in A New Wonder, A Woman Never Vexed — Rowley, William; Heywood, Thomas (?)
Metadata
Play
A New Wonder, A Woman Never Vexed
Author
Rowley, William; Heywood, Thomas (?)
Year (catalogued)
1632
First performance
1611
Decade
1630s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Unknown
Speech prefix(es)
Doct.
Words
335
Characters
1804
Typicality
0.45 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A11153
BritDrama no.
2084
Cluster
Cluster 2 — Allegory, Nature & pageant voices
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
I would I knew your meaning, Sir. Sir, this is none of my traffic; I fell no husbands. Your men pregnant, and merry, mistress. Nay now you wade too far, Sir. You sent for me, Gentlewoman? This is my duty; pray speak your mind. At the half way betwixt thirty and forty. Vnparaleld; this gift is singular, And to you alone belonging; you are the Moon, For there's but one, all women else are stars, For there are none of Like condition: Full oft, and many have I herd complain Of discontents, thwarts, and adversities; But a second to your self, I never knew To groan under the superflux of blessings, To have ever been a lain unto sorrow; No trip of fate? Sure it is wonderful. It's a good doubt; but make it not extreme, It's some affliction, that you are afflicted For want of affliction: Cherish that; Yet wrest it not to misconstruction; For all your blessings are free gifts from heaeven Health, wealth, and peace; nor can they turnto Curses, but by abuse. Pray let me question you: You lost a husband, was it no grief to you? All this was happy; nor can you wrest it From a heavenly blessing. Do not appoint The rod: leave still the stroke unto the Magistrate; the time is not passed, but You may feel enough. This is but small. You would not suffer it? I am amazed at it. Seek not to cross it then. This is a perfect contrary indeed. You hurt your self most with impatience. A man of fair condition, well reputed. 'Tis good counsel mistress, receive it so. I must not distate, what I have helped to make; I that joined you. Spoil not a good Text with a false Comment; All these are blessings, and from heaven sent; It is your husbands good, he's now transformed To a better shade, the prodigal's returned. Come, come, know joy, make not abundance scant; You plain of that which thousand women want.
Plot summary
Plot — A New Wonder, A Woman Never Vexed
Old Forster has recently made his fortune by marrying a rich widow, but they are both dissatisfied with the financial irresponsibility of his brother and son, whom ===== PAGE 17 ===== 1624 they are on the point of disowning. Robert, the son, has purloined some of his stepmother’s money to buy his uncle, Stephen Forster, out of debtors’ prison; he also gives Stephen money to buy new clothes. Stephen uses the money for gambling, and is cheated. Robert is disappointed to find him in the gaming-house, and he himself likewise gets into trouble with his stepmother for going there, even though he only went in to look for Stephen. Mistress Forster has an uncommonly even- tempered friend, another rich widow, who enjoys miraculous good fortune. When she loses her wedding ring in the river, it turns up inside a salmon bought by her maid. She meets Stephen at the gaming-house and likes him. She suggests that he should marry for money, and offers herself. He accepts, and they perform a hand-fasting. Jane is being pursued by two undesirable suitors, an old knight and a young fool. Her father, Alderman Brune, suggests Robert Forster as a third option, if he can be reconciled with his father. Brune is Old Forster’s partner in a mercantile venture, but accepts Forster’s offer to buy him out; he takes payment in cloth rather than cash, which clears Forster’s warehouses for the new merchandise due in any day. However, Forster continues to look askance at Robert. News arrives that the ships have sunk in the Thames: Forster is bankrupt, and voluntarily commits himself to prison in order to avoid his creditors. Stephen takes charge of his new wife’s property, and proves, against expectations, to be provident rather than spendthrift. He asks Robert to help him manage the estate, and adopts him as his heir, insisting only that he does nothing to help his father. However, Stephen himself pays the prison-keeper to ensure that his brother remains comfortable. When Jane’s two other suitors complain of the favour shown to Robert, Stephen produces evidence that they are in debt to the widow’s first husband (and therefore now to him), and the threat of arrest gets rid of them. The widow generously accepts their payment of £200 to discharge a debt of ten times that amount. Unable to resist his sense of filial obligation, Robert purloins the money and gives it to his father. Stephen pretends to be angry, but secretly pays off his brother’s creditors and thereby secures his release.…