 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents PLOT (SYNOPSIS) The Way of the World represents the pinnacle of Congreve’s achievement even though it was not successful on the stage when it was first performed in 1700, largely due to the play’s complexity. Although the play has only one main plot and covers a single day, it is crowded with numerous events and intrigues. The plot of The Way of the World seems to follow a logic of its own. Before the action of the play unfolds, certain events are understood to have previously taken place. Mirabell, a typical Restoration beau, is devising a secret scheme to win Millamant’s hand in marriage, gaining her fortune as well. Lady Wishfort is opposed to this match because her vanity has been offended by Mirabell, who earlier pretended to court her although he was really in love with Millamant, her ward. Mrs. Marwood, Fainall’s mistress, has revealed Mirabell’s deception to Lady Wishfort out of jealousy, since she herself loves Mirabell. The problem arises from the fact that half of Millamant’s fortune of six thousand pounds is under Lady Wishfort’s control and will be given to her only if she marries the suitor chosen by her. Act I opens at a fashionable chocolate-house where Fainall has just beaten Mirabell in a game of cards. A footman arrives with the news that Mirabell’s valet, Waitwell, has married Foible, Lady Wishfort’s maid. This marriage is directly connected to Mirabell’s secret scheme of winning Millamant, the details of which are not revealed in this act. Through the conversation between Witwoud and Petulant, the audience learns that Sir Wilfull Witwoud (Witwoud’s half-brother and Lady Wishfort’s nephew) is coming to town, presumably to court Millamant. There is also a rumor that Mirabell’s uncle is coming to woo Millamant. Witwoud and Petulant are also Millamant’s suitors, but only because it is fashionable to court the prettiest woman in town. The act draws to a close as Mirabell proposes a walk in the Park where the ladies are waiting for them.
Act II shifts to the typical Restoration setting of a public park. The opening conversation between Mrs. Fainall and Mrs. Marwood, regarding their aversion to men, reveals that Mrs. Fainall detests her own husband. Mrs. Fainall realizes that although Mrs. Marwood claims to hate Mirabell, she is still in love with him. The arrival of Fainall and Mirabell abruptly ends their conversation. Mrs. Fainall goes off for a walk with Mirabell. This leaves Fainall alone with Mrs. Marwood, his mistress. Fainall accuses Mrs. Marwood of loving Mirabell and reproaches her for revealing Mirabell’s pretense of love to Lady Wishfort. If Mirabell had married Millamant, he (Fainall) would have acquired half of Millamant’s fortune. (The half that Millamant would have forfeited for disobeying her aunt would have gone to her cousin, Mrs. Fainall.) However, Fainall is soon reconciled with Mrs. Marwood and claims that he married his wife only because of her money. He tells Mrs. Marwood that he will marry her after getting rid of his wife and securing her fortune. In the meantime, the audience learns that Mrs. Fainall was Mirabell’s former mistress. Mirabell had arranged her marriage to Fainall to provide a cover for their affair in case it resulted in a child. It is evident that Mrs. Fainall still loves Mirabell although their affair has ended. Mirabell takes Mrs. Fainall into his confidence by telling her his secret plot to win Millamant. He reveals that he has arranged a marriage between his valet, Waitwell, and Lady Wishfort’s maid, Foible. Waitwell is to pose as Mirabell’s uncle, Sir Rowland, and lure Lady Wishfort into a sham marriage. When Lady Wishfort marries Sir Rowland, Mirabell will reveal Waitwell’s true identity and offer Lady Wishfort a means of escape from a degrading alliance; he will provide Waitwell’s certificate of marriage if Lady Wishfort consents to his union with Millamant. Millamant knows about Mirabell’s plans and seems prepared to go along with everything. Waitwell and Foible update Mirabell on the progress of the plan. Mrs. Marwood, who is passing by in a mask, notices Foible with Mirabell. Foible foresees the trouble that Mrs. Marwood could cause with Lady Wishfort and hurries away. Waitwell displays considerable eagerness to perform the role of Sir Rowland. Table of Contents | |
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