The Man of Mode
or, Sir Fopling Flutter. Comedy by Sir George Etherege, premiered in 1676 regarded as his best work.
Although Sir Fopling Flutter is the subtitle of the play, the character of Sir Fopling Flutter is not the protagonist and does not appear before Act III.
Plot
The play is set in London (which was regarded as the only centre of civilized existence by the gentry during Restoration times) and tells the story of a young wit named Dorimant who is trying to get rid of his affair to Mrs Loveit, since he is also meeting Belinda, a younger friend of Mrs Loveit, and for the reason of making a conquest of Harriet from Yorkshire, a beautiful young heiress who just arrived in London. Medley, another truewit and friend of Dorimant helps him realize his plans of making Mrs Loveit jealous so that she breaks up with Dorimant.
Young Bellair who is a friend of Dorimant and Medley falls in love with Emilia. Meanwhile, his father is also attracted to Emilia not knowing that he and his son share the same feelings for the same woman. Meanwhile, Old Bellair plans on setting his son up with the young heiress Harriet. In order to trick his father and Harriet´s mother Mrs Woodvill, Young Bellair and Harriet pretend to be in love.
By implication the plot of this comedy refers to two interlocking triangles, each consisting of a young man and two women.
1.) Harriet, Young Bellair and Emilia
2.) Mrs Loveit, Dorimant and Belinda
In each case the woman with whom the young man falls in love is not the one who returns his love.
Sir Fopling Flutter is the would-be gallant or fop of the story since he is a ridiculous follower of French fashion who is trying to appear as a truewit by false affectation, which is the besetting vice of all the young wits in the play (Young Bellair, Dorimant, Medley). He is too much concerned with his outward appearance and has no inner witty nature.
Therefore, Sir Fopling becomes the tool of witty Dorimant in order to stir up Mrs Loveit´s jealousy who however turns the tables and gets Dorimant slightly jealous for a moment.
Later on Harriet´s mother and Old Bellair feel attracted to each other but their courtship behavior embodies ridiculousness and out-of-date gallantry, parodied by Dorimant as “Mr. Courtage”.
In the end Harriet falls in love with Dorimant so that the hero is betrothed to his beloved but at the same time ends up on good terms with his former girlfriends. Also Emilia and Young Bellair can finally marry.
Sources:
Schmidt, Johann N. "Von Der Restauration Zur Vorromantik." Englische Literaturgeschichte.Ed.Hans Ulrich Seeber. 4th ed. Stuttgart, Weimar: Verlag J.B. Metzler, 2004. 155-219.
Salgado, Gamini (ed.). Three Restoration Comedies. London: Penguin Books, 1986.