In Goldsmiths essay A Comparison Between Laughing and Sentimental Comedy a sentimental comedy is focused on the characters: though they want humour, (they) have an abundance of sentiment and feeling. According to this definition, it is evident that the characters in The Rivals satirise these traditional and more sentimental characters. Faulkland is an object of satire and, for the most part, is portrayed as the overprotective male; being too concerned with the honesty of his fianc, with ridiculous ideas to test her loyalty and as his plans are discovered his actions, appear more and more satirical. Jack is the agent of this as the centre of values in the play and acts as the puppet master and therefore the audience can ally themselves more closely to him, however he very occasionally tips into sentimentality and our sympathy lies with Faulkland. In the opening scene we are given the first character reference for Jack, that he is in love with a lady of very singular tastewho likes him better as a half-pay Ensign. Immediately we learn that his motives are pure, he is doing it for love, and as the audience we are in on the trick. We know why he is labelling himself as an Ensign and therefore identify with him more closely as we have an advantage over all the other characters in the play. We also like Jacks character as he is shown to have both sense and sensibility: he does not need Lydias money but realises that it is important, What and lose two thirds of her fortune?. When we are introduced to Jack in Act Two Scene One is discussing with Fag why they are in Bath so they may lie consistently. We already know the truth about why he is in Bath which reinforces the faade, but also Jacks good intentions. He is prepared to lie even to his father and fianc, however the audience does not criticise him. Although he has no objection to lying, he does to not doing it well or going too far: never say more than is necessary, but Jacks character ...
