Moral Virtue in William Wycherley’s The Country Wife Essays

Now that masculinity has being defined, it is possible to demonstrate how these books expose the belief that England is suffering from a decadence of its leadership and, as a result, of its moral values. The metaphors of the corruption of England are clearly presented by both authors. The arrival of Dracula, a foreign threat, to England is accompanied by the worst storm in a century. A dark mist that obliterates the light of day comes over and, when it dissipates, the count’s ship is already at the port. This obscurity is the absence of God’s light. The process of corruption has begun and it starts from

Envy is a sin that poisons the sinner and is self-destructive in nature. The common perception of envy is that it is an emotion that, much like jealousy, that comes from a desire to possess something that someone else has. However, envy goes a step further and causes an individual to not only desire what someone else has, but to also wish that the other person did not have it at all. Spenser uses the conventional view of envy stated above in conjunction with some unconventional imagery in order to elaborate on the nature and implications of being an envious person. In doing this Spenser is able to teach to reader an aspect of envy that they may not already know or understand. In his portrayal of envy in book one of The Faerie Queene, Spenser is trying to convey to his readers that people who are envious are trapped in and endless cycle of envy that leads to nothing but unhappiness and misery. Spenser’s interpretation of envy, like the other deadly sins in the house of pride, can be broken down into 4 images: the animal that he rides, his appearance, how he behaves, and the ailment he has. This paper will use the first three of these images to show how Spenser’s depiction of Envy is meant to teach the reader that the sin of envy can only lead to perpetual unhappiness and misery.

Today marriage is seen as an expression of deep love and respect for another person. In Austen’s time, a ‘good’ marriage was seen to be one where wealth and social status of the man and woman were socially suitable. There was very

Fitting with the common theme between the two novels of the judgment of others, each heroine falls victim to a horrible misjudgment of the character of another. After discovering that the engagement between her brother and her friend Isabella has been broken, Catherine finds she has grossly misjudged her friend’s character, and thinks, “She was ashamed of Isabella, ashamed of ever having loved her” (Northanger 150). Elizabeth, on the other hand, finds her attachment the Wickham wholly inappropriate after receiving her letter from Mr. Darcy. After digesting the shocking contents of the letter, Elizabeth “grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd” (Pride 156). And indeed, as suggested by Elizabeth’s mention of Darcy, this misjudgment goes on to affect each girl’s attachment to her future husband.

In the nineteenth century, the question as to the foundation and purpose of courtship and marriage emanated. The basis for this analysis was whether relationships should be navigated utilizing emotion and feeling or reason and logic. The literary work of Regency era author, Jane Austen, details such a balance, as it endeavors to convey Austen’s interpretation of true affection between couples of well-examined intrinsic morality. The characters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice contend with the moral vices of pride and prejudice as they overcome judgements about one another and ultimately experience love.

of himself as an unwanted old bachelor and accordingly sets out to remedy the problem. The fact that he does not love Carol, whom he knows ?less than three weeks,? does not faze him in the least. Following the opinion of the 1950s, Carol, in his mind, becomes his ?competent housemaid? who will perhaps collect ?old pottery? and bake him ?little casserole dishes.? But Carol doesn?t mind. To be deemed ?complete? in the eyes of society in the decorum of marriage is enough for both individuals. In the characterization of Carol and Howard, who use each other?s presence as shields against judgment by a critical society, Gallant creates an amusing portrait of marriage as something that makes ?sense? with ?no reason?to fail? as long as both parties have ?a common interest? and ?[s]imilar economic backgrounds.?

Early British writing like The Canterbury’s Tale section of “The Merchant’s Tale” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry, reflect on social values. Much of the tale speaks about a marriage that over flows of vices. Societies vision of how marriages should work, display the vices of holy matrimony. The corruptness of societies views on marriage lead to a loveless marriage. Chaucer reflects on how much societies views influenced marriages in the 1300’s; he shows this by using conflicts in marriage of man verses himself, women versus herself, and man versus women.

The theme of matrimony in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as in the Miller’s Tale does not fit in with traditional fourteenth-century culture. The characters in these two texts turn what is suppose to be a sacred unity into a promiscuous and taboo fantasy for pilgrims. The characters narrating these two tales promote the idea of what fourteenth-century canon law would define as adultery—to have had a third lover while married is the new societal trend for the characters in these tales. And so, marriage becomes a component to the larger fantasy of having a relationship with a character who is already in a marital bond, i.e., cuckolding is a fetish for Alisoun in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as for Nicholas and Absolom in the Miller’s Tale. That is, Alisoun’s pursuit of her lover Jankin while being married, promotes the idea that having a third partner amplifies one’s sexual life, meanwhile, Nicholas’s and Absalom’s quarrel over (a different) Alison encourages the idea that engaging with a married someone enhances the gratification of adultery. In other words, marriage is not portrayed as a scared bond, but as a device to fulfill a pilgrim’s sexual fantasy; and, this new fantasy is what the pilgrims try to make a trend throughout England. Note that I will be using the name, “Alisoun,” to represent the wife from Bath, and I will be using the name, “Alison,” to portray the wife in the Miller’s Tale.

