The Country Wife is about marriage, infidelity, and male friendship. 

Reading and Writing Workshop: The Country Wife and Restoration Comedy
Workshop Overview:
This workshop explores William Wycherley’s The Country Wife through the lens of common motifs found across Restoration comedies, such as sexual intrigue, hypocrisy, satire of manners, and gender roles. Each session will include reading, discussion, and writing activities to deepen understanding and promote creative engagement.

Session 1: Introduction to Restoration Comedy and The Country Wife
​Objectives:
  • Introduce the historical and cultural context of Restoration comedy.
  • Explore the theatrical conventions of the Restoration stage.
  • Begin reading The Country Wife.
Readings: Writing Prompt:
  • Reflect on how Wycherley’s play fits into the Restoration comedy tradition. What motifs can you already spot in the opening scenes?

Session 2: Sexual Intrigue and Libertinism
Objectives:
  • Examine the motif of sexual intrigue and libertinism.
  • Analyze Horner as the archetypal Restoration rake.
Readings: Writing Prompt:
  • Compare Horner with Dorimant from The Man of Mode. How do both characters embody libertinism?

Session 3: Hypocrisy and Satire of Manners
Objectives:
  • Explore how The Country Wife satirizes upper-class hypocrisy.
  • Discuss how Restoration comedies critique social pretenses.
Readings: Writing Prompt:
  • How does Wycherley use the character of Pinchwife or Lady Fidget to expose social hypocrisy? Compare this to Sheridan’s characters in The School for Scandal.

Session 4: Gender Roles and the "Country Wife" Trope
Objectives:
  • Analyze representations of women and gender roles.
  • Focus on Margery Pinchwife and the trope of the naïve country wife.
Readings: Writing Prompt:
  • How is Margery’s "country innocence" contrasted with the more "worldly" women? How does this reflect the period’s anxieties about female agency?

Session 5: Resolution, Morality, and Ambiguity
Objectives:
  • Discuss the play’s ambiguous ending.
  • Reflect on how Restoration comedies balance morality and amorality.
Readings: Writing Prompt:
  • Do you think Wycherley is ultimately critiquing or endorsing the behavior of his characters? Use examples from both The Country Wife and The Relapse.

Session 6: Creative Writing Project
​Objectives:
  • Apply understanding of Restoration comedy to original writing.
Assignment:
  • Write a short scene (3-5 pages) imitating the style and motifs of Restoration comedy. Include at least two motifs such as sexual intrigue, hypocrisy, or satire of manners.

Optional Supplemental Texts (Public Domain):
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