Connection with the audience is key. Knowing the personalities of the characters are now as important as the jokes they tell. In The Country Wife, by William Wycherley, he does just that. In the article, Restoration Comedy: The Reality and the Myth by L.C. Knights, he explains how in this particular case the playwright does it.
“In the first place, the dramatist gives each of the characters their moments with the audience. Pinchwife and Alithea both comment on the simplicities of Margery, but Alithea also comments on the follies of Pinchwife. When Sparkish or Sir Jasper are there, Pinchwife gets his turn to comment on the absurdities of their behavior.”
Knowing now the general temperaments of most of the players the audience can enjoy them more. According to Congreve this is precisely what is needed for true humor. Let us look at a humorous character, in both senses of the word. Mr. Pinchwife, is jealous, he is utterly concerned with his reputation and having power over his lady. He is volatile and stuck up and rude. In act five, scene one, we get a glimpse of this, Pinchwife says, “Come take the pen and make an end of the letter, just as you intended; if you are false in a tittle, I shall soon perceive it and punish you with this as you deserve. [lays his hand on his sword.]” He threatens his wife with a sword if she does not finish the letter correctly. Knowing his extreme nature makes every situation in the play humorous. From this point on the audience is aware of the reaction he would have if he found out about Horner, which makes the relationship between Horner and Mrs. Pinchwife extremely humorous. More so than the other woman, though their husbands would also fall from their high horses were they to know of Horner's true self. When the author takes a character like Pinchwife and bases his reactions in a personality he bridges the gaps between the character and the audience. They can now relate to this man; they know other men like this; they may even be this way themselves. But what makes it so humorous and not offensive or sympathetic is the way the character is exaggerated. He is always suspicious and always trying to disguise his wife so that she is not the object men will be after. He tries to control her so much that he is violent at times. This extreme exaggeration of the personality type sets Pinchwife apart from the audience so to not offend, while his basic actions are rooted in feelings everyone can relate to. He is a perfect character for comedy which drives the play. His reactions to every possibly situation that is shown, make each of those situations humorous. Pinchwife, according to Congreve would be the most humorous character in the play. Mrs. Pinchwife is also humorous. She has a very naïve and curious personality which is exactly what her plot centers around. Those in the audience, that can relate to naivety, would be self-conscious had it not been played up and exaggerated. She is overly curious of the way the townspeople act and the manners they portray. Which the audience knows might lead her toward Horner, which would infuriate Pinchwife. This makes the play even richer in humor. Her extreme curiosity and naivety are exactly the kind of humor Congreve talks about.
In Marriage A-La-Mode, it is a little harder to distinguish one character that is a “humorous” character. There is not that one character driving the humor of the situation. Indeed, most of the humorous characters are examples of “misinterpreted” humor according to Congreve. So then what is it that makes the play successful?
The characters of the low plot exhibit many of the vehicles of humor, wit, folly, habit, and affectation, but there is not the real human connection to each character that we need. There is, like I previously mentioned, a concept character where the concept of marriage is something each audience member could relate to. In the same way as characters reacting to Mr. and Mrs. Pinchwife, the characters reacting to their view of marriage is humorous. Melantha's affectation of the French makes her character funny but not quite as humorous. “Let me die but he's a fine man; he sings and dances en fracais, and writes the billets doux to a miracle” (act 2 scene1 line 3-4). The wit that each character possesses is a learned skill. The folly of the grotto situation makes for a hysterical accident, and Palamede's habit of being a bachelor and not wanting to commit to marriage is something he personally has grown used to. So there are many funny things about the characters, but it is their own reactions to the character of marriage that really connects the audience with that humor. Rhodophil sums up his ideas in a speech beginning in line 42:
