The Inconstant

In Short

George Farquhar’s 18th-century comedy follows Young Mirabel, a committed bachelor returning home from his European travels. Though previously contracted to marry the devoted Oriana, Mirabel prefers the freedom of casual courtships, forcing Oriana and her allies to execute a series of desperate tricks to win him back. Between comical battles of wit with a sharp-tongued heiress and a deadly encounter with Parisian ruffians, the play explores the tensions between liberty and commitment, enduring on stage through its crisp comic dialogue and theatrical energy.

The Story

After completing his travels through Italy and France, Young Mirabel returns to Paris with his timid, battle-averse companion, Captain Duretete. Welcomed home by his eccentric father, Old Mirabel, and his friend Dugard, Young Mirabel immediately makes it clear that he has no intention of settling down. He finds himself cornered by Oriana, Dugard's sister, to whom he was previously engaged under a formal contract. Determined to preserve his independence, Young Mirabel flatly refuses to honor the agreement, offering instead to return her paper contract. When Oriana refuses to give up her claim, the two engage in a bitter war of words, with Mirabel threatening to make her life miserable if forced into marriage, and Oriana promising to run him into debt and take gallants of her own.

Seeing Oriana’s distress, her sharp-witted friend Bisarre and her brother Dugard join forces with Old Mirabel and the mischievous servant Petit to plot against the young rake. Petit acts as the master strategist, first tricking Young Mirabel into revealing his romantic secrets, then orchestrating a scheme where Old Mirabel disguises himself as a Spanish noble courting Oriana. When Young Mirabel sees through the disguise and physical altercations break out, the conspirators pivot to a second scheme: Oriana pretends to enter a nunnery. Moved briefly by her solemn vows, Young Mirabel nearly gives in, but when his father accidentally exposes the trick, Mirabel turns the tables, laughing off her romantic claims once again.

Undeterred, the group tries a third strategy. Petit announces that Oriana has gone completely mad from heartbreak. Young Mirabel arrives to witness her simulated frenzy, and affected by her condition, he agrees to marry her. The moment he consents, Oriana drops the act and celebrates her victory. Infuriated at being duped yet again, Mirabel mockingly claims that a woman who can fake madness so convincingly is too dangerous to marry, leaving her humiliated and genuinely heartbroken.

Desperate to escape the constant schemes of his family and friends, Young Mirabel decides to flee back to Italy with Duretete. Before departing, he encounters Lamorce, a seductive woman who claims her carriage has broken down. Eager for one final adventure, Mirabel offers his own coach and accompanies her to her lodgings, ignoring the warnings of Oriana, who follows him in disguise as a page. The visit turns out to be a trap set by Lamorce and a gang of armed bravos, who strip Mirabel of his ring, watch, and sword, threatening to butcher him. Mirabel cleverly uses a pretense of sending for high-end burgundy to dispatch his disguised page with a secret code to his butler. Oriana recognizes the danger and returns with Duretete and six armed musketeers, saving Mirabel's life at the final second. Saved from death by the woman he repeatedly cast aside, a humbled Young Mirabel renounces his wild ways and willingly offers his hand to Oriana in marriage.

How It Unfolds

The rake returns Young Mirabel arrives back in Paris alongside Captain Duretete, boasting of his romantic exploits across Italy and France. Old Mirabel celebrates his son's return, but Oriana anxiously awaits the man to whom she was previously betrothed.

The battle lines are drawn When Oriana demands that Mirabel honor their marriage contract, he flatly refuses and tries to buy her off. Oriana vows revenge, promising to use the law to force him into marriage out of pure spite.

Philosophical skirmishes Duretete tries to court the intellectual Bisarre, hoping his university background in logic will impress her. Instead, Bisarre uses rapid-fire academic jargon to mock him, leaving the captain completely flustered and humiliated.

A series of theatrical traps Old Mirabel disguises himself as a wealthy Spanish suitor to make his son jealous, but the scheme dissolves into chaos and drawn swords. The conspirators then fake Oriana's entry into a convent and later a fit of madness, both of which Mirabel uncovers and mockingly evades.

