The Dutch courtesan

by John Marston

The play tells the story of two friends, the relaxed, pleasure-loving Freevill and the repressed Puritan Malheureux, and the turbulent relationship that both have with the passionate Dutch courtesan Franceschina. It explores the nature of human desire and the problems involved with trying to lead a "good," moral life when sexuality is so fundamentally a part of man's nature.