The Double-Dealer: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Double-Dealer" is a play that intricately weaves the lives of several central characters around themes of deceit, sensuality, and betrayal. The primary antagonist, Jack Maskwell, is a cunning double-dealer who seeks to usurp his benefactor Lord Touchwood and win the affections of the wealthy heiress, Cynthia, through manipulation and treachery. Mellefont, the well-intentioned heir and Maskwell's unsuspecting target, embodies virtue and trust, ultimately becoming a victim of Maskwell's schemes. Lady Touchwood, driven by passion, becomes complicit in Maskwell's plans against her own nephew, showcasing the destructive nature of unbridled desire.
Lord Touchwood, initially deceived by both Maskwell and Lady Touchwood, grapples with misguided loyalty before uncovering the truth about the conspirators. Cynthia stands as a beacon of loyalty and integrity, determined to expose the nefarious plots against Mellefont while resisting Maskwell's advances. The play also features characters like Lady Plyant, who embodies hypocrisy, and Sir Paul Plyant, a well-meaning but oblivious husband. Meanwhile, supporting characters like Ned Careless and Lord Froth add layers of wit and commentary, enriching the narrative's exploration of moral complexities. Overall, "The Double-Dealer" presents a rich tapestry of character dynamics, revealing how personal ambitions and desires can lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Double-Dealer: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Congreve
First published: 1694
Genre: Play
Locale: London, England
Plot: Comedy
Time: Seventeenth century
Jack Maskwell, the double-dealer, whose villainy can be admired only because of its audacity. A pensioner of Lord Touchwood, he plots to become his benefactor's heir and marry an heiress. Toward this end, he pretends to be a friend of Mellefont, Lord Touchwood's nephew and heir. He also becomes Lady Touchwood's lover, both for his sensual delight and for an opportunity to put her in a position where she will be a willing tool against the innocent Mellefont. All of Maskwell's evil machinations appear to be so well planned as to bear fruit, but his success causes him to overreach himself, so that he is unmasked as a traitorous friend and as a cuckold-maker. He is motivated only by selfishness and sensuality in his wicked schemes against his friends.
Mellefont, the chief victim of Maskwell's plots. He is a mannerly, virtuous young man who is his uncle's heir and about to marry Cynthia, a rich heiress. He trusts Maskwell: His own honesty blinds him to the dishonesty in his enemy, to the point that he makes Maskwell his confidant and tells him all his thoughts and plans.
Lady Touchwood, Mellefont's aunt by marriage. She is a passionate woman who falls in love with Mellefont, even to offering herself to him in his bedroom. When she is repulsed by the honest young man, her love-turned-hate puts her in league with Maskwell to ruin Mellefont. She then becomes Maskwell's mistress. Her zeal to enter Mellefont's bed, even after being repulsed, proves her undoing, and her husband catches her and reveals her as an adulteress. Sensuality, driven by passions, dominates her nature.
Lord Touchwood, an honest man who, like his nephew, is deceived by dishonest people. When he is misled by Lady Touchwood and Maskwell, he casts off his nephew, believing that Mellefont has tried to seduce Lady Touchwood. He then vows that he will make Maskwell his heir and help that young man marry the rich heiress, Cynthia. With Cynthia's help, however, he discovers the treachery of Maskwell and his wife in time to reconsider his actions and reinstate his nephew.
Cynthia, a beautiful young heiress in love with Mellefont. She refuses to consider Maskwell as a husband because she is sincerely in love with the man she wants to marry. She helps unmask the plot against Mellefont.
Lady Plyant, Cynthia's stepmother, the second wife of Sir Paul Plyant. She pretends to great piety and virtue, even to the point of letting her husband enter the marriage bed only once a year, on their wedding anniversary. She dominates her husband, reading all of his mail and issuing him pocket money as one would give an allowance to a child. Her hypocrisy becomes manifest, however, when Careless, Mellefont's friend, courts her and easily turns her from her virtuous path, revealing her piety to be mere silliness and hypocrisy. That she wishes to be of easy virtue is also indicated by her too ready belief that Mellefont, under cover of marrying Cynthia, will attempt to seduce her. Like her sister-in-law, Lady Touchwood, she is dominated by sensuality.
Sir Paul Plyant, Cynthia's father. A good man but stupid, he accepts his wife's dominance and her supposed piety, not wanting to admit that she fails him as a wife. He wishes his daughter to marry so that she can provide him with a grandson; his wife appears unlikely to produce a son and heir. He is Lady Touchwood's brother.
Ned Careless, a happy, witty young man, Mellefont's good friend. He distrusts Maskwell and tries to warn Mellefont against him. Careless, almost as a joke, undertakes to sue for Lady Plyant's love, in the hope of leading that woman to provide a son for her husband.
Lord Froth, a solemn, stupid nobleman. He tries to appear a bit better than everyone else. He fears especially to demean himself by laughing at other people's jokes.
Lady Froth, a vain, silly woman. She wants to appear as a scholar and poet, but poetical efforts merely show that she has neither taste nor talent.
Mr. Brisk, a would-be wit who succeeds only in being a cox-comb. He strives desperately to be a brilliant conversational-ist, only to prove himself a bore.
The Reverend Mr. Saygrace, an absurd clergyman who is Maskwell's willing tool. He would like to be considered a great writer of sermons, as well as a scholar and a wit.