Definitions of Marriage: Village Wooing, On the Rocks, and The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles: A Vision of Judgment

Abstract

Jean Reynolds, looking at Village Wooing , On the Rocks , and The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles, finds that the three couples at the heart of these three plays define marriage very differently. In one instance, a woman simply wants to be married and has selected her mate. In another, the husband of a long-married couple is quite content, while his wife is bored and frustrated. And in the last case, group marriage is tried unsuccessfully, suggesting that, in the end, a marriage is what each couple makes of it.