Sir Anthony Absolute, fictional character, the father of Captain Jack Absolute and with him a protagonist of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comic play The Rivals (1775). Sir Anthony is a wealthy aristocrat, and so his son masquerades as the penniless Ensign Beverley in order to court Lydia Languish, who has romantic notions of marrying a poor man. When Sir Anthony attempts on his own to arrange a marriage between Jack and Lydia, Jack’s true identity is revealed to Lydia. She initially rejects him because of his deceit, but she eventually accepts him.