As an actor how would you portray the role of Lucy in “The Rivals?”

The female characters in “The Rivals” seem to chart the times with regard to the changing attitudes about proper female behaviour and the nature of women in general. Each character is, to a certain extent, frank about her sexual needs and desires. Lucy’s coquettishness with Sir Lucius in Act 2 Scene 2 reveals that she is not only a methodical schemer but also a brazen hussy. This acknowledgement of normal female sexual desire on Sheridan’s part indicates a shift from ideas found earlier in the century, that female expressions of sexual appetite automatically made a woman a whore. This then links to the social context, as actresses in Sheridan’s time were not seen as being any better than a prostitute.

Lucy’s soliloquy at the end of Act 1 Scene 2 provides evidence of the effect of the technique of asides, which seems to draw the audience closer to her character, who ‘confides’ in them. It enables her to develop a special relationship with the audience; she may be a ...