The Country Wife · Character

Mrs. Margery Pinchwife

A country bride who has never seen a play or a gallant, and whose hungry curiosity makes her husband's jealous cage the most dangerous place in London.

major

Also known as Pinchwife, Mrs. Pinchwife

First appearance: act i

As a major figure in The Country Wife, Mrs. Margery Pinchwife is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Margery arrives in London fresh from the country, kept so close by her husband that she asks her sister-in-law a thousand times a day what the town is like. Her innocence is real but restless: she cries at a cross word, then wonders aloud why there are no playermen in the country, and admits she likes them finer than her own bud. Pinchwife's frantic efforts to keep her ignorant only sharpen her appetite for everything he forbids, making her the play's most unpredictable and most watched wife.

See Mrs. Margery Pinchwife in act i Book page

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Character Web

14 connections

A slice of how Mrs. Margery Pinchwife sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Social
Family
Other

Character groups

Main characters and intriguers
Protagonist
Peripheral and meta references

+9 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this scene, the emotional and psychological peak occurs when Horner reveals to Quack that his feigned impot…

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Relationships

Sir Jasper Fidget
social · ambivalent
Margery and Sir Jasper are acquaintances in the social circle of London, with Sir Jasper… How this plays out →
Alithea
family · positive
Mr. Harcourt
social · ambivalent
Lady Fidget
rivalry · negative

Sir Jasper Fidget
Margery and Sir Jasper are acquaintances in the social circle of London, with Sir Jasper acting as a guardian figure over the ladies.
Alithea
Alithea is Margery's sister-in-law, married to Margery's brother, and tries to guide the naive country wife in London society.
Mr. Harcourt
Harcourt interacts with Margery as a friend of her brother-in-law and as part of Horner's circle, finding her amusingly naive.
Lady Fidget
Lady Fidget is jealous and competitive with Margery over Horner's attention, viewing her as a naive rival.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mrs. Margery Pinchwife in act i