Pinchwife – town vs. country

Kristen Eggen

Professor Gabbard

ENL 6455

20 January 2010

Word Count: 429

                        In William Wycherley’s The Country Wife, much of the plot

pivots on Pinchwife and his underestimation of his new bride Margery, in

turn highlighting a stereotypical view of country people held by Londoners

in the play.  This “country” status appears to be the sole reason Pinchwife

chooses to seek Margery for his bride; he has hopes that she will be more

ignorant and innocent than girls from his own background in London.  In

speaking with Horner, Pinchwife says, “At least we are a little surer of the

breed there, know what her keeping has been, whether foiled or unsound” (1.

1. 411-413).  The metonymy of “breed,” as a direct representation of his wife

as a mere animal, reveals the disrespect he carries for her and, one assumes,

all people from the country.  Also noteworthy is his use of the phrase “a

little” when discussing the purity of his new wife. This is indicative of the high

level of distrust he feels for all women, though he is slightly more contented

with a wife from a country upbringing.       

                        One is given the impression that Pinchwife’s status as a Londoner

grants him an arrogance in thinking it impossible to be tricked by a woman

who is from the country.  He believes sincerely that “A fool cannot contrive

to make her husband a cuckold” (1. 1. 462-463), referencing his greatest fear

and paranoia throughout the play.  It is partly this dismissive nature that

allows Margery to escape blame from writing two letters to her “gallant,”

Horner.   Pinchwife is aware of her feelings for him but believes her to be

incapable of devising a plan that would injure his pride through an extra-

marital affair.  Interestingly, throughout the play Margery seems to believe

the stereotype about the country while simultaneously defying it.  While

struggling to create a plan that would veil her interest in Horner, she says,

“Can one have no shift? Ah, a London woman would have had a hundred

presently” (4. 2. 160-163).  This is said in earnest by Margery, speaking her

mind while alone on stage.  She believes a woman from London would be

quick-witted and clever, even though one finds that in the next lines in the

play Margery devises an ingenious plan to defy her husband and achieve her

own objectives.  Margery similarly outwits Pinchwife on numerous

occasions throughout the play, exposing his gross misjudgments and false

stereotypes of her country upbringing.

    Works Cited

Wycherley, William. The Country Wife.  Ed. Ken Bush. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.