It could be that the good doctor ( who liked fishing) realised that,by taking Bogarde's villain into his home, he had the perfect bait with which to 'catch' his wife (i.e., to make her blow the gaff and leave him, so that he'd be able to take up with his female assistant).This isn't clear from the screenplay but was it in the book? J.H.
shareI haven't read the book, but no - the way he treated his assistant, I don't believe that could've been his motif. Maybe that he was testing his wife, but still, I think he was genuinely interested in curing Frank. It was a challenge to him.
shareI believe his overriding obsession with curing Frank made him unaware about any effects it would have on his wife. He admits towards the end he had been neglecting her. He plans to take her on holiday as compensation for that neglect. So that suggests he hadn't been testing her and was blind to the possibility of her infidelity.
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