William Wycherley

Study questions William Wycherley

The Country Wife

The Country Wife MCQs

The Plain Dealer

The Plain Dealer MCQs

Facts about William Wycherley

➾ He attempted to reconcile his deep-seated puritanism with his ardent physical nature in his plays.

➾ Wycherley was sent to France for his education at age fifteen, where he converted to Roman Catholicism.

➾ After returning to England, he converted back to Protestantism but subsequently left Oxford without a degree.

➾ He may have travelled to Spain as a diplomat and probably fought the Dutch in a naval war.

➾ Following his first play’s success, he shared the Duchess of Cleveland’s favours with King Charles II.

➾ Wycherley secretly married the Countess of Drogheda, a rigid puritan who cost him favour at court.

➾ He ruined himself contesting his deceased wife’s will for her considerable fortune.

➾ Cast into a debtor’s prison, he was rescued seven years later by the generosity of King James II.

➾ His small pension from King James II was unfortunately lost when James was deposed in the year 1688.

➾ In the early 18th century, the young Alexander Pope befriended him and helped revise his poems.

➾ On his deathbed, Wycherley received Catholic rites, having apparently reverted after being rescued from prison.

William Wycherley MCQs

1. When was William Wycherley born?

A. 1641
B. 1660
C. 1675
D. 1716

A. 1641.
William Wycherley, the English dramatist, was born in the year 1641, according to the provided sources.

2. Where was William Wycherley born?

A. London, England
B. Oxford, England
C. Shropshire, England
D. Paris, France

C. Shropshire, England.
The sources confirm Wycherley’s nationality is English and he was born in Shropshire (implied by his father being steward to the marquess of Winchester there).

3. When did William Wycherley die?

A. 1675
B. 1716
C. 1700
D. 1688

B. 1716.
William Wycherley died in London on January 1, 1716, having had a long life and dramatic career.

4. What was Wycherley’s primary profession?

A. Steward
B. Diplomat
C. Dramatist
D. Lawyer

C. Dramatist.
William Wycherley is identified primarily as an English dramatist who wrote during the Restoration period.

5. What office did Wycherley’s father hold?

A. King’s counsel
B. Envoy
C. Steward
D. Judge

C. Steward.
Wycherley’s father served as the steward to the powerful marquess of Winchester.

6. At what age was Wycherley sent to France for education?

A. 10
B. 15
C. 20
D. 30

B. 15.
Wycherley was sent abroad to France to be educated at the age of 15.

7. What religion did Wycherley convert to while in France?

A. Protestant
B. Puritanism
C. Roman Catholic
D. Anglican

C. Roman Catholic.
During his time being educated in France, Wycherley became a Roman Catholic.

8. What subject did Wycherley return to England to study?

A. Theology
B. Literature
C. Law
D. Diplomacy

C. Law.
Wycherley returned to England after his time in France specifically to study law.

9. Which college did Wycherley enter in 1660?

A. Middle Temple
B. Queen’s College, Oxford
C. St. Albans Hall
D. Grey’s Inn

B. Queen’s College, Oxford.
In 1660, Wycherley entered Queen’s College, Oxford, but he left without receiving a degree.

10. What did Wycherley do regarding his religion before entering Oxford?

A. Remained Catholic
B. Became an atheist
C. Reverted Protestant
D. Became Puritan

C. Reverted Protestant.
Before starting at Oxford, Wycherley converted back to Protestantism from Roman Catholicism.

11. What may Wycherley have done as a diplomat in the 1660s?

A. Travelled to Spain
B. Fought the Dutch
C. Served King Charles
D. Studied Law

A. Travelled to Spain.
Little is known of his life in the 1660s, but he may have travelled to Spain in a diplomatic capacity.

