A Bold Stroke For A Wife - Characters

Characters

Periwinkle is described as an antique collector, his wardrobe collection is made up of clothes of fashion from the last century, and he follows the words of the author of a collection of travelers' tales Sir John Mandeville more than the words of the Bible. Deception to obtain his consent fails the first time, but is successful the second time when tricked in to signing the consent when presented with the false Lease for Pillage.

Tradelove is described as a stickler for trade, hates anything that comes with a sword, and a great admirer of Dutch traders believing they understand trade better than any other nation. It is also noted that he is devilish in his dealings, as he cheated his father for the advantage of stock to get a bargain. He is encouraged to offer his consent to marry Anne Lovely to the Dutch trader in lieu of the payment of two thousand pounds wagered.

Sir Philip Modelove is described as a "beau", an old fashionable man, dresses fancy by keeping with the new fashions, and is the most cheap of the whole company on birthdays. He admires the French and enjoys the French operas, balls, and masquerades. Approved Colonel Fainwell's French behaviours and high class appearance and gave his consent to marry Anne Lovely. He introduces Fainwell to the rest of the guardians.

Obadiah Prim is a very rigid Quaker. At the start of the play Anne Lovely is seen entering Prim's house to start her three month stay with him. He believes those who are not Quakers are impure. He is deceived by Colonel Fainwell when he impersonates Simon Pure and gives consent to marry Anne Lovely when he is convinced Colonel Fainwell had converted Lovely.

Colonel Fainwell is the protagonist in this play, going after the consent of the four guardians to receive Anne Lovely's hand in marriage. His friend Freeman helps him achieve his goals in any way possible. He resorts to impersonations and deceitful behaviours to gain the consent of the four guardians by transforming himself in to the ideal husband each guardian seeks.

Anne Lovely is the damsel in distress held hostage by the four guardians. She seeks out an exit from them and relies on Fainwell to obtain consent from her guardians to gain her freedom. She has a massive amount of money that comes with her when she marries after the guardians give consent. She changes her life style and attitude for each guardian she stays with, as she has to stay with a different guardian every three months per year.

Mrs. Prim is Obadiah's wife. She is seen to interact with Anne Lovely and constantly gives her a tough time for not being a Quaker and her choice of appearance in clothes.

Betty is Anne Lovely's maid and only friend.

Simon Pure is a Quaker preacher from Pennsylvania who comes to visit Obadiah Prim. His visit creates an entrance for Colonel Fainwell and is impersonated by him.

Freeman is Colonel Fainwell's friend and dedicates himself to help Fainwell achieve his goals with Anne Lovely. He initially introduces Fainwell to his difficult task and directly helps obtain consent from Tradelove by convincing Tradelove to give up consent to Fainwell since he couldn't pay the wager amount he lost. Freeman also keeps an eye out for Colonel Fainwell during his impersonation as Simon Pure and sends in a false letter to help.

Sackbut is the tavern keeper featured often in this play. He describes each guardian to Colonel Fainwell and also helps Fainwell with his goal of obtaining consent from Anne Lovely's guardians. Sackbut acts as a witness to the signing of consent by Tradelove.