Blindness Symbol Analysis

Blindness is associated with love in The Country Wife, which reflects the theatrical and literary traditions which Wycherly is drawing on throughout his play. When Harcourt first meets Alithea (Sparkish, her fiancé, introduces him to her), he claims that he could look at her “until he was as blind” as Sparkish. When Sparkish asks what Harcourt means, Harcourt tells him that he is “stock blind” because he is a “true lover.” In the theatrical tradition, love is often associated with the Greek God Cupid who is portrayed as blindfolded. This imagery implies that lovers are biased towards their beloved and can see no evil in them; therefore, it is easy to be fooled in love and they are metaphorically “blind.” Wycherly, who is writing an ironic and satirical comedy, subverts this tradition because the only real “lovers” in the play, Alithea and Harcourt, are able to see clearly where others are not. For example, Harcourt sees immediately that Sparkish does not really love Alithea and is marrying her for her money and Alithea literally sees through Harcourt’s disguise when he comes to her dressed as a parson. Sparkish, who is not a lover, is the one who is metaphorically blind. He cannot see the truth about himself, or his friends, who make fun of him constantly and really dislike him. While Sparkish does not believe Alithea at the end of the play when she is accused of having an affair with Horner, Harcourt knows instantly that this rumor is false and he correctly stands up for Alithea’s innocence. The theatrical and mercenery nature of love among the cynical characters is further emphasized when it is contrasted with Margery’s love letter to Horner. Horner says that it is the first love letter “without flames, darts” or “destinies.” This reference to darts is a reference to cupid and suggests that, while more experienced lovers may write extravagant confessions of love, these confessions are false compared with Margery’s unaffected and honest confession of love. Again, this suggests that it is lovers who see clearly and who are not blind in Wycherly’s play.