The Country Wife (Drama Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Wycherley: a man, a genius
Review: Far from being a silly comedy, The Country Wife is a work aimed at lashing Seventeenth Century loose morals. We laugh, of course, but through the alluring yet disturbing character of Horner, we perceive that something must be done if Restoration society wants to survive.

Wicherley presents us with unhappy wives and brutal or indifferent husbands who are utlimately fooled by Horner, the man who knows how to exploit the misery produced by mercenary unions. Poor Margery Pinchwife, the heroine of the piece, eventually brings tears in our eyes when we realize that she shall never be free from a violent man that considers marriage a cheaper substitute for keeping a mistress. Margery is the victim of both her husband and her careless lover. She is looking for love, but she keeps on coming across men who are interested in sex only. They can see her body; they can't see her delicate, naif soul.

However, Whycherley (who, we must remember, was the spiritual son of the great moralists Graciàn, Larochefoucault and so on, whose maxims are easily detected in the whole bulk of Wycherley's works) is able to see a way out in the honest, disintrested love between Alithea, Margery's brilliant sister-in-law, and Harcourt, Horner's dashing best friend. (these characters' names symbolize the perfection of their union: her name means "truth", while his name is significantly "Frank".)

This comedy is at its best when performed; however, it is well worth reading, especially if you have a lively imagination. don't miss the notorious "china scene": fifteen minutes of laughter that will make your sides ache.

Be careful: The Country Wife merely "looks" like a stupid, shallow comedy, but it is in fact a deep reflection on society, marriage and, why not?, even the situation of Seventeenth-Century English women.

Rating:
Summary: Loved the play
Review: No, I haven't read the book. I saw the play put on by The Shakespeare Theater in Washington. Tessa Auberjonois was an absolute darling in the title role; you couldn't help but feel glad for Margery's odd-but-happy ending.

If Wycherley was no Shakespeare, he did this sort of play better than the Bard. Nothing is quotable, the characters are one dimensional and only the "China" scene got real laughs. But Wycherley did a neat and nasty take on Restoration mores and made it enjoyable, too.

Rating:
Summary: "Most men are the contraries to that they would seem."
Review: So much more than a shallow comedy, The Country Wife is a satirical attack on the affectation, hypocrisy and infidelities that were common amongst a certain class of people in the 17th century. Yet it's done in such a naughty & amusing way, one can easily miss the point!

The basic set-up goes like this: Horner (so named because he is the maker of cuckolds), wants to hook up with all the married ladies, but their husbands are on to all the old tricks virile rakes will use to get closer to their wives. Creative man that he is, Horner concocts a scheme which won't arouse the suspicion of the husbands, nor damage these fine ladies' (heh) reputations. This brilliant scheme is to spread the rumour about town that he was rendered a eunuch by an 'English-French disaster', therefore making the husbands think him a harmless fellow, while secretly informing the wives that it really isn't so (and then proving it!). Of course things get complicated, especially when Horner sets his sights on the titular country wife, who is closely guarded by her loathsome, jealous husband.

As others have said, the 'china' scene is a classic ("I cannot make china for you all..."). The whole play is filled with the wit and hilarious situations that are typical of Restoration comedy, and The Country Wife is one of the best I've read from that period. Wycherley was an immensely talented man who deserves to be better known.