[4] Dryden later claimed the play failed because it satirised the sin of 'keeping' too well and hinted it was 'stopped' due to objections from James, Duke of York and Charles' current mistress, the French Catholic Duchess of Portsmouth; in 1680, the Lord Chamberlain reportedly shut down The Female Prelate at her request.

However, they can choose whom to have an affair with, a point emphasised by the fact that unlike the male characters, all the women are aware of Woodall's activities.

Materialist Theory[7] Linked to this is the secondary theme of materialism and the importance placed by society on possessions; a chest of jewels briefly appears as one of the characters, which is stolen by a thief.

The play's female characters exchange sexual favours (or 'jewels') for material reward, either explicitly, as with Tricksy and Limberham, or implicitly, with Woodall and Pleasance.

[8] The play was so poorly received Dryden removed 'objectionable material' from it before publication; some of these changes can be tracked since an original copy of the text ended up in the library of Alexander Pope (1688-1744).