The Forc'd Marriage; or, The Jealous Bridegroom is a play by Aphra Behn, staged by the Duke's Company on 20 September 1670 in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, England.
"[1] Like The Amorous Prince and The Young King, The Forc'd Marriage draws heavily on Caroline stage effects, such as the use of the masque, disguise and costume.
It features themes of proper authority in royal succession as well as Behn's recurrent concerns with interactions of sex, power and state politics.
A series of farcical situations, mistaken identities and disguises follow, with the equality of women a thematic thread through the narrative.
It was spoken by the character of Falatius, who wore an eye patch, a stage prop indicating the secretary of state Lord Arlington, who supposedly abandoned her on her intelligence mission in Antwerp.