INTRODUCTION

The term the “Comedy of Manners” is generally applied to

the group of comic plays that flourished in England during the

restoration period. The play wrights depicted the social melieu

of the time without trying to disturb its complacency for which

Leslie Stephen called the comedy of manners as “ a comedy

written by blackguards for blackguards”. Thematically this

comedy puts emphasis on the life. Manners, love intrigues and

foppery of the upper and aristocratic classes of the then

society. In the restoration sense “manners”, means something

brilliant about men and women of the elegant society,

something graceful and sparkling about them. It does not refer

to the country clouts but to the grace, culture and refinement

of the fops and fashionable ladies of the time. The comedy of

manners presents on the stage the shamelessly emancipated

people and mercilessly exposes the artificiality of their

relationships. Traditional comedy deals with lower-class

persons. But Restoration comedy concentrates only on the

activities, intrigues and amorous exploits of the gay, frivolous,

rakish young men and women of the upper class society and
this marks it off from its predecessors. Its comic effect is

essentially an outcome of the meticulously cultivated and

deliberately contrived manners displayed by the main

characters. It represents the superficial veneer of the artificial

society with its boasted pride in refinement and culture and

lack of faith in the essential goodness of human heart. The

institutional of marriage is ridiculed and snobbed and is

usually/commonly /made an object of uncharitable

/uncomplimentary load laughter . It mainly preoccupies itself

with the depiction of sensual/ biological love , especially with

the exploits and sex intrigues and sexantagonisms existing in

the contemporary high society . Love is presented primarily as

a physical appetite/ biological instinct . Free love is perfected

to conjugal love and if marriage is contracted at all it become a

marriage of convenience or a bargained matrimony. It paints a

heightened picture of obscenity and immorality prevalent in

the life of the age.

Formally the genre tends to have loosely constructed plots

through at times the plotting becomes a little in intricate and

confusing. The characters who man the plots are mostly of

degenerate, stock-in-trade, flat and tidal nature. That’s why the

overall impression and impact it creates is almost dull and

uninteresting. What enliven such an atmosphere are the

brilliant wit and humour and the sparkling dialogues, repartee

being the very soul of the exchanges. Its appeal is more to the

intellect than to the heart. The subterranean tone running

through the comedy is critically satirical but at the surface

level it expresses itself more through a tone of flippancy and

levity than the sober tone of the Elizabethan comedy. Critics

like Bonamy Dobree. Miss Kathleen M Lynch, John palmer and

Henry Ten Eyck perry in their various critical discussions on

Restoration Comedy mostly agree and opine that these

comedies are artificial by nature. They deal with the

fashionable manners not with the morals of the time. Their

significance lies in the polished style, the satire on social follies

and the truthful/realistic picturization of the 17th century high

life. the principal dramatists of the age were sir George

Etherege (1634-91), William wycherly (1640-1716), Georage

farguhar (1677-1707), sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and

William Congreve (1670-1729).

 William congreve’s the way of the world, represent the

hallmark, the peak and the perfection of this type of comedy.

This play was published (1700) shortly after Jeremy collier’s

short view on “The Immorality and profaneness of English

Stage ” , published in 1698. It presents a kaleidoscopic view of

the morals, behaviours, habits, fashions, affectations etc. of

the elegant ladies and gentleman wits of the London society of

the 17th century. The middle and lower strata are totally shut

off from the play.

The artificiality of the social game that these Gallants and

ladies play is frequently alluded to in this play. There is much

malice and ugliness behind the mask of elegance and

respectability these characters put on. From the beginning we

have a conscious feeling of rivaliry and hostility beneath the

simulated friendship between fainall and miraball. The

artificiality of social relationship comes out clearly in the 2nd

act when Mrs. Marwood and Mr. Fainall talk of their

abhorrence and accuse each other of infidelity. During this

confrontation the mask of sophistication drops off easily and

reveals the ugliness of violent, uncontrolled passions. The

refined and civilised stamp of Restoration-life is more apparent

than real. All the characters appear to live only in the image

which they are intent upon presenting to the world. For an

example Mrs. Marwood’s nature is imperctly conealed by the

social mask she wears and we see the brittle surface of her

sophistication crack and fall off in st james park, whre she

blasts off;

“I care not – let me go – break my hands,

do – I’d leave’em to yet loose ”

(II-i-233-34)

The devices petulant employs to attract attention provide

The devices petulant of the superficiality with which this

society lives.

The licentiousness of this society and its pervasive immorality

are amply demonstrated in the ply when Final explains to

Mrs. Mar wood why he ignores the relationship of his wife with

Mirabel.

“I was for my ease to oversee willfully neglect the

gross Advance made to him by my wife ; that by

permitting her to be engaged, I might continue

unsuspected in my pleasure; and take you oftener

to my Arms in full security”

(ll-i-148-152).

