I’ll give them this: it is a good strategem.

It has come to my attention that I haven’t written a post for The Beaux Strategem yet. To be honest, it has come to my attention that I haven’t posted on a lot of plays yet… something I really am planning to rectify as soon as possible. I feel so unworthy compared to some of you who blog every week without fail. Forgive me!

So, as we were talking about in class last week for another play, this is another play with meaningful names. How meaningful may depend on your temperament. But Aimwell and Archer are pretty representative of the male heroes: both because they are soldiers and because of the subtle differences the names imply: Aimwell has the best intentions (aims) and is slightly kinder than the more mercenary Archer, who simply gets the job done without emotions. Mrs. Sullen’s name strikes me as a bit unfair- probably because it has negative connotations that I don’t think she deserves. She does has to have the same last name as her husband, who deserves the negativity, but I think his name should be a lot stronger than sullen.

This (the Sullens) is for me the most disturbing elements of the play. It makes me shudder just to think of all the meaning behind Mrs. Sullen’s lines in Act II, scene i. when she describes her husband coming home the previous morning at four. This woman is being effectively raped every single night by her disgusting, brutal, drunkard husband and she is so flippant about the whole thing. She hates it, but it comes with matrimony. The only comfort I can take is that she’s a fictional character, but even then she is probably a realistic depiction of any number of women at the time. Ugh. It makes me feel totally…unclean. She even says in the same scene that all she wants in the appearance of civility to save face. Talk about low marital expectations: Well I just wish he would beat me on the body-parts that are covered by my clothing, so I can save my pride.

But moving on to lighter fare, I love all of Archer’s delightful little pick up lines, which I know Jay was good enough to post in his blog.  But what happens to Cherry? She is an interesting seemingly multi-layered character and we never find out what happens to her at play’s end. I mean she ends up with “the good guys” when she tells Aimwell about the burglars plot, but I would like to know more. Maybe I’ll pull a Wide Sargasso Sea on her.

Even though Archer and Aimwell are the heroes, reformed rakes etc. I didn’t like them very much. Suddenly it’s okay to everyone that they’ve been running around the English countryside ruining virgins and stealing ladies’ fortunes? Well, not completely okay, since Farquhar equates their activities with those of the highwaymen. And then there is the conspiracy- not just foreigners, but a foreign priest- you can’t get much more evil than that. Hide the children the Irish Catholics are coming!

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