Country Wife, the/representation of marriage in...

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The Representation of Marriage in The Country Wife

William Wycherly represents marriage in a peculiar way in The Country Wife. The classic marital values of love, trust, and becoming one with one's partner in a bond of love are distorted by intense emotion. The appropriately named Mr. Pinchwife is a jealous husband who moves his new wife Margery to the country with hopes to keep her from the outside world, namely the city of London, and the inevitable infidelity that lies there in his mind. However, by denying Mrs. Pinchwife her freedom, Mr. Pinchwife alienates her and encourages her resentment of him.

Early in the play, when Pinchwife describes his new wife to his friends as "ugly," "ill-bred," and "silly" (I, i, 419), the reader realizes that he is terrified that another man will take his wife if he does not degrade and hide her. Pinchwife also states that "Good wives and private soldiers should be ignorant" (I, i, 400). Pinchwife believes that he has married a truly innocent wife, saying, "A fool cannot contrive to make her husband a cuckold" (I, i, 432). The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word "cuckold" as "A man married to an unfaithful wife." Mrs. Pinchwife does initially appear to be naive in that s


Lucy, Alithea's maid, is quoted as saying "Can there be a greater cheat or wrong done to a man than give him your person without your heart?" (IV, i, 19). In The Country Wife, marriage is viewed, particularly by Mr. Pinchwife, in an unusually jealous and deceitful light. Harcourt describes marriage as "Rather a sign of interest than love" (II, i, 237). Lucy says of marriage: "Marrying to increase love is like gaming to become rich, alas you only lose what little stock you had before" (IV, i, 23). For Mr. Pinchwife, his wife needed to be protected from and deprived of contact with outside world. This led to her eventual resentment of him, and her longing for another man, but then ultimately to her going back to Mr. Pinchwife. The Country Wife depicts a strange view of the traditional bond of trust and love that is marriage.

by her own husband to Horner's house. Slipping away with Horner, Mrs. Pinchwife believes that she is freed from her husband, to be with Horner forever (V, iv, 214). Horner replies that he can not be with her because she is married to Mr. Pinchwife. Later in the scene, after Mr. Pinchwife has realized what has happened and reaches for his sword, Mrs. Pinchwif

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Approximate Word count = 809
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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