THE WAY OF THE WORLD - SUMMARY

Before the play begins, a number of important events have taken place in the lives of the main
characters, which Congreve reveals throughout the play. Arabella’s first husband, Languish, has
died and left her his fortune. She begins a secret affair with Edward Mirabell. They end the
affair and she gets married to a man Mirabell has selected (Fainall) because Mirabell is afraid
that they will conceive a child out of wedlock (Congreve never explains why Mirabell just
doesn’t marry her himself). Mirabell and Mrs. Arabella Fainall remain good friends after the
affair ends.
Mirabell begins courting Mrs. Fainall’s cousin, Millamant, who lives with Millamant’s aunt and
Mrs. Fainall’s mother, Lady Wishfort. To gain Wishfort’s favor for his marriage to Millamant,
Mirabell flatters Wishfort and lavishes much attention on her. Wishfort becomes convinced that
he loves her and falls for him. However, after Wishfort’s best friend, Mrs. Marwood, reveals
what Mirabell was up to, her feelings for Mirabell change from love to hate. Now, she will not
grant her permission for Mirabell to marry Millamant, an important problem because she
controls Millamant’s £6,000 dowry.

The night before the first scene of the play, the first time Mirabell has gone back to Wishfort’s
house since she found out his plan, Wishfort unceremoniously dismisses Mirabell from her
“cabal night” club in front of Millamant, who doesn’t stand up for him, and a number of other
people. Undiscouraged, Mirabell has already begun hatching a plan to coerce Wishfort into
accepting the marriage, a plan that Millamant learns all about through Foible.
While all this is going on, Fainall has been having an affair with his wife’s and Lady Wishfort’s
friend, Mrs. Marwood. Mirabell is the only one who suspects that this is going on. Foible
and Mincing have witnessed the affair but have been sworn to secrecy by Marwood.
Unfolding in a single day, the play begins in the morning. Mirabell is waiting for word that his
servant, Waitwell, and Wishfort’s servant, Foible, have gotten married according to his plan. In
the meanwhile, he is playing cards with his enemy, Fainall. Mirabell hints that he knows that
Fainall and Marwood are having an affair. But he also reveals to Fainall his love for both
Millamant’s strengths and weaknesses of character. Hearing this, Fainall encourages him to
marry her.

Later, the two men are joined by Witwoud and Petulant. Mirabell learns from the two that last
night, Wishfort discussed her plan to marry Millamant off to his uncle, Sir Rowland, in order to
disinherit Mirabell from his uncle’s fortune (we do not yet know that Sir Rowland isn’t a real
person and that this is all actually part of Mirabell’s plan).
Mirabell’s plan is going well until Marwood, while hiding in a closet, overhears Mrs. Fainall and
Foible discussing Mirabell’s entire plan and learns exactly what he’s up to. She shares this news
with Fainall and they concoct a plan to ruin Mirabell and blackmail Wishfort.
That same afternoon at Wishfort’s house, Millamant also accepts Mirabell’s proposal and rejects
the proposal of Sir Wilfull, whom Lady Wishfort wanted her to marry.
Together, Marwood and Fainall begin to counteract Mirabell’s plan. They reveal Foible’s
betrayal and Sir Rowland’s true identity (Waitwell) to Wishfort, and Fainall has Waitwell
arrested. He threatens Wishfort that unless she surrenders her fortune, including Millamant and
Mrs. Fainall’s shares, he will reveal Mrs. Fainall’s affair with Mirabell to the town, which would
bring great disgrace to her family. He also demands that Wishfort herself agree never to get
married (unless he permits it).

Mrs. Wishfort thinks she has found a loophole in Fainall’s plan when she learns that Millamant
and Sir Wilfull have agreed to get married. However, Fainall is undeterred because he can still
gain control of Wishfort and her wife’s fortunes.

All seems lost for Wishfort and her family until Mirabell steps in. Before he offers his help, he
has Wishfort promise that she will let him marry Millamant, which she readily does.
Then, he calls forward first Mincing and Foible to reveal the affair between Fainall and Mrs.
Marwood. Wishfort is dissatisfied that this is Mirabell’s trump card but Mirabell has one more
trick. He calls forward Waitwell, who brings with him a deed to all of Arabella Languish’s
property. Before marrying Fainall, Mirabell and Arabella suspected that Fainall might try to
cheat her, so Arabella agreed to sign over her fortune to Mirabell as a precaution. As her trustee,
Mirabell still controls her fortune and the legally binding document thus preempts Fainall’s
claim on his wife’s fortune.

