The Country Wife Dramaturgical File
Critical Articles
The Country Wife, A Dance of Cuckolds
David Gelineau
In David Gelineau's essay Dance of Cuckolds, he argues that Wycherley was using the dance performed at the end of the play expresses the belief that English audience members are not too different from the characters portrayed onstage. Not because they are cuckolds, but because they are fundamentally dishonest people who care more about their reputation than being honest and honorable. He explores Hobbes' theory of social contract (explained in the article) and how the language of marriage in the play was fundamentally meant to represent that social contract. Finally, he argues that Wycherley set himself up as the antagonist of the story, as Wycherley believed that he did not hold any of the values that the other people in his social class do, and he expresses that through the prologue and epilogue of The Country Wife. For our production, this reading is essential for the cast and director to grasp Wycherley's point ant the true meaning of the finale (and why we should keep it).
"I will write Whore with this Penknife in your Face": Female Amatory Letters, the Body, and Violence in Wycherley's "The Country Wife"
Kathleen M. Oliver
CONTENT WARNING: This essay covers themes such as abuse, violence against women, and domestic violence present in The Country Wife.
In her essay, Kathleen Oliver argues that the three letters written in The Country Wife are meant to represent the bodies of the women onstage. The circumstances in which the letters are written and the treatment of the letters are all linked to the stereotypical belief that the only way women could express their feelings in the 17th century was through letter writing, and that letter writing became an inherently sexually-linked event. For our production, this reading is essential to understand Margery's home life and the danger Pinchwife puts her in, comedic or not.
The "Plyant" Discourse of Wycherley's "The Country Wife"
Peggy A. Knapp
In Peggy Knapp's article, she analyzes the specific phrases that were used as double entendres in The Country Wife, such as the words "kind", "wit", "silly", "virtue", and "conversation". She also discusses how those words carried different connotations based on the character, and how the different meanings of the words are more profound if different definitions are used. She also analyzes the names of the characters such as "pinch" in Pinchwife and how that leads to the ultimate demise of the characters. This article is important to our production mostly for her final argument: Knapp argues that the comedy of the play also carries several dark connotations as Margery and Horner are destined for a dark life of unhappiness. Similar to the article above, it's important that as part of our anachronistic nature that we help the audience grasp the idea that this type of story still carries relevance.