12. What military action may Wycherley have participated in around 1665?

A. Civil War
B. Spanish War
C. Naval Dutch War
D. Glorious Revolution

C. Naval Dutch War.
Wycherley probably fought in the naval war against the Dutch that took place in the year 1665.

13. What was the title of Wycherley’s first drafted play?

A. The Plain-Dealer
B. Love in a Wood
C. The Country-Wife
D. The Gentleman Dancing-Master

B. Love in a Wood.
His first play, drafted in the 1660s, was Love in a Wood; or, St. James’s Park.

14. When was Wycherley’s first play presented in London?

A. 1665
B. Autumn 1671
C. 1672
D. 1675

B. Autumn 1671.
Love in a Wood was first presented in London in the autumn of 1671, earning him instant acclaim.

15. What alternative title did Wycherley’s first play possess?

A. The Plain-Dealer
B. St. James’s Park
C. The Country-Wife
D. Love in a Tub

B. St. James’s Park.
The full title of his first play is Love in a Wood; or, St. James’s Park.

16. What was the immediate result of Wycherley’s first play?

A. Satiric lash
B. Debtor’s prison
C. Instant acclaim
D. Lost fortune

C. Instant acclaim.
The presentation of Love in a Wood in 1671 brought its author instant acclaim.

17. Who took up Wycherley after his initial success?

A. King Charles II
B. Marquess of Winchester
C. Duchess of Cleveland
D. Alexander Pope

C. Duchess of Cleveland.
After his first play’s success, Wycherley was patronised by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland.

18. Whose favours did Wycherley share with the Duchess of Cleveland?

A. King James II
B. King Charles II
C. Alexander Pope
D. William Congreve

B. King Charles II.
Wycherley enjoyed the patronage and favours of Barbara Villiers, which he shared with King Charles II.

19. What play did Wycherley present in 1672?

A. The Country-Wife
B. The Plain-Dealer
C. The Gentleman Dancing-Master
D. Love in a Wood

C. The Gentleman Dancing-Master.
Wycherley’s second play, The Gentleman Dancing-Master, was presented in the year 1672.

20. What was the critical reception of The Gentleman Dancing-Master?

A. Instant acclaim
B. Proved unsuccessful
C. Highly admired
D. Richly comic

B. Proved unsuccessful.
His second play, The Gentleman Dancing-Master (1672), unfortunately, proved unsuccessful.

21. What dramatic genre is Wycherley noted for?

A. Satirical comedy
B. Revenge tragedy
C. Masque
D. Historical play

A. Satirical comedy.
Wycherley is known for his plays of satirical comedy that commented severely on manners and society.

22. What element did Wycherley’s early plays use to cure excess?

A. Puritanism
B. Satiric portrait
C. Crude brutalism
D. Farcical moments

B. Satiric portrait.
His early plays followed tradition by presenting a satiric portrait to “cure excess” in characters.

23. What types of characters were satirised in his early plays?

A. Jesuits, Noble heroines
B. Fops, rakes
C. Puritans, Catholics
D. Kings, Courtiers

B. Fops, rakes.
Wycherley satirised pretentious characters, including fops, rakes, and would-be wits.

24. What was Wycherley’s most successful play, according to the sources?

A. The Plain-Dealer
B. The Country-Wife
C. Love in a Wood
D. The Gentleman Dancing-Master

B. The Country-Wife.
Wycherley perhaps succeeded best in The Country-Wife (1675), blending satire with comic presentation.

25. When was The Country-Wife acted?

A. 1671
B. 1672
C. 1675
D. 1676

C. 1675.
Wycherley’s most successful play, The Country-Wife, was performed in 1675.

26. What excess did The Country-Wife satirise?

A. Rapacious greed
B. Political libel
C. Excessive jealousy
D. Foppery

C. Excessive jealousy.
The Country-Wife contained satiric comment specifically on excessive jealousy and complacency.

27. What quality defined the presentation of characters in The Country-Wife?

A. Satiric
B. Richly comic
C. Crude and brutal
D. Severe criticism

B. Richly comic.
The play blended satiric comment with a richly comic presentation of characters who revealed themselves unconsciously.

