The Puritan Widow

In Short

This seventeenth-century comedy follows the fortunes of a newly widowed woman and her family, who become the targets of a penniless, quick-witted scholar named George Pye-boord. Seeking to profit from their wealth, Pye-boord orchestrates a series of social manipulations involving fake hauntings, staged violence, and false promises of magic. The play serves as a biting satire on the social pretensions of the London middle class, capturing the restless energy of the city and the precariousness of status, all while maintaining a frantic, lighthearted pace that characterizes the era’s urban dramas.

The Story

The story opens in a garden behind the house of the Lady Widow-Plus, who is mourning her recently deceased husband. Her brother-in-law, Sir Godfrey, attempts to comfort her with hollow platitudes, while her son, Edmond, mocks the family’s grief, eager to squander his inheritance. Meanwhile, George Pye-boord, a scholar down on his luck, and his associate, an aging soldier named Peter Skirmish, observe the family’s wealth. Pye-boord hatches a plan to infiltrate the household, viewing the widow and her "fools" of relatives as the perfect subjects for his cunning.

Pye-boord’s plot gains momentum when he connects with his friend, Captain Idle, who is currently imprisoned for a minor crime. By convincing the widow’s gullible serving-man, Nicholas, that the Captain is a powerful conjurer capable of recovering lost items, Pye-boord sets the stage for a series of deceptions. Pye-boord himself approaches the widow, masquerading as a man of great insight. He terrifies her by predicting that she and her daughters will fall into madness and public shame unless certain, seemingly impossible conditions are met, including the occurrence of bloodshed at her doorstep.

To fulfill his own prophecy, Pye-boord instructs his confederates, the soldier Skirmish and a vain fellow named Corporal Oath, to stage a fight in front of the widow’s house. The chaos works perfectly; the widow, believing the scholar’s "vision" has saved them from a worse fate, becomes deeply indebted to his supposed supernatural wisdom. Soon, the widow and her daughter begin to view the scholar and the "Captain" as desirable suitors, blinded by the very theatricality Pye-boord has provided.

As the wedding preparations begin, the tension mounts. Pye-boord and the Captain continue to play their parts, successfully "conjuring" a lost gold chain for Sir Godfrey, which was actually stolen by the hypocritical servant Nicholas. However, the ruse begins to unravel when the cheated knights, who have been courting the women, discover the forgery. A nobleman intervenes just as the wedding is to proceed, exposing the scholar and his cohorts as charlatans. Yet, in a surprising turn, the play does not end in tragedy or total ruin for the women. The Nobleman encourages the widow and her daughters to abandon their fraudulent suitors and marry the honorable knights who have courted them sincerely. The deceivers are cast aside, and the family finds a stable, if slightly humbled, resolution, while Pye-boord and the Captain are left to face the consequences of their elaborate, fleeting performance.

How It Unfolds

The widow’s house The play introduces the grieving widow and her family as they mourn the patriarch. While the widow wrings her hands, her son Edmond openly celebrates his newfound freedom to squander his inheritance, setting a tone of domestic hypocrisy.

The scholar’s scheme Pye-boord identifies the widow as a mark and enlists the help of an aging soldier to stage a series of deceptions. He frames the widow’s household as a collection of "fresh Asses" ripe for his manipulation.

The false prophecy Pye-boord tricks the widow by predicting a series of disasters, which he then orchestrates through a staged fight at her doorstep. This earns him her trust and allows him to position himself and his cohorts as her protectors.

The conjuring act The Captain performs a ridiculous, thunderous "conjuring" ritual to find a lost chain. Sir Godfrey is easily duped by the performance, confirming his own status as a fool and solidifying the scholar’s control.

The double-cross The wedding day approaches, but the scheme falls apart when the deception is revealed by those who were slighted. The Nobleman intervenes to bring the truth to light, forcing the widow to see the vanity of her choices.

The final reconciliation The widow and her daughters accept the rejection of the impostors and agree to marry the honorable suitors. The play concludes with a restoration of social order, though the wit of the deceivers is acknowledged before they are dismissed.

The People

Lady Plus, the widow, is defined by her performative grief and her gullibility. She is easily swayed by the appearance of virtue and wisdom, which makes her an easy target for Pye-boord’s schemes. By the end, she learns to distinguish between genuine worth and hollow display.

George Pye-boord is the architect of the chaos. A scholar with more wit than resources, he views the world as a stage for his inventions. He is driven by a cynical need to survive and a desire to mock the hypocrisies of those with more money than sense.

Captain Idle, the "conjurer," acts as the bumbling face of Pye-boord’s plan. Though a highwayman by trade, he plays the role of a mystical figure with a mixture of fear and bravado. He is a man of few talents, relying entirely on his friend’s scripts.

Sir Godfrey, the widow’s brother-in-law, represents the "cunning" fool. He is obsessed with his own importance and his gold chain, and his pride makes him the most willing participant in his own deception.

Master Edmond, the son, is the spoiled heir who views his father’s death as a release from discipline. He is loud, foolish, and easily impressed by the theatrical displays of the scholar, showing the generational shift toward recklessness.

In Its Own Voice

"Alas, a small matter bucks a hand-kercher,—and sometimes the spittle stands to nie Saint Thomas a Watrings."

Moll, the daughter, cynically remarks on the performative nature of her mother’s mourning.

"The widdow holds me in great Admiration for cunning Art: mongst joys I am ’een lost, for my device can no way now be crossed."

Pye-boord gloats over his success in manipulating the widow’s perception of reality.

"A Puritan a thief, when wast ever heard? Sooner we’ll kill a man then Steal, thou knowst."

Sir Godfrey expresses his shock upon discovering that his "holy" servant Nicholas has been the one stealing from him.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the tension between outward appearance and inner reality. In the world of the play, public displays of piety, grief, or status are treated as masks that can be exploited by anyone clever enough to use them. Pye-boord thrives because he recognizes that his targets are more concerned with how they appear to their neighbors than with the actual truth. The play asks whether wisdom is found in the rigid, performative rules of the "pure" or in the fluid, inventive wit of the clever. Ultimately, it suggests that society is built on a series of elaborate, fragile agreements, and that when those are broken by greed or deception, the only way to mend them is through the return of genuine, stable authority.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the sharp, cynical humor of Elizabethan drama will find much to admire here. It is a fast-paced, irreverent romp that feels remarkably modern in its focus on how people are swayed by narrative and stagecraft. The dialogue is snappy, and the characters are archetypes of human vanity that remain recognizable even centuries later. However, a modern reader should be prepared for the dense, period-specific humor and the occasional difficulty of deciphering late-16th-century slang. The play does not aim for deep psychological realism; instead, it offers a window into a culture obsessed with social climbing and the fear of scandal. It is a fantastic choice for those who appreciate theater that doesn’t take itself too seriously and who enjoy seeing the "trickster" character navigate a world of fools. The language can be challenging, but the energy of the plot carries the reader through. You will walk away with a lasting impression of the play's central irony: that in a world of hypocrites, the greatest liar is often the one who holds up the mirror to everyone else.