The School for Wives Literary Elements

Comedy

English

The action takes place in a nunnery but the exact year when the events take place is not mentioned.

Because this is a play, there is no narrator and no point of view. Instead, each character recalls the events they experience from their own subjective point of view.

The tone and mood are neutral.

The antagonist is Arnolphe and the protagonist is Agnès.

The major conflict is an internal one and is the result of Arnolphe desire to have a woman who loves only him and who does not think about other men.

The play reaches its climax when Arnolphe finds that despite his best efforts Agnès found herself a lover.

Arnolphe raised Agnes to be his perfect match and to be loyal only to him. The people around him tried to warn Arnolphe that his actions will not have the result he expected and that it may happen quite the opposite. These warnings foreshadow the moment in which Agnes will fall in love with another man and start a relationship with him.

One of the main understatements in the play is the idea that a good religious upbringing will stop a person from committing any type of sins into adulthood. This is quickly proven to be an understatement by Agnes who despite being raised by nuns, still became sexually promiscuous.

The main allusion in the play is the idea that a good education does not guarantee a good and bright future for a person.

The last imagery in the play is important because it is used to further solidify the main idea transmitted. The play ends with Agnes being married to Horace while Arnolphe watches from afar. The young couple is happy and radiant while the old man is bitter and disappointed. This image is used here to transmit the idea that love will always prevail and that those who seek to deceive will forever suffer.

One of the main paradoxical ideas is the fact that Agnès, despite being groomed since she was a young girl to be faithful to only one man quickly found herself a lover and happiness in another person.

No parallelism can be found in the play.

We have a personification in the line "the door protected them from prying eyes".

The author uses the aside, dramatic monologue and the stage directions as the main dramatic devices. These are used primarily by the author to reveal the characters' main ideas and thoughts and also to give additional information about the characters and space where the action takes place.