Love for Love

Love for Love has several prominent female characters, all of whom occupy different social roles: Mrs. Foresight is a married woman, Mrs. Frail is single and anxious for a husband, Miss Prue is young and unworldly, and Angelica is a woman of independent means. What do these different roles tell us about gender and womanhood within the play, and what insights can we gain into wider Restoration conceptions of gender through our reading of the text?

Ben and Valentine are brothers, and yet they are very different in terms of personality, social aspirations, and their role within the family. Compare and contrast the brothers: how are they different from one another, and why? What is the significance of their differences? What changes have occurred in their lives by the play’s end, and how have these changes affected their roles?

Minor characters often contribute to the development of a play’s plot or themes in important ways. Choose one of the play’s more minor roles, such as Miss Prue or Jeremy, and consider the following: what role does this character play? How does he/she contribute to the play’s thematic development? What insights do these minor roles offer in regard to the personalities and dilemmas of the more major characters?

Styles of speech reveal aspects of a character’s personality, social status, and motivation. Choose a character and analyze their speech. What are some of the ways in which speech helps to illuminate this particular character? What does it reveal about them? How does this character’s speech compare to the speech of other characters in the play?

In Act I, Jeremy mocks the idea of Valentine becoming a poet, and “coffee house” culture is alluded to as the prime setting for aspiring Restoration writers and wits. How is wit and literary aspiration depicted within the world of the play? How does it reflect or comment upon the literary culture of Restoration England?

What are some of the different motivations and attitudes characters have towards marriage? How does social status/circumstances and gender shape the way a character approaches marriage?

While feigning madness, Valentine returns repeatedly to the idea of personifying “Truth” in his utterances. Analyze these instances of Valentine’s “Truth”-telling. What social and political commentary does Valentine offer? How do his speeches relate to the thematic preoccupations of the play?

Infidelity is a reoccurring theme within the play. Analyze instances of infidelity, and the ways different characters discuss the topic. What is the significance of infidelity to the play’s action and themes, and how is it depicted?