The Rival Widows

The Rival Widows, or the Fair Libertine is a 1735 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Cooper. The plot is a re-gendered mashup of two popular eighteenth-century genres: the libertine comedy (in the tradition of William Wycherley and George Farquhar) and the comedy of sentiment (man-of-feeling plays in the tradition of Colley Cibber and Sir Richard Steele). It is a comedic work that revolves around a complex web of romantic entanglements, misunderstandings, and schemes.

The central character is Lady Bellair, a widow known for her wit, beauty, and libertine lifestyle. Lady Bellair has a cousin named Lady Lurcher, who is introduced as a seemingly virtuous woman. Lady Bellair decides to sell her jointure to ease her husband's financial difficulties, and Sir William, Lady Bellair's friend, suggests that Lady Lurcher could be a suitable match for him. Bellair loves Freelove, but is exasperated by his rhetoric of feeling and his lack of interest in using witty exchanges or clever plotting to try to seduce her and win her love. In response, she creates various strategems to essentially manipulate him into tricking her into agreeing never to love him, knowing that she will desperately want anything that is forbidden to her. Her character is well summarized early in the play with her own comment that "my pleasures are my principles" and Freelove's summary of her character: "she has wit enough to supply the present dearth of it on the stage, and good nature to make that wit agreeable, even at court. In short, she's gay without levity, libertine without scandal, generous without design, and well-bred without affectation" (1.6). Her comments on marriage convey her recognition that power is at the core of all pleasure for a libertine:

"why would you exchange all these pretty things for a husband? Men only buy their slaves, but women their masters: --and I hate fetters, though of gold ... I had rather have twenty lovers, than be troubled with another [husband] for all that; there's some joy in having the man you doat on for your slave, but none for your Lord; I can now dispose of my frowns and smiles like an absolute Princess, to whom I please; can humble, exalt, undo, create again, to keep my subjects in obedience and exercise my power ... Tis always my way to strip Nature stark naked and view her without the disguise of custom and Hypocrisy--I think freely and speak openly, and the same honest frankness that obliges me to speak what I think, will oblige me to think what is right" (2.2).

Freelove, along with his friend Modern, is determined to expose Lady Lurcher's true nature and prevent the marriage. Meanwhile, Lady Lurcher has her own agenda and is involved in a plot to secure her financial future. Young Modern provides a point of comic ridiculousness as would-be rival for Lady Bellair's affections and victim of her witty performances of power. When Young Modern seeks to seduce Bellair, she replies that she cannot risk her reputation: if she is to agree to sleep with him, he must change the world's opinion of him from extravagant libertine of the old Restoration model to a puritan-style man of religious respectability. As the play progresses, Freelove and Modern uncover Lady Lurcher's deceptions, revealing her as a scheming and unscrupulous character. They expose her manipulations, including a plan to marry Sir William for financial gain. Lady Lurcher's true nature is further revealed, showcasing her hypocrisy and deceit.

While Young Modern believes he is terribly witty and edgy in his role playing, he is rendered ridiculous in his failures, most clearly in his not-quite-correct clothing choices and in the fact that when he purchases the "godly library" that Lady Bellair demands, every book is wrong. At the end of the play, Young Modern is about to be disowned by his uncle Modern for being so ridiculous and failing to live up to his principles, but he is saved by Lady Bellair, who explains her game. The elder Modern so admires her libertine cleverness that he offers her all of Young Modern's inheritance, of which she accepts only the coach, silver, and furniture that the elder Modern ordered for himself at the start of the play. The play takes a dramatic turn when Freelove confronts Lady Lurcher with evidence of her treachery. In a surprising twist, it is revealed that Lady Lurcher's marriage is part of a larger plot, and Freelove holds the key to breaking it off. Lady Lurcher, faced with the exposure of her schemes, is forced to make difficult choices.

At the end of the play, Lady Bellair agrees to marry Freelove, reveals Lady Lurcher's moral hypocrisy, and—following the tradition of fifth-act reformations in later libertine comedies—makes a moral statement in the last hundred words of the play, in response to the generosity of Modern's gift: "These are the only actions I can envy, and such as I only would be rich and great to imitate-- Pleasure, I have ever thought to be the chiefest good, but that pleasure is to be found no where, but in obeying reason and virtue" (5.11). She reframes the site of pleasure while remaining committed to its pursuit. Lady Bellair, though initially portrayed as a libertine, proves to be a woman of substance and moral character. The themes of love, deception, and virtue are woven throughout the intricate plot, resulting in a comedic and morally instructive theatrical piece.

