»If the great debate in the comedies of the 1670s had been that between humours and wit, in The Marriage-Hater Matched the prevalence of humours over wit is overwhelming. There is little in the way of witty repartee in this work, apart from several exchanges between Sir Philip and Phoebe, Lady Subtle and Sir Philip, and Darewell and Berenice. The only rakish character seems to be Sir Philip, although the fact that he ends up marrying the girl he had debauched and got with child introduces a very significant departure from most previous Restoration rakes and from the moral values underlying the comedy of wit. The two female leads are rather unconventional for this model of comedy too: a widow and an unmarried mother. Both show their wit in their schemes to overreach Sir Philip, but the peculiarities of their situation occasionally make them prey to Sir Philip’s mockery.»