Originally Posted by Karen 3rd November 2005

Here we have Elizabeth, the country wife, in London. On the other side of the stage enters Rochester, Etherege, Downs and Jane...then we have the King and Sackville.

The king plainly reminds Rochester that he released him from his banishment and it's time to pay up...pay his dues to the King.

Back to the Country Wife who is amazed at the fact that the King plays games with a prostitute and not his wife.

Now we have most of the exposition we need in this scene...but several of the people in this scene clearly made statements about what they expect and how they think.

Elizabeth's last speech tells us why she married Rochester."I married my Lord because he was romantic." Do you think she still feels that way, at this point?

Why did Jeffreys have her disclose this now?

And what do you think about all the info shared in scene 3 - Pall Mall? Did it change any way you thought about a character? Clarify anything?

Hibblette


This is the scene where we get the first inkling of the two Rochesters. The country wife says it herself.

We also get some of the humor that he has with the King...and you see right off that he walks the edge always with the Kings good side perhaps it is for me one of the redeeming qualities of Rochester that I do like. He found the whole aristocratic atmosphere and the pomp and circumstance to be fraudalent and silly.

Of course Charles II to me has always been interesting in History because I do believe that I have read that although officially they say he converted Catholicism on his death bed-truth was he was a closet Catholic all along and had the misfortune of being a King of a people that hated his church. Always actually believed this theory. It does say something rather good and noble about him that for the good of England he declared himself a Protistant but in reality he was not.

Now Elizabeth and her feelings for her Husband I believe yes she believed him still a romantic and in his way he is.

Deppraved


The verbal parrey between the King and Rochester is most amusing! The (thinly) veiled mutual attraction/repulsion is exciting to both of them-it has the element of danger for Rochester. The King asks him nicely to keep a low profile and engage his wit for Crown and Country. Rochester is clearly not interested in such an appointment.

Rochester reveals his infatuation with Barry to his wife. She reads him like a book, but is confused by his duplicitous behavior. She tries to make him understand her heartbreak, but he is insensitive to her needs and does not wish to change to make things right between them.

Jeffreys discloses the circumstances about what led her to marry him to show why she holds out hope--she still sees that romantic side and holds on to the hope that she can reach that part of him, which is still alive. She is a devoted wife and really does love him.