The Gamester
Gamester, The,a comedy by J. Shirley , acted 1633 , printed 1637 .
This was one of Shirley's most popular plays, adapted (and sentimentalized) by C. Johnson in 1712 as The Wife's Relief and by Garrick in 1758 as The Gamesters. Its main plot is taken from the Heptameron of Marguerite of Navarre.
Wilding, the title character, tells his wife of his intention to make love to his ward, her relation Penelope, and makes an assignation with the girl. Mrs Wilding takes Penelope's place; Wilding, who has just lost heavily to his friend Hazard, sends him in his place as a way of paying his debt. Naturally, when husband and wife compare notes, he is appalled at the revelation of the double bed-trick. To save his honour and conceal his own cuckolding, he arranges for Hazard to marry Penelope; it then turns out that everyone's honour has been preserved anyway, so he has cheated himself twice....
[The entire page is 214 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