28. What critical stance did The Country-Wife abandon compared to earlier works?

A. Crude satire
B. Despising characters
C. Focusing on wit
D. Using farce

B. Despising characters.
In this play, the author no longer conveyed a sense of despising his characters.

29. What was Wycherley’s last play to be presented?

A. The Country-Wife
B. Love in a Wood
C. The Plain-Dealer
D. The Gentleman Dancing-Master

C. The Plain-Dealer.
The Plain-Dealer, presented in 1676, was the final one of Wycherley’s four plays.

30. What social issue does The Plain-Dealer satirise?

A. Incestuous love
B. Political corruption
C. Rapacious greed
D. Excessive jealousy

C. Rapacious greed.
Wycherley’s play The Plain-Dealer (1676) focused its powerful satire on rapacious greed.

31. How did critics assess the satire in The Plain-Dealer?

A. Mild and witty
B. Crude and brutal
C. Richly comic
D. Severe criticism

B. Crude and brutal.
While pointed and effective, the satire used in The Plain-Dealer is described as crude and brutal.

32. What personal conflict did Wycherley’s plays attempt to reconcile?

A. Catholic/Protestant
B. Satire/Comedy
C. Puritanism/Ardent nature
D. Wit/Jealousy

C. Puritanism/Ardent nature.
His plays attempted to reconcile his personal conflict between deep-seated Puritanism and an ardent physical nature.

33. What kind of life did Wycherley lead during his playwriting years?

A. Puritan
B. Disciplined
C. Fashionably dissolute
D. Reclusive

C. Fashionably dissolute.
During his successful playwriting years, Wycherley lived a life that was described as fashionably dissolute.