The Regency time period was an era of great wealth. Both men and women worked vigorously to become part of the upper class. Marrying for upper class women was the only way to gain a source of income (Hall). Women would even change their way of life to be able to marry into wealth. A truth universally acknowledged, that a single main possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, said Mrs. Bennett (Hall). In the Regency time period, wealth played a huge role in both men and women’s lives

England has always had a rich history of interesting cultural traditions but arguably none as prevalent as marriage. Marriage, the union of two people with emotional ideals and expectations, are brought on by many different factors that include: for love, for money, for climbing social status, escapism, survival, etc. In Jane Austen’s novels, she focuses on the importance of marriage in her world because she wanted to emphasize how marriage is the most important life event of a woman as this would determine her place in society. Persuasion shows readers good and bad examples of marriage: the amiable Crofts and other couples such as Sir Walter & Lady Elliot and the Smiths. Jane Austen uses the Crofts to support the importance of marriage

Mary Poovey’s “The True English Style” is an easy to follow analysis of the themes and philosophical difference between marriage and love, particularly in the regency era, from Jane Austen’s novel Emma. Immediately Poovey states her thesis which does away with a presentism reading and discuss social/moral issues in the era of Jane Austen also known as the regency era.

“A Restoration comedy is like an eighteenth-century sitcom; it’s entertaining” (MacKenzie, “Behn”). However, the similarities between the two genres are more far-reaching than their equal entertainment value. For example, the cast of William Wycherley’s Restoration comedy, “The Country Wife,” consists of some central characters that are strikingly similar to those in the cast of the modern situation comedy, Seinfeld. Harry Horner from “The Country Wife” and George Costanza from Seinfeld both fit the male “wit” character type. Likewise, Lady Fidget, one of Horner’s lovers, and another woman, who’s one of Costanza’s fleeting lovers, both fit the female “wit” character type. Through the

The genre of comedy, throughout the history of dramatic art has always served to not only entertain audiences, but to make them aware of their own individual flaws, or flaws that exist in society. (Weitz, E.) Comedy has no precise definition, and its boundaries are broad. One function of comedy however has remained the same - to hold up a mirror to the society of the time but through pleasure, inviting audiences to reflect and also providing amusement. Set in the late nineteenth century, the play An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (1895) epitomises comedy, as both a literary and dramatic genre. Wilde was masterful in his ability to combine aspects of evolved comedic traditions and dramatic conventions to critique Victorian society. Drawing on characteristics of Greek and Roman tragicomedy, the choices in the play’s plot involves elements of tragedy as well as scenes that serve as comic relief and give the audience a sense of finality through a happy resolution. (Bureman, L) Focussing on the upper class stratum, Wilde employs a comedy of manners Molière style, of the Restoration Period in the seventeenth century in the play by combining forms of comedy with aspects of realist drama. The portrayal of archetypal figures such as Lady Chiltern and Lord Goring satirize rigid moral value of the time and expose their hypocrisies, through dialogue involving irony, wit and humour. Elements of farce and disguises characterized by ‘commedia dell’arte’, a form of comedy first developed in

The Regency Period in England was an extravagant era often associated with prominent social, political, economic, and artistic advancements. It took place in the early 1800’s and was a time of much elegance and aristocracy. Movies and books set in this time period all seem to highlight the elegance and romance that was prevalent at the time. Famous Regency Era literary works, such as Pride and Prejudice, portray young English women getting their happily-ever-after endings with their true loves. Unfortunately, such endings did not actually happen to real women of the era because they lived very austere and vapid lives. They hardly had a choice in many of their lives’ decisions and had little to no career options. These women were raised

Jane Austen’s well-known novel, Pride and Prejudice, discussed multiple social themes in the 19th century. Austen mainly criticized marriage during her era, when she says that, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 3). As she explains that it was valuable to women since it provided them with security and a social title. The author explored the diverse motives behind matrimony in her time period by using a humorous and romantic plot to discuss the social issues. For instance, Charlotte Lucas’s unreasonable marriage to Mr. Collins is a vital example of how women needed to secure a future and attain social status. To conclude, Lydia Bennet’s meaningless marriage to George Wickham shows that entering the marriage estate could have also been for mainly financial purposes. Contrastingly, Jane Bennet, the heroine’s older sister, marries Charles Bingley for love, security, and a social ranking. On the other hand, Elizabeth Bennet marries Fitzwilliam Darcy after months of misunderstandings and romantic drama for none other than true love. Thus, Austen uses her leading characters’ marriages in Pride and Prejudice to exhibit the various attitudes and reasons for marrying in the 19th century. (Lane 2015)