The Country Wife

The protagonist of the play, Horner, is a well-known playboy in London. After a trip to France, he pretends to have become impotent because of a venereal disease that he supposedly caught abroad in order to convince married men to allow him to have access to their wives. The fact that he is the protagonist suggests that the play’s overall message is not a moral lesson. Horner is witty, charming, and devious. He sets his sights upon Margery Pinchwife when he sees her at the theatre because she is not only beautiful but also forbidden. Conquest is a game to be played, and Horner seems to be the most frequent winner. He shamelessly professes to hate women, unconcerned with the damage that his lies do to his reputation as a womanizer. It is questionable how much of his disdain for women is truthful and how much an act. Horner seems to tire of women quickly, especially as their husbands begin to impose upon his time. Although Horner is not immune to sexual attraction (as he pretends), he does seem to be insusceptible to love. His name, Horner, indicates his sexual appetite, which drives his actions throughout the play.