Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (3 of 10)

by John Fletcher

"Rule a Wife and Have a Wife" by John Fletcher is a stage comedy written in 1624. Two couples marry under false pretenses in this tale of deception and power struggles. A wealthy heiress seeks a husband who'll tolerate her lovers, while her maid poses as rich to snare a poor captain. When the truths emerge, both marriages face a reckoning. Who will rule whom? Fletcher presents parallel plots where one spouse tames another—but with a twist that challenges expectations about marriage and control.