''The Town-Fopp: or, Sir Timothy Tawdrey'' is a
Restoration comedy written by
Aphra Behn
Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...
and first staged in 1676. It deals with an unhappy marriage and its dissolution.
The play reworks
George Wilkins
George Wilkins (died 1618) was an English dramatist and pamphleteer best known for his probable collaboration with William Shakespeare on the play ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre''. By profession he was an inn-keeper, but he was also apparently invol ...
' play ''
The Miseries of Enforced Marriage'' (1607), itself based on events from the life of
Walter Calverley who entered into an
arranged marriage
Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...
. A heavy drinker, Calverley stabbed his wife and killed two of his children in 1605, but these crimes are not related in Wilkins' play which contrives a happy ending. In Behn's play the unhappy couple manage to dissolve their marriage and seek happiness with other partners.
Plot
Bellmour is in love with Celinda, and they are secretly
betrothed. However, Celinda's parents intend her to marry Sir Timothy Tawdrey, a
fop
Fop is a pejorative term for a foolish man.
FOP or fop may also refer to:
Science and technology
* Feature-oriented positioning, in scanning microscopy
* Feature-oriented programming, in computer science, software product lines
* Fibrodysplasia o ...
. Lord Plotwell, who is Bellmour's uncle and guardian, forces him to marry Diana.
Bellmour refuses to consummate his marriage to Diana, and tells her that he cannot love her. An angry Diana tries to seduce Celinda (whilst Celinda is in male disguise). She then turns her attention to Friendlove (Celinda's brother), who agrees to kill Bellmour for her.
A despairing Bellmour falls into debauchery, and visits a
bagnio with Tawdrey. They meet Betty Flauntit (Tawdrey's mistress) and other women there.
Lord Plotwell receives a letter from Diana begging for her marriage to be
annulled. Diana and Bellmour's marriage is dissolved, and Plotwell reconciles with Bellmour (who has now reformed). Diana agrees to marry Friendlove, and Bellmour is now free to marry Celinda.
In a subplot, Tawdrey plots to revenge himself upon Bellmour by using a mock marriage to trick his sister (Phillis) into having sex with him. However, their 'fake' marriage ceremony in fact turns out to be fully legal.
Reception
When reviewing Behn's life and works, one writer stated that 'in all her
ehn'scomedies we can remember but one true, honest lover, Belmour, in "The Town Fop"'.
Montague Summers felt that ''The Town Fop'' showed 'in a marked degree her intimate knowledge of the earlier dramatists'.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Town Fop or, Sir Timothy Tawdry
Plays by Aphra Behn
1676 plays
Restoration comedy
Plays about marriage
Cross-dressing in literature