34. What happened to Wycherley in 1678?

A. Marriage
B. Imprisonment
C. Fell ill
D. Wrote last play

C. Fell ill.
The dramatist, who had led a dissolute life, fell seriously ill in the year 1678.

35. When did Wycherley secretly marry the countess of Drogheda?

A. 1675
B. 1676
C. 1680
D. 1681

C. 1680.
In 1680, Wycherley secretly married the Countess of Drogheda, a devout and rigid Puritan.

36. What characteristic defined the Countess of Drogheda?

A. Witty
B. Rigid puritan
C. Fashionable
D. Catholic

B. Rigid puritan.
His wife, the countess of Drogheda, was characterised as a rigid puritan.

37. What was the consequence of Wycherley’s marriage?

A. Acclaim
B. Fortune lost
C. Court favour lost
D. Debt paid

C. Court’s favour was lost.
His wife kept him on such a short rein that Wycherley lost his favour at court.

38. When did the Countess of Drogheda die?

A. 1680
B. 1681
C. 1688
D. A year later

D. A year later.
The Countess of Drogheda died only a year after their secret marriage in 1680, leaving him a fortune.

39. What did the countess leave Wycherley upon her death?

A. Pension
B. Debts
C. A fortune
D. A new play

C. A fortune.
The Countess of Drogheda died in 1681, leaving Wycherley a considerable fortune.

40. What happened to the fortune left to Wycherley?

A. Invested
B. Contest/ruin
C. Shared with King
D. Paid debts

B. Contest/ruin.
The will was contested, and Wycherley ruined himself fighting the legal case.

41. What fate befell Wycherley after losing his fortune?

A. Travelled to Spain
B. Lost pension
C. Debtor’s prison
D. Died

C. Debtor’s prison.
After financially ruining himself fighting the will, Wycherley was cast into a debtor’s prison.

42. How long did Wycherley remain in debtor’s prison?

A. One year
B. Seven years
C. Fifteen years
D. Until death

B. Seven years.
Wycherley was rescued from the debtor’s prison after spending seven years incarcerated.

43. Who rescued Wycherley from prison?

A. King Charles II
B. King James II
C. Alexander Pope
D. William Congreve

B. King James II.
Wycherley was rescued from prison by King James II, who became his patron.

44. What did King James II do to assist Wycherley?

A. Revised poems
B. Paid most debts
C. Granted favours
D. Gave back fortune

B. Paid most debts.
King James II paid off most of Wycherley’s debts and granted him a small pension.

45. When did Wycherley lose his royal pension?

A. 1675
B. 1680
C. 1688
D. 1700

C. 1688.
The pension granted by James II was lost when the king was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

46. Whom did Wycherley befriend in the early 18th century?

A. King James II
B. William Congreve
C. Alexander Pope
D. Barbara Villiers

C. Alexander Pope.
In the early 18th century, Wycherley established a friendship with the young poet, Alexander Pope.

47. What service did Alexander Pope provide for Wycherley?

A. Paid debts
B. Wrote plays
C. Helped revise poems
D. Criticised satire

C. Helped revise poems.
Alexander Pope assisted Wycherley by revising his poems during their friendship.

48. What final religious act did Wycherley perform on his deathbed?

A. Returned Puritan
B. Last Catholic rites
C. Protestant conversion
D. Remained Anglican

B. Last Catholic rites.
Wycherley received the last rites of the Roman Catholic church just before his death.

49. Why is Wycherley known for / the reason for his fame?

A. Legal success
B. Military courage
C. Creating satirical comedy
D. Royal patronage

C. Creating satirical comedy.
Wycherley is famous as a dramatist who mastered satirical comedy and commented severely on society.

50. What critic admired Wycherley as a satirist?

A. Alexander Pope
B. Thomas Kyd
C. William Congreve
D. King James II

C. William Congreve.
William Congreve greatly admired Wycherley, regarding him as appointed to “lash this crying age”.

The Country Wife MCQs

1. A quack is as fit for a pimp as a midwife for what profession?

A. A common cheat
B. A cunning bawd
C. A waiting woman
D. A dirty lawyer

B. A cunning bawd.
Horner compares doctors and midwives, noting both act as helpers of nature in illicit trades.

2. Horner says he has been reported throughout the town as bad as what?

A. A known cheat
B. An old eunuch
C. A wicked pimp
D. A foreign spy

B. An old eunuch.
Horner’s ingenious plot requires the Quack to spread the rumour that he is impotent.

3. Horner is afraid that the report of his impotence will be compared to what disease?

A. The smallpox
B. The great ones
C. The French disease
D. A bad fever

A. The smallpox.
The Quack compares him to smallpox, which is odious to the handsome young women he knew.

4. Horner’s supposed “English-French disaster” occurred after his late journey, where?

A. The Low Countries
B. Into France
C. To the city
D. To the playhouse

B. Into France.
His trip to France makes the story credible, suggesting he caught a French disease and cured badly.

5. Horner says the wisest lawyer never discovers the merits of his cause until when?

A. Before the bribe
B. Until the trial
C. During the argument
D. When he is honest

B. Until the trial.
Horner uses this comparison to justify concealing his sexual intent until he can execute his plot.

6. What specific action does Horner refuse to do for Lady Fidget’s husband?

A. Kiss her
B. Dance with her
C. Dine with her
D. Speak to her

A. Kiss her.
Horner makes a great show of avoiding all physical contact, confirming Sir Jaspar’s belief in the rumour.

7. Horner calls a woman a monster, and a greater monster than what other figure?

A. A wicked lawyer
B. A mere eunuch
C. A husband
D. A country fool

C. A husband.
He says women are worse than husbands, implying husbands are naturally prone to being cuckolded.

8. Lady Fidget criticises Horner, saying he is too much like a French fellow, hating women of what two qualities?

A. Wit and beauty
B. Quality and virtue
C. Age and sense
D. Love and honour

B. Quality and virtue.
Lady Fidget pretends to believe he hates honest, titled women because they love their husbands.

9. Lady Fidget accuses Horner of bringing over no bawdy pictures or the second part of which French book?

A. French grammar
B. École des Filles
C. Ovid’s Art
D. A famous lampoon

B. École des Filles.
Horner mentions this notorious book, which the Quack tells him might “ruin” him with the opposite sèx.

10. Sir Jaspar must depart because the Council will be sitting at a quarter and a half quarter past what hour?

A. Half past ten
B. Past eleven
C. Twelve midday
D. Nine o’clock

B. Past eleven.
Sir Jaspar’s exact timing shows his pedantic obsession with business and ridiculous neglect of his wife.

11. Sir Jaspar states that a husband’s prudence is to provide innocent diversion for a wife rather than let her do what?

A. Employ herself
B. Stay at home
C. Cheat him
D. Go to plays

A. Employ herself.
Sir Jaspar believes that keeping his wife busy prevents her from devising any unlawful, secret pleasures.