With Fainall and Marwood beaten and Mrs. Fainall and Wishfort’s fortunes and reputations
saved, Sir Wilfull releases Millamant from the engagement so she can marry Mirabell and he can
continue with his plans to travel. Mirabell returns the deed to Arabella and tells her to use it to
control a very upset and vengeful Fainall.

THE WAY OF THE WORLD AS RESTORATION COMEDY, A REFLECTION OF THE

The Way of the World as Restoration Comedy Restoration as a historical period was a time when
England was an established colonial power in the world. It was a time of materialism and
commerce and the people of the period emphasized money, pleasure and sex. Love and marriage
were judged in terms of money. Artificiality and immorality were the defining features of the
age. People looked towards relaxation and pleasure and serious things mattered less to them. By
highlighting these things, The Way of the World exposes the issues of money, love, sex, marriage
and in short the behavior of the people of the time in the language of prose. The rakes, fops,
gallants and wits are the primary types dealt with in a language that is outwardly brilliant but
lacking philosophical and emotional or psychological depth. This makes the play a typical
restoration comedy of manners. The mode employed is satiric and ironic which befits the social
reality of the time.

In the restoration period there was a moneyed class with leisure. Pursuit of sexual pleasure and
money was the main concern of the people. Marriage was not just like as an institution for
procreation or for providing stability to social life. It was seen as a mercenary venture. The Way
of the World contains characters who resort to sexual innuendos and vulgar jokes. Humor and wit
are the key ingredients of this play. The characters represent many aspects of the society of the
time and the aristocracy in particular. Mirabell is a wit and a manipulator. He uses language in a
very witty manner. The clever use of language makes his speech brilliant on the surface, but it
has no psychological depth underneath. He pretends to love Lady Wishfort so that he can move
closer to Millament. His eyes are on her fortune. Love and marriage are guided by a desire for
material gain. Finally, the villain of the play is intent on laying his hand on a Lady Wishfort’s
fortune. He marries Mrs. Finally not because his love for her is true, but because he takes it as a
mercenary venture. Millament is a typical Restoration Coquette and Mirabell, a representative
beau. Petualant and Witwood are the typical fops of Restoration drama. They are more
concerned with dress and appearance than with anything else.

Use of wit is a remarkable aspect of Restoration Comedy. The characters use language in a very
tricky and clever way. Use of repartee basically refers to quick replies while the report is related
to sharp return in speech. Wit was a sharp weapon in the late seventeenth century, to be used for
the amusement of those intelligent enough to follow the exchange. While talking to Mrs. Finally,
Mirabell provides an example of wit as he comments on early eighteenth century marriage. He
says, “You should have just so much disgust for your husband as may be sufficient to make you
relish your lover.” The whole plot of the play revolves around the issues of adultery, marriage
and fortune hunting. As we see the plot unfold the characters reveal themselves through their
pursuits and behavior. The way they behave makes laughter inevitable. Through this Congreve is
satirizing the behavior of the people of then English society. It is a typical Restoration Comedy
of Manners.

Since the age was not capable of feeling the intensity of tragic emotions, witty and light hearted
dramatic stuff worked much better with them. The shallowness and vulgarity of the time are
convincingly brought to light. The play is written in prose to depict the age of commerce and
money. The language of money is the number and prose, not the poetry. The play does not end
with everyone happy, but Mirabell and Millamant possess the advantage and look forward to
marriage. Finally, all deception is revealed, the proper lovers are joined, and the complications
are smoothed out. As the play carefully examines the relationships between the sexes and the
impediments a sophisticated society throws between them the play transcends its age and
becomes a timeless comedy. As it embodies the major features of the Restoration Comedy of
manners, it is a representative play of the age. It is a brilliant comedy of manners. By holding up
to ridicule the foibles and follies of the age, it shows ways to social reform which is what a
comedy basically does.