Ambush at the lodgings Fleeing his family's schemes, Mirabel takes the seductive Lamorce to her apartments, only to be held at gunpoint by four ruffians. Oriana, disguised as his page, realizes the danger and rushes off to fetch help under the guise of retrieving wine.

Salvation and surrender Duretete and a squad of musketeers burst into the room just in time to disarm the cutthroats and rescue Mirabel. Overwhelmed by Oriana's devotion and bravery, Mirabel repents his past behavior and gladly marries his fair preserver.

The People

• Young Mirabel: A witty, arrogant gentleman who values his personal freedom above all else. Driven by a desire to avoid the suffocating constraints of matrimony, he spends the play dodging his marriage contract, only to change his mind after a near-fatal encounter with thieves.
• Oriana: A noble woman deeply in love with Young Mirabel, who wants nothing more than the marriage she was promised. Obstinate and resilient, she endures constant mockery and relies on elaborate ruses—and ultimately real courage—to capture her elusive lover.
• Captain Duretete: Young Mirabel's loyal but socially awkward traveling companion, who fears women and struggles with basic conversation. He desires a quiet, submissive partner, but ends up repeatedly outmaneuvered by the fierce and intellectual Bisarre.
• Bisarre: A fiercely independent, quick-witted woman who enjoys turning the tables on arrogant men. She resists the traditional expectations of courtship, taking pleasure in making a fool out of Duretete while helping Oriana execute her schemes.
• Old Mirabel: Young Mirabel's merry, hot-tempered father, who wants his son to settle down and continue the family line. Despite his loud complaints about his son's rogue behavior, he secretly admires the boy's spirit and willingly joins every absurd plot to trick him into marriage.

In Its Own Voice

When Young Mirabel returns home and ridicules the idea of settling down to a single domestic routine, he declares his preference for international variety:

"The women of England were excellent, did they not take such unsufferable pains to ruin, what nature has made so incomparably well; they would be delicate creatures indeed, could they but thoroughly arrive at the French mien, or entirely let it alone..."

As Oriana prepares to execute another scheme to win Mirabel's heart, her friend Bisarre offers sharp advice on the tactical nature of courtship:

"Remember what I say, if you would yield to advantage, and hold out the attack; to draw him on, keep him off, to be sure."

Surrounded by armed cutthroats who intend to murder him for his money, Young Mirabel reflects on the sudden turn his carefree evening has taken:

"How did I plume my hopes in a fair, coming prospect, of a long scene of years! Life courted me with all the charms of vigour, youth, and fortune; and to be torn away from all my promised joys, is more than death;--the manner too, by villains!"

What It's Really About

Beneath its frantic stage business and comedic disguises, the play examines the friction between personal liberty and marital obligation. Young Mirabel views marriage not as a holy union or a partnership, but as a trap that strips men of their youth and independence. The drama asks whether a libertine can ever truly be reformed through logic or legal coercion, ultimately suggesting that genuine transformation requires a moment of real vulnerability. By contrasting the cynical games of the Paris nobility with the deadly threat in Lamorce's lodgings, the text weighs the hollow freedom of casual romance against the deep loyalty of genuine devotion, proving that true commitment is earned through action rather than forced by contracts.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy Restoration and 18th-century theater will appreciate this play's lively pacing, sharp dialogue, and subversion of typical romantic tropes. Unlike standard period comedies where lovers immediately swoon for one another, the central couple engages in an aggressive battle of wits where the heroine must active-handedly rescue the hero from his own foolishness. The secondary romance between the socially anxious Captain Duretete and the hyper-intellectual Bisarre offers genuine laugh-out-loud moments that feel surprisingly modern in their observational humor.

The text does present a few challenges for contemporary readers. The heavy reliance on 18th-century stage conventions—such as instant disguises, sudden shifts into Latin phrasing, and dramatic declarations of fake madness—requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Additionally, the casual period attitudes regarding gender roles and domestic conflict can occasionally feel dated. Yet behind the period mannerisms lies a fast-moving narrative filled with clever banter, sudden plot twists, and a surprisingly suspenseful climax that keeps the reader engaged until the final curtain call.