12. Horner claims he will be rid of all his old acquaintances, calling them what “insatiable sorts of duns”?

A. Dull companions
B. Vain rogues
C. Old wives
D. Insatiable sorts of duns

D. Insatiable sorts of duns.
He compares his demanding former mistresses to creditors who constantly invade his lodgings for payment.

13. Horner boasts he will have the privileges of an eunuch, becoming the what of the town?

A. The only honest man
B. The passe-partout
C. The new sign
D. The best lover

B. The passe-partout.
This French phrase means he will have the universal key, granting him unrestricted access everywhere.

14. Harcourt compares mistresses to what items that “doze you” if you pore upon them too much?

A. Fine silks
B. Good wine
C. Little country retreat
D. Mistresses are like books

D. Mistresses are like books.
Harcourt suggests that excessive attention to women, like books, makes a man unfit for proper company.

15. Dorilant compares a mistress to a little country retreat, meant not for constant dwelling, but for what action?

A. To grow old in
B. For a night and away
C. To hide your crimes
D. To taste nature

B. For a night and away.
He argues that a lover should only visit briefly, which makes him appreciate the town better.

16. Dorilant concludes that love makes men beggars, while wine makes them what?

A. Witty sots
B. True friends
C. Princes
D. Drunkards

C. Princes.
He contrasts the financial ruin of love with the temporary, glorious feeling of power granted by wine.

17. Sparkish is one of those nauseous offerers at wit, who run themselves into all companies, like what specific low-class musicians?

A. The worst fiddlers
B. Old singers
C. Street musicians
D. Comic dancers

A. The worst fiddlers.
Horner states that Sparkish, like bad musicians, forces his unwanted company on everyone in town.

18. Harcourt compares Sparkish’s contribution to conversation to Sir Martin Mar-all’s awkward what?

A. Singing badly
B. Thrumming upon the lute
C. Gaping and yawning
D. Telling poor jokes

B. Thrumming upon the lute.
Sparkish signifies nothing, similar to Sir Martin awkwardly strumming while his man actually sings the music.

19. Horner says that affective dullness is nature’s greatest what?

A. Monster
B. Virtue
C. Vice
D. Delight

A. Monster.
Horner criticises those who pretend to be something they are not, calling affectation a profound corruption.

20. Horner asserts that a jealous man is actually the greatest what?

A. Trustee
B. Cuckold
C. Atheist
D. Fool

B. Cuckold.
This paradoxical observation suggests that extreme jealousy often results in the very outcome the man avoids.

21. Pinchwife’s reason for being in a bad humour and sloppy clothes is what major legal issue?

A. A debt
B. A suit of law
C. A bad wife
D. An empty purse

B. A suit of law.
Pinchwife offers this false excuse to hide his recent marriage, blaming his grumpiness on legal troubles.

22. Pinchwife is forced to give Sparkish five thousand pounds to lie with whom?

A. His sister
B. His wife
C. His mistress
D. His lawyer

A. His sister.
This is Alithea’s marriage portion, showing how Sparkish views marriage as a financial transaction to secure wealth.

23. Horner compares marrying a country wife to being cheated by a friend in the country, instead of refusing what kind of dishonest horse?

A. A wild pony
B. A fat donkey
C. A. Smithfield jade
D. A French horse

C. A. Smithfield jade.
Smithfield jades were notoriously deceitful horses, comparing a London wife’s treachery to a country wife’s.

24. Pinchwife claims his wife has no beauty but her youth, and no attraction but what specific virtue?

A. Honesty
B. Modesty
C. Silence
D. Wit

B. Modesty.
He attempts to reassure his friends that his wife is homely and innocent, preventing their interest.

25. Pinchwife states that good wives and what military personnel should be ignorant?

A. Generals
B. Private soldiers
C. Captains
D. Drummers

B. Private soldiers.
He believes ignorance is necessary to maintain loyalty and obedience, whether in wives or enlisted men.

