In Wycherley's play The Country Wife, characters invert the historical period's normal power dynamics of reputation and gender to create power from a state of powerlessness. While some characters appear powerful due to their status, honor, and reputation, other seemingly powerless characters are able to gain power over these characters through deception. The protagonist Horner deliberately places himself and his reputation in a situation seen as powerless and manages to deceively gain power over many of the other characters. The women of the play, in a less powerful position due to the unfortunate gender roles of the time period rather than by choice, similarly use deception to gain power over their seemingly more powerful husbands by using Horner's betrayal to their own advantage. Wycherley, in demonstrating that the women of the play are able to gain power only by taking advantage of Horner's unlikely situation, may have been ridiculing the gender roles of the time and suggesting that they were unfair. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAlthough it may seem more likely that one can gain the most power from a strong reputation and good status, the protagonist Horner has intentionally tarnished his reputation to gain more power in an unexpected way. Power in The Country Wife tends to consist of the ability to threaten another character, usually of a sexual nature. Husbands fear becoming cuckolds if their wives sleep with other men. Horner spread the rumor that a botched surgery had left him powerless, leaving his friends and acquaintances with the perception that he had lost power and was even less of a man. At the end of a long joke about store signs, his friend Sparkish delivers the punchline “Haven't you ever seen Master Horner? He lodges in Russell Street, and it's a mark of a man, you know, since he came from France! (Wycherley 1.1.273-5). Sparkish suggests that, since Horner is now apparently “powerless,” he is no longer truly a man, but only an indication of one. A store sign is a physical representation of what the store contains, but offers nothing else beyond that. Similarly, Horner is now seen as representing a man incapable of performing virile activities, such as reproduction. By losing the ability to reproduce, he loses the only power he would otherwise have over the other men they seem most concerned about; the ability to threaten other men with the prospect of becoming cuckolds. Now that he is seen as a eunuch, he is given freer access to his friends' wives. Another friend of his, Sir Jaspar, after personally affirming the rumor that Horner is now practically a eunuch, says to him “Please come and dine with me, and after dinner play cards with my wife; you are already fit for women in that game" (1.1.106-7). He first shows that he has been deceived by Horner enough to trust him in the company of his wife by inviting him into her presence. He then compares Horner to a woman. Women, at the time of the play, were still devoid of most forms of power, which shows that she perceived Horner as less powerful due to her physical state. The phrase "suitable for women in that game" also implies who is not suitable for women in other "games", namely sexual relationships, another indication that he no longer sees Horner as a threat who holds any form of power over him Ironically, he trusts him Horner will not be able to make him a cuckold is exactly what turns him into a cuckold, making him seem less powerful and lessmenacing, he gains more power over their husbands than they are capable of perceiving, taking advantage of his permitted closeness to the married women of the play, many of whom become his lovers. furthermore, they gain power over their husbands, power being defined as the ability to threaten. While Horner acted with deception to alter his public perception so he would be seen as less powerful, the women in the play are inherently less powerful simply because of their gender. While Horner acted to increase his power over the men in the play, the women act deceptively to gain power over the men they never had. Their power is the ability to use deception to secretly subvert their husbands' desires and, like Horner, to turn husbands into cuckolds. The most reserved of the women in the play, Margery Pinchwife, is often locked away by her husband so that she does not leave the house or have an affair, particularly with Horner. When her husband finds her writing a letter to Horner, however, he seems to be doing Alithea a favor. Regarding Alithea, Margery's husband says “Well, I'll settle it; Horner will have it. I would rather give him my sister than lend him my wife, and such an alliance will prevent his claims on my wife” (5.1.64-6). This is another statement full of dramatic irony. Margery disguises herself as Alithea, so Pinchwife is, in truth, "lending Horner [his] wife", and the "alliance" created when the disguised Margery and Horner meet is exactly what Pinchwife was trying to avoid. Margery here gains power over her husband by tricking him into allowing her to make him a cuckold. The power wielded by Horner and her lovers is shown to the audience most explicitly in the way they speak to each other in front of their husbands. Particularly in the infamous “china scene,” Horner and the wives speak in ways that make it clear to the audience that they are having an affair, but which the husbands believe are innocent conversations because they, still believing Horner is impotent, are ignorant. implications. The china scene begins with Horner and Lady Fidget locked in a room while her husband Sir Jaspar and their friend Squeamish stand outside. When they leave, Fidget says he "toiled and toiled for the prettiest piece of china" (4.3.87-8). The word "china" in this play has already been given sexual connotations, although they were subtle and may not be picked up until Squeamish also asks Horner to give her the china. Fidget tells her "as far as I know he has no more left" (4.3.197-8), implying that she has finished him and that he no longer has the energy to have sex again. The squeamish persists, so Horner tells her "I can't make china for you all, but I'll have a wagon for you, too, some other time" (4.3.203-4). A "wheeled chariot" refers to a cylindrical porcelain vase, clearly a phallic symbol, indicating that Horner also offers to satisfy his sexual needs once he is physically able to do so. (4.3. note 204). It is still possible to interpret the scene as innocent until Fidget asks Horner, regarding what he had just said to Squeamish, "What do you mean by that promise?" and Horner replies "Alas, he has an innocent and literal understanding" (4.3.206-7). Incidentally, Horner's statement that Squeamish understands this conversation literally is an admission to the audience that he and Fidget spoke metaphorically. Depending on how the character of Squeamish is portrayed, the audience might interpret her actions as an innocent request for decorative china or, if she asks suggestively, a request for sex. Horner's offering of a phallic symbol suggests, however, that he and Squeamish have too.