The Country Wife: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Wycherley. 17 speaking roles, 29,126 words, about 208 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Horner has the most to say in The Country Wife: about 714 lines and 5,857 words, 20.1% of the play. The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy in which Horner pretends to be impotent to pursue other men’s wives, while Pinchwife tries to hide his young wife from the town. Horner and Pinchwife are nearly equal, at about 20% and 18% of the words. Pinchwife speaks in 11 of 12 sections, and Mrs. Pinchwife, the country wife of the title, has about 9%.

Speaking roles: 17
Scenes: 12
Words: 29,126
Speech time: 208 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Horner	714	5,857	20.1%	41.8	6
Pinchwife	661	5,347	18.4%	38.2	11
Sparkish	451	3,768	12.9%	26.9	8
Mrs. Pinchwife	328	2,641	9.1%	18.9	7
Harcourt	267	2,110	7.2%	15.1	5
Lady Fidget	243	2,041	7%	14.6	4
Alithea	262	1,984	6.8%	14.2	6
Sir Jasper	195	1,595	5.5%	11.4	6
Lucy	108	894	3.1%	6.4	4
Dorilant	107	830	2.8%	5.9	4
Quack	91	743	2.6%	5.3	4
Mrs. Squeamish	84	610	2.1%	4.4	3
Mrs. Dainty	57	389	1.3%	2.8	3
Lady Squeamish	31	256	0.9%	1.8	2
Boy	7	49	0.2%	0.4	3
Bookseller	1	4	0%	0.0	1
All the Ladies.	1	3	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1.1	2.1	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4
Horner
Pinchwife
Sparkish
Mrs. Pinchwife
Harcourt
Lady Fidget
Alithea
Sir Jasper
Lucy
Dorilant
Quack
Mrs. Squeamish

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Mrs. Pinchwife: ““For Mr. Horner.”—So, I am glad he has told me…”	Act 4, Scene 2	364	37
Pinchwife: “How’s this? nay, you shall not stir, madam:—“D…”	Act 4, Scene 4	280	28
Horner: “Doctor, thou wilt never make a good chemist, t…”	Act 1, Scene 1	180	18
Sparkish: “Damn the poets! they have turned ’em into burl…”	Act 3, Scene 2	148	15
Mrs. Pinchwife: “Well, ’tis e’en so, I have got the London dise…”	Act 4, Scene 4	146	15
Pinchwife: “I agree to all. Let her make haste.—There, ’ti…”	Act 5, Scene 1	143	15
Sparkish: “No, madam, I thank you. I suppose, that was a …”	Act 5, Scene 3	136	14
Lady Fidget: “Not every way.—But let us sit and be merry.”	Act 5, Scene 4	122	13
Sparkish: “I love to be envied, and would not marry a wif…”	Act 3, Scene 2	116	12
Alithea: “But marry Mr. Horner! my brother does not inte…”	Act 5, Scene 3	114	12

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Quack and Bookseller
Mrs. Squeamish and Bookseller
Mrs. Dainty and Bookseller
Lady Squeamish and Bookseller
Boy and Bookseller
Bookseller and All the Ladies.

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Country Wife?

Horner, with about 714 lines and 5,857 words, 20.1% of everything spoken in the play. Pinchwife is next, with about 661 lines (18.4%).

How long is The Country Wife?

The full text has 29,126 spoken words, about 208 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in The Country Wife?

17 named roles speak in this edition, across 12 scenes. 5 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.