26. Horner concludes that wit is more necessary than beauty, and no handsome woman is agreeable without what?

A. Good fortune
B. Wit
C. Modesty
D. Chastity

B. Wit.
Horner values wit above all, stating that a handsome woman who lacks intelligence is fundamentally unpleasant.

27. Horner claims a fool cannot contrive to make her husband a cuckold, but she will “club with a man that can,” and what else?

A. Get caught
B. Make him jealous
C. Steal his money
D. Lie to him

B. Make him jealous.
Horner argues that even a stùpid wife who fails to cheat will make her husband jealous.

28. Horner says that marriage is like a penitent gamester’s oath to restrict himself to a small amount of what?

A. Small sum at play
B. Food or drink
C. Small debt
D. Small vice

A. Small sum at play.
He compares marriage to a gambler who restricts his stakes but then loses more eagerly.

29. Pinchwife admits he married because he could never keep what sexual figure to himself?

A. A young virgin
B. A whore
C. A friend’s wife
D. A maid

B. A whore.
He married to monopolise his wife sexually, having been unable to maintain constancy with a mistress.

30. Horner advises his friends to keep a woman rather than marry, because women are made constant by what?

A. Good pay
B. True love
C. Strong oaths
D. Her husband

A. Good pay.
He compares women to soldiers, suggesting they remain loyal due to financial reward rather than agreements.

31. Horner tells Pinchwife he saw his wife in what specific low-priced location at the playhouse?

A. The vizard section
B. The eighteen-penny place
C. The crowded pit
D. The top gallery

B. The eighteen-penny place.
Pinchwife hid his wife there because that cheap location usually contains ugly people and is hidden.

32. Harcourt observes that men are now more ashamed to be seen with their wives in public than with whom?

A. Their mother
B. A wench
C. Their sisters
D. A drunkard

B. A wench.
This satirises the fashionable trend where husbands treat their wives with open contempt, viewing them as embarrassing.

33. Pinchwife’s jealousy, Horner observes, is one of the worst diseases that love and wenching breed, like the gout which proceeds from what?

A. Old age
B. Pox in youth
C. Bad diet
D. Lack of wine

B. Pox in youth.
Horner links venereal disease in youth to jealousy in later life, framing both as inescapable consequences.

34. Mrs Pinchwife is depressed because she is kept at home like a poor, lonely, sullen bird in what?

A. A dark house
B. A small cage
C. A closed window
D. A safe room

B. A small cage.
She complains to Alithea that she is miserable and lonely, seeing her sister enjoy town freedom.

35. Pinchwife confesses his town advice to his wife is like a confessor who taught a silly ostler to do what?

A. Steal grain
B. Cheat men
C. Grease the horse’s teeth
D. Lie often

C. Grease the horse’s teeth.
Alithea uses this simile to suggest Pinchwife’s precepts actually tempt his ignorant wife to learn bad things.

36. Pinchwife suspects Horner will follow them into the country and break what specific item near their house for an excuse?

A. His leg
B. His chariot wheel
C. His watch
D. His sword

B. His chariot wheel.
He fears Horner will use a fake accident to gain entry and stay at his place.

37. Pinchwife argues that a woman masked, like a covered dish, gives a man what two things?

A. Curiosity and appetite
B. Scorn and hatred
C. Love and lust
D. Suspicion and fear

A. Curiosity and appetite.
He decides against the mask disguise, fearing it increases a man’s desire for the unknown contents.

38. Horner says he converses with women only to laugh at them and use them ill, just as his friends do with whom?

A. Rich fools
B. Young wits
C. Common cheats
D. Honest men

A. Rich fools.
He claims his goal is revenge, using the supposedly virtuous women for his own amusement.

39. Harcourt tells Horner that a foolish rival and a jealous husband assist the rival’s designs by making women feel what emotion toward them?

A. Strong love
B. Extreme hate
C. Intense pity
D. Great fear

B. Extreme hate.
Hate for the husband is considered the crucial first step in winning the wife’s love.

40. Sparkish claims he carries his own wit to a play, just as he carries his own what to a country treat?

A. Fine horse
B. Good food
C. Own wine
D. Sweet music

C. Own wine.
Sparkish boasts that his wit is necessary for entertainment because the play is dull on its own.

41. Pinchwife compares all the husbands’ “proper signs” at the Exchange to what single animal’s head?

A. Bulls’, stags’, and rams’ heads
B. The lion’s head
C. The fox’s head
D. The goat’s head

A. Bulls’, stags’, and rams’ heads.
These animals symbolise cuckolds, indicating that most husbands in the city have been betrayed by their wives.

42. Harcourt tells Alithea that marrying Sparkish will cause her reputation to suffer because she will be thought to need what?

A. A good disguise
B. A faithful friend
C. A cloak
D. A lawyer

C. A cloak.
He means she will be seen as marrying him only to hide her sexual or moral indiscretions.

43. Sparkish says he has confidence in Alithea’s virtue because she is handsome, and he is not feeling what emotion?

A. Not jealous
B. Not loving
C. Not angry
D. Not fearful

A. Not jealous.
He mistakenly believes his lack of jealousy proves his noble trust, while actually showing his indifference.

44. Lucy observes that young English ladies find the country as terrible as what foreign institution?

A. A Paris school
B. A monastery
C. A distant war
D. A French court

B. A monastery.
This satirises the extreme urbanity of fashionable women who despise the isolation and boredom of rural life.

45. Pinchwife attempts to repel Lady Fidget by claiming his wife has just broken out with what disease?

A. The smallpox
B. The gout
C. The French disease
D. A raging fever

A. The smallpox.
He lies about the infectious disease to frighten the ladies away and prevent them from seeing his wife.

46. Sir Jaspar states that Horner is a privileged man amongst virtuous ladies, implying he is what kind of joke figure?

A. A common cheat
B. A husband’s spy
C. My wife’s gallant
D. A mere eunuch

D. A mere eunuch.
Sir Jaspar believes the rumour and thinks Horner’s impotence makes him a safe escort for his wife.

47. Lady Fidget claims she is willing to keep Horner company because she needs him to make up her droll pack of what?

A. Visiting guests
B. Ombre players
C. Card cheats
D. French wits

B. Ombre players.
Ombre is a popular card game, and she plans to use Horner’s pretended impotence to facilitate cheating.

48. Mrs. Pinchwife told her husband that Horner put the tip of his tongue between her lips and did what?

A. Kissed her
B. Muzzled me
C. Talked sweetly
D. Embraced her

B. Muzzled me.
She uses the term “muzzle” to describe the kiss, confirming her literal interpretation of physical contact.

49. Pinchwife threatens to spoil his wife’s writing by stabbing out her eyes with what item?

A. His sharp dagger
B. The penknife
C. A sharp sword
D. His own finger

B. The penknife.
His violent outburst reveals his deep jealousy and rage when she resists writing the insulting words.

50. Pinchwife is convinced the figure is Alithea when she makes an additional strange request, asking him to put out what?

A. The candle
B. The torch
C. The fire
D. The light

A. The candle.
This darkness confirms Pinchwife’s deception, as he believes Alithea is embarrassed to look at him through masks.

Brief Overview

The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy by William Wycherley, published in 1675. The play is a sharp social satire that focuses on the hypocrisy and immorality of 17th-century London society, particularly among the wealthy elite.

The main character is Horner, a cynical rake who seeks to sleep with married women without their jealous husbands finding out. Horner and a Quack doctor spread a false report all over town that Horner is an eunuch and unfit for women. Horner hopes this rumor will give him “the privileges of one,” allowing him safe access to ladies’ private chambers.

Sir Jaspar Fidget, believing the report is true, leaves his wife, Lady Fidget, alone in Horner’s lodgings. Lady Fidget and her friends are called “women of honour,” but they secretly care only about their public reputation, not their virtue.

Another character, Pinchwife, married a simple “country wife,” Margery, because he wanted a fool who would be faithful. Pinchwife is extremely jealous, believing that “good wives and private soldiers should be ignorant.” When he brings Margery to town, he tries to hide her, but Horner sees her.