The Innocent Mistress - Fall 2021

  Characters: Sir Charles Beauclair:  Younger brother with no estate; in an unhappy marriage to Lady Beauclair and longs to be with Bellinda instead Lady Beauclair:  Wealthy, older, "ill-bred" widow that was previously married to Mr. Flywife, but has been remarried to Sir Charles; mother to Peggy  Peggy Beauclair:  "Ill-bred" daughter of Lady Beauclair; being pursued by Mr. Spendall so that he can obtain her fortune Mrs. Beauclair:  Clever, older sister to Sir Charles; has a love affair with Sir Francis Wildhorn Sir Francis Wildhorn:  Has a love affair with Mrs. Beauclair Bellinda:  Hides her real identity (Marianne) and goes by "Bellinda" instead after escaping a forced marriage and stays with Sir Charles' niece, Mrs. Beauclair; longs to be with Sir Charles Mr. Flywife:  Rich merchant and previous husband to Lady Beauclair; flees to Jamaica but then returns to London after death of Bellinda's brother and wishes to be with Lady Beauclair afte...

Script Analysis : The Innocent Mistress      The Innocent Mistress, a multiplot play, was published and performed for the first time in 1697. It was Pix’s second comedy, which was a farce in three acts that she had written in 1696 in response to The Female Wits. The Innocent Mistress constitutes a characteristic example of an Augustan play, with  manners and intrigue. There is a moralistic turn with respect to Carolean tradition, stereotyped plots, and a prescriptive end. Characterization and plot are overpowered by dialogue and humor, leaving the plot to be a series of complicated situations thrown together to stir conflict and humor. The interwoven love conflicts throughout the play fits “the comedy of manners'' that was popular during this time. It also fits traditional patterns of Roman New Comedy, consisting of ; prologue or exposition, epistasis, or the core of the action, and catastrophe, or its resolution. The evolution that the “happy couple” suffe...