The Country Wife

The Country Wife is perhaps the most representative and best known, if not the most notorious, of all Restoration comedies. Wycherley, however, does not color the world and society he mirrors in delicate shades nor does he present us with the ethereal elegance often ascribed to this period. With an earthy sense of humour he takes broad satirical swipes at the licentious vices and follies of the age. His particular target is the uses and abuses of sex. Few of the characters in the play are sympathetic even though we may laugh at them and their foibles. They are filled with pretention and deceit. Nearly everyone in the play is pretending to be someone they are not, hiding behind some sort of disguise, blatantly telling lies and desperate to know everyone else‘s business. From Alithea’s rather high-minded principles through Margery’s childlike delight in discovery, to Homer’s outrageous ruse of pretending to be a eunuch, the play exudes a boldness and gusto that makes it unique not only among Restoration comedies, but in all the body of dramatic literature.