The Diary of Samuel Pepys

This year, Pepys witnesses the execution of several men for their role in the execution of King Charles I on January 27, April 19, and June 14. The April group “die defending what they did to the King to be just,” which Pepys finds “very strange” (111). It is apparent that England is now moving on from the legacy of the Civil War, regicide, and Puritan Commonwealth. The fact that a new era is beginning is signaled by the punishment of the king’s executioners.

Pepys shares with his wife his intention to live frugally, with the hopes that he will eventually be able to become a knight and live a more affluent lifestyle. Elizabeth is particularly pleased at the prospect of owning a coach. Throughout the Diary Pepys struggles against his tendency to spend a lot of money and tries to achieve a better material existence through self-discipline and frugal living.

Yet Pepys balances this against his conviction that it is good to enjoy pleasures when one has the “health, money, and opportunity” (114) to do so. Among the pleasurable outings mentioned in the Second Year are a visit to the zoo of London Tower with the children of one of Pepys’s associates, and a day at Foxhall (Vauxhall) Gardens (a pleasure park) on the king’s birthday.

On May 1, Pepys notes that the Duchess of York has delivered a baby girl; this girl became Queen Mary II of England. The duke and duchess are two of the more frequently mentioned nobles in the Diary.

On May 15, Catherine, the new queen of England upon her impending marriage to King Charles II, comes to England. Although the English celebrate with bonfires, Pepys notes that the celebration is muted because the people are “discontented at the pride and luxury of the Court, and running in debt” (113). The theme of the need for balancing Pleasure versus Duty in Pepys’s life is thus mirrored in the life of the court. The lack of enthusiasm might also have been due to Catherine’s unpopularity on account of her Catholic faith.

In the Third Year we see evidence of Pepys’s anger and casual fits of temper. For example, on June 8 he boxes the ears of his servant Will Hewer for walking with his cloak “flung over his shoulder like a Ruffian” (117). On June 15, he gets angry with his wife because he does not like how she is dressed for church to which Elizabeth reacts by going to church with another woman instead of Pepys. Throughout the book, Pepys exhibits fits of temper when his family and servants do not behave or answer him in the manner he expects. In many cases, Pepys feels remorse after lashing out, as is the case with Will. It is also notable that Pepys is honest about recording these fits of anger.

During this year Pepys has extensive work done on his house, necessitating moving his wife and servants to stay with his parents in the country in July while the work is completed. Home improvements and renovations are fairly prominent in the narrative and are a reflection of Pepys’s attempts to rise in his career and become more affluent.

A professional turning point comes to Pepys on August 20 when he is appointed to the Tangier Commission. During the meeting, Mr. Coventry commends Pepys as being “the life of this office” (125), which Pepys welcomes as a “great blessing” (125). Pepys is becoming more and more aware of his value as a civil servant and is pleased to find himself “a very rising man” (125).

Pepys’s infatuation with various noble ladies forms a recurring theme in the Diary. He has a particular liking for Lady Castlemaine, whom he admires both for her beauty and for her humanity; he remarks on how, on August 23 when a scaffold collapses during a public event, she alone among the ladies rushes to help those who may have been hurt. Later in the Diary, however, he will become disillusioned with Lady Castlemaine because of her acting as the king’s mistress and losing her beauty. Pepys’s wife apparently does not know about these infatuations, which only occasionally lead to action on Pepys’s part. Pepys frequently reports dining with various noblewomen without his wife’s presence.

On September 7, Pepys has a royal audience at which the king, the queen, the queen mother, and the Duke and Duchess of York are present. The scene is a good example of Pepys’s unidealized depiction of court affairs. The royals make ribald jokes with one another, with King Charles teasing the queen mother by telling her the queen is pregnant by another man. However, in reality we see evidence that the king himself has engaged in nonmarital activity; his “bastard,” the teenage James Crofts, is present at the meeting, his illegitimacy openly acknowledged (127).

On September 27, Pepys’s wife returns, and Pepys observes that there is some tension between her and Pepys’s parents.

Pepys frequently reports on his playgoing in the Diary, mentioning which theater he went to, what play they saw, his impression of the play and the acting, and who was in the audience. He reports on seeing numerous plays by Shakespeare as well as more recent playwrights. The Restoration is generally considered a vibrant period in the history of English drama, the result of creative energies being released when theater was made legal again after the Commonwealth. Pepys’s theater comments bear witness to the importance of theatergoing as a form of entertainment and a social activity during this period.

In October Pepys successfully presents a defense at Cambridge about the inheritance from his uncle’s will. He reunites with his family, including his wife, in the country: “So we are now all together, God knows when we shall be so again” (130).

In December, Pepys sees people ice skating for the first time, “a very pretty art” (134), and on the 31st attends a royal ball at which the king leads various ladies in dancing. The year ends in “mirth” (135) and prosperity for the Pepys’s but with the court in ill repute because of the king’s amorous affairs, frivolous spending, and favoritism toward particular members of his court.