Reconsidering Harcourt in Wycherley’s The Country Wife Essay -- Wycher

Reconsidering Harcourt in Wycherleys The boorish WifeWycherleys The Country Wife opens on Horner, the lead, telling his atomic number 101 about his mean to change his reputation from that of a rake (promiscuous man-about-town) to that of a eunuch in order to gain access to women without anyone k in a flashing. He withholds this plan from everyone but the doctor, who becomes his accomplice by spreading the rumor of Horners impotence to the gossipiest women in London. Horners sex life constitutes two of the three primary(prenominal) plots, in both of which he gains access to a married charr and cuckolds her husband. He comes close to being found out but narrowly escapes discovery when the women of the adopt and the doctor reaffirm his condition, thus persuading the cuckolded husbands that they have non been made cuckolds. The other plot involves Harcourt, Horners best friend, who falls in love with and immediately proposes to Alithea when Sparkish, the would-be wit whom she is arranged to marry, introduces them in an tackle to make Harcourt jealous and thus win his approval. Harcourt then spends the rest of the play making failed attempts to win Alithea away from Sparkish. In the end, Horners plots intersect with Harcourts, and Horner slanders Alithea to check his affairs secret. Sparkish had kept Alitheas loyalty because ostensibly he was not jealous and seemed to trust her, but he believes what Horner says about Alithea without waiting to gather up her defense and shows that he is not really who she thought he was, nor did he ever really care about her. Harcourt, on the other hand, defends her value and trusts her, despite the slander, and once again offers marriage. Alithea, who had fallen for Harcourt but had to keep her feelings secret, is now free t... ...and his insistence on ignoring Alitheas warnings. I assume that Harcourt relies on this stupidity and is thus confident and in control.26 Vieth 343.27 As Ogden points out, His Horners most un spoiled mistake is to suppose Margery Pinchwife will share his uncomplicated view of sex. Ogden xxiv.28 incur note 8.29 See note 10.30 Pat Gill argues that Harcourt steps in to redeem Alithea from obloquy, claiming that his find and his word (his sign) will supply any pretermit she may have. Like Horners confident play with language, Harcourts deployment of his name to squelch rumors is a power maneuver, an assertion of dominance over the distaff domain of gossip. Pat Gill, Interpreting Ladies Women, Wit, and Morality in the Restoration japery of Manners (Athens U of Georgia P, 1994) 69.31 Hume 14-5.32 Canfield 254.33 Hume 15-23.