Plot Summary:

Tiffany Potter summarizes the play's reflections on Bellair's mediation of libertinism, sentiment, and gender: "The relative social liberty of widowhood allows Bellair to recreate herself not as a mere extension of a man, nor just as a woman appropriating the privilege of masculinity, but as a model for a revised eighteenth-century femininity that others might emulate ... Both libertinism and sensibility win in this play, but only when they are genuine, original and passionate, and in this balance Cooper's Rival Widows looks outside rigid binaries to locate a femininity that integrates the competing value systems of eighteenth-century culture without sacrificing the individual woman's good-natured privilege, intelligence, or passion" (20).

In addition to a parallel plot that runs through the play, Young Modern's uncle Modern and Freelove's father Sir William Freelove debate the relationships among wealth, morality and gentlemanliness, with Modern arguing for intergenerational fiscal generosity and large allowances as long as a man "spends it like a gentleman" including "taverns, horses, gaming, women, any thing in reason ... except avarice, cowardice and hypocrisy, I can forgive him anything" (1.1). Freelove argues for parsimony as a strategy for raising a good man, leaving the younger Freelove unable to marry for love because of financial constraint. These two characters speak in conflicting languages of economy in a way that reflects several contemporary debates, and with the presence in the play of an extended scene among several merchants and creditors, Rival Widows offers a site of useful reflection on the challenge for members of various economic ranks in navigating the evolving relationships among birth, wealth, and status.

Act 1:

Lady Bellair, a widow in financial distress, desires to remarry. Sir William is in love with Lady Lucy Bellair. Lady Bellair plots to secure Sir William's marriage to her niece, Lady Lucy Bellair. Modern advises Sir William on the pros and cons of marriage.

Act 2:

Lady Bellair enlists Freelove's assistance in her marriage scheme. A plan is devised to force Sir William into marrying Lady Lucy Bellair. Lady Bellair presents a mysterious box, claiming it contains valuable secrets about Lady Lucy Bellair.

Act 3:

Lady Lurcher, Lady Bellair's cousin, emerges as a potential rival. The contents of the mysterious box create intrigue and suspicion among the characters. Lady Bellair continues her manipulative efforts to secure her financial stability.

Act 4:

The mystery surrounding the box deepens as Lady Lurcher's intentions become clearer. Characters like Freelove get entangled in Lady Bellair's scheme, driven by the mysterious box's contents. Revelations start unfolding, hinting at the true nature of Lady Lurcher's involvement.

Act 5:

Secrets contained in the box are revealed by Double, exposing Lady Lurcher's role and intentions. The box contains various items such as "a choice Collection of excellent new Receipts for the Complexion, Hair, Lips, Teeth," along with "Select Passages of Rochester’s Poems" and "certain amorous Miniatures from Italy.": "As I live, Madam, a complete Magazine of Beauty! ... Some Select Passages of Rochester’s Poems; hah! and, inclos’d in a Leaf of the Common Prayer, certain amorous Miniatures from Italy." (5.9, 147)

Characters confront the consequences of their actions as the truth behind the box and its contents come to light. Lady Bellair's schemes, as well as Lady Lurcher's manipulations, unravel, leading to resolution and retribution, declines the offered financial assistance from Modern and returns the jewels that he attempted to repurchase for her. Modern, despite his attempts to recompense Lady Bellair with various items, including plate, equipage, and furniture, is declined by Lady Bellair. She returns the jewels to him, refusing to accept any form of repayment or assistance. Lady Bellair acknowledges Modern's generosity but expresses her admiration for his actions, emphasizing that true pleasure is found in adhering to reason and virtue. Her response indicates a shift in her perspective towards valuing integrity and moral principles.

The epilogue, delivered by a "Friend," addresses potential criticisms of the play, defending it against harsh judgments and urging the audience to consider the intent behind the work, specifically highlighting the character development and moral aspects depicted.

The original Covent Garden cast included John Hippisley as Sir William Freelove, Roger Bridgewater as Modern, Lacy Ryan as Freelove, Thomas Chapman as Young Modern, Anne Hallam as Lady Lurcher and Christiana Horton as Lady Bellair.