest stuffs (= women of honour) are not asked. They ask Horner why men of wit prefer to have fun in a club instead of eat alone with them in a table. He answers that it was difficult to eat in a club, because everyone wanted to take his piece of food (= every man wants to eat a woman), they prefer other man’s meat because they didn’t paid for it (= another man’s woman). They prefer those clubs because they have more freedom with women. But Lady Fidget says that he could have freedom in her house too, because she likes wild men more than boring ones. He’s surprised to know that they like wild men because they are always insulting them, but they confess that they are doing this for their honour and reputation. They use their reputation to deceit everyone, to cheat (= like men do). They are sad because they have to keep their reputation in front of the world. They say that when they are masked they are truer than when they don’t have a mask on. They have to pretend to be virtuous, but they really like wild men, they use their reputation because they don’t want to be judged from the society. They pretend to be honourable to get rid of their husbands and enjoy a better company. - Horner says that honourable women are also expensive to keep, they had to buy them jewels, china and other things. He compares this to merchants  they put high prices to find a better offer, so women choose a man who can pay everything they need. They say that men have to be generous to them and buy them presents to prove their love. Then, Lady Fidget is drunk and she confesses that Horner is her lover. Their friends are shocked because he was also their lover. He confesses that he’s their lover and they accept to keep their secret and to share Horner between them, because it’s more important to keep their reputation and honour. Honour is based on what people think of you, it’s not important if it’s a lie or not. They cannot expose him because they will expose themselves too, so they choose to share him. - Jasper and Old Squeamish arrive to take them but Pinchwife and Sparkish were arriving. Horner sends them all away and take Margery out of the room. He asks her to go home because he was in trouble now but she refuses. She asks her to go before her husband sees her but she says she’s not afraid of him and Horner will be her husband now. She observed town ladies and she has learned from them that it’s possible to leave her husband and leave with another man, even if she’s married. She exposes the hypocrisy of town ladies, who cheat on their husbands. She doesn’t want to be married to Pinchwife because she doesn’t love him, she loves Horner and wants to marry him (= marriage of love was not common at the time). Then Horner locks her in the room again. - Pinchwife, Alithea, Harcourt, Sparkish and Lucy arrive. Alithea tells them that she didn’t meet Horner before but Pinchwife says that he brought her there before. They ask Horner to be a witness but he chooses to protect Margery’s honour and he confirms that Alithea was there before. She betrays Alithea’s honour to protect Margery. Sparkish believes him but Harcourt believes Alithea and he’s sure that she’s telling the truth. Horner protects Margery because she’s in love with him and he could get something (= sex) from her, he couldn’t get anything from Alithea, he knows she’s innocent. Harcourt really loves her and tries to protect her honour, she asks Horner for an explanation, he wants some proofs because he knows she’s innocent. Sparkish is a bad husband because he doesn’t believe her. Harcourt suggests to marry Alithea to save her reputation but Pinchwife disagrees, he says that Horner has to marry her because he ruined her reputation and he takes his sword. Margery is seeing everything from the room and she enters inside because she saw Pinchwife with a sword, she wanted to help Horner. She reveals that she’s in love with Horner and she wants to marry him. Alithea recognized Margery from her disguise, she’s a pure character. Pinchwife is angry with his wife and tries to attack her and Horner with his sword but he’s stopped by Harcourt. - Jasper, Lady Fidget, Mrs Dainty, Mrs Squeamish and Old Squeamish arrive, Jasper asks what’s happening. There’s a pun  Jasper says “communicate” (= relazione, cosa è successo) but Pinchwife says that Margery has a relationship. Pinchwife tells him that Horner has a relationship with his wife and that he should have one with Lady Fidget too, and her friends. At first, Jasper laughs because he knows that he’s impotent but then he thinks that he’s lying and that maybe he’s slept with his wife too. Lucy tries to explain everything, she tries to save Margery and Horner  she said that she created the plan in order to break Alithea’s wedding with Sparkish to let her marry Harcourt. Margery denies, she doesn’t want to lie anymore and she repeats that she loves Horner. She’s too innocent and she doesn’t understand that she has to lie to protect her reputation. She’s the disturbing character here. - Dorilant and the quack arrive, the quack tells them that Horner is really impotent and Jasper believes him because he’s a doctor. But he’s a quack, it’s an ironic name because he shouldn’t trust him, Jasper is a fool because he does. Pinchwife doesn’t believe him at first but everyone in the room tells him that after his trip to France he’s been impotent and that everyone in the city knows that. Margery tells again that it’s not true but the others stopped her. Margery understands that she will stay with Pinchwife forever, there are no other possibilities and she adapts to the hypocrisy of the city. Alithea says that men should always trust women, that is a lesson that they all should have learned. Harcourt says that he wants to marry her but he will not be a jealous husband. At the end Horner suggests to do a ball, there’s a dance of cuckolds  Horner says that only vain men want to be seen as womanizer by other men, those who really want to be womanizer must let other men look down on them. It was a theatrical way to end the play, as a sign that everything is resolved. The final lines rhymed, because it’s a sign that the play was ending, they are pronounced by Pinchwife and Horner.  Epilogue – it was spoken by Lady Fidget. In her speech she makes fun of men. She criticizes young men, who always seduce girls and promises them a lot of things but when girls seems to be interested in them, they run away and try to seduce another one, but they are just lying. They seduce young actresses but they don’t want a serious relationship, they want to have fun with them. She criticizes old men, who are proud of sleeping with many women but their friends make fun of them. She criticises those who try to impress women with riches, while women laugh at them and take advantage of them. She says that they don’t have to imitate Horner. Men can be fooled by other men but women are more intelligent than them and can recognize them. - Harcourt is a reformed rake thanks to his love to Alithea  they are a positive couple - Horner is not a reformed rake, he continues to be a libertine. His sexuality is a critic to the hypocrisy of the society. So he will not be punished at the end of the play - The play is inspired by Moliere but they are also different because they have different ethical values