The cynicism displayed here symbolizes the rank

opportunism of the Restoration . Mirabel. the hero himself is

not free from this blemish .He pretends to be in love with Lady

wishfort and use this sham courtship as a make-

believe/decoy to channel his real love for her niece, Militant.

The play seems to be concerned with the social problems

like human adjustment and human responsibilities, but in real

terms displays an obsession with sex ; sexual promiscuity and

sex antagonism. The ply ridicules both sham love and marriage

by exposing the worldly wise ness , rank materialism and

hypocrisy which operate as ulterior motives behind all

superficial shows. Most of the characters are sexually

promiscuous and treat love and marriage as sport. They put on

their marks before their partners but the masks come off

naturally and effortlessly whenever they are with their

paramours .They disclose before them their plans or strategies

freely and frankly and make a clean breast of their real feeling

towards their legal spouses. There is no true love but a

semblances of it. It is a world of deception. There is no mutual

adjustment /understanding as the fake lovers try their best to

serve their own self-centered private interests. The purity of

love has on place at the altar of amorous intrigues and

immoral encounters . The professing lovers keep changing

partners easily, effortlessly and remorselessly and evince no

responsibility towards each other .Take for instance , the love

play of Mirabella and Arabella, the marriage of Mr. Final and

Arbela the love affair of Mr. Faunal and mrs. Mar wood,

with one exception of course the love of Mirabella and

Millament which testify to and speak eloquent of the truth.

 Mirabel is the central character of the ply the master

plotter and is directly responsible for all the plots and

counterplots. But at the same time he is the cohesive force that

keeps the social fabric intact. He has an illicit and illegitimate

love affair with Arabella. She loves him with her heart and

soul. While still a window as Mrs . Languish, she goes on

satisfying her carnal desire with him, till she apprehends the

unwanted pregnancy as a consequence and calls a halt to their

illegal liaison. In the meanwhile mirabell seems to have lost

his heart to millament and apparently feels guilty of his gross

sinful conduct. Hence he dose not leave her to suffer ignominy

and shifting his responsibility manages to foist her on Mr.

fainall, a man of loose morals, who believes in enjoying life,

exploiting others physically, materially andwhich-so-ever way it

pleases him. Mirabell is very well aware of his responsibility

and does nit flee like a betrayer and devises a way out to save

his lover’s reputation. On the whole their relationship which

did not lead them to the altar is a complex one, they seem to

have no regret, no moral compuctions; rather they trust each

other and plan strategies together to overcome difficulties in

their respective way.

The marriage of finall and Arabella proves to be a

marriage of convenience and a great failure Arabella marries

fainall to cover up the supposed ill consequence of her illicit

affair with mirabell and to save her own moral repute and the

family’s as well. They are an ill assorted pair. They not vibe

together, their mental wave-lengths being quit different. Fainall

is a false designing lover. He is not a cheat and has his own set

of morals and seems to suffer from no conscience prick and

persists with his adulterous esipades. His rapacious egoism

feeds on everything it finds but as he has no moral values it is

only material advantages that he seeks. He marries Arabella for

the sake of her wealth, through he had been romantically

involved with mirabell. He refers to his marriage as “a scurvy

wedlock” (II-i-643). There not an ounce of common humanity in

him. His wife to him “an old and worthless animal; a Leaky

Hulk, which he will set adrift to sink or swim” (v-i-443-45).

They suffer and stand each other only to nurse their private
interests. But in public, they are quite nice to each other and

exchange sweet nothingness’s. Fainall addresses her as “Dear”

and she cooes in reply “my soul” (II-i-91-92).

What a hypocrisy ! His true colour comes to the force only

when he makes some bitter comments about her and confesses

before Mrs. Mar wood what he feels about her and ;

“My wife has played the jade with me well

that’s over too-I never loved her or if I had

that would have been over too by this time”

… (III-i-685-87)

Similarly the love play or Mrs. Mar wood and Mr. Fainall

represents another striking example of an exploitative

relationship. Mrs. Mar wood is a widow, malicious and

vindictive . She was in love with Mirabell to whom she made

advance but was thwarted by him.

 Anger fed on disappointment ,but she dissembled her

aversion towards him. This secret unfulfilled ,rather frustrated

and reciprocated love now becomes the motivating force behind

all her scheming villainous pursuits. Her pride thus wounded,

mirabell’s foe and courts finally sheer desperation and enjoys

sensual pleasure living with him as his mistress. Her motto is.

“My youth may wear and waste but is shall

never rust in my possession (II-i-18-19)

She is cut to quick when fainall accuses her of loving

mirabell inwardly while professing loyalty/ allegiance to him

outwardly. He doubts her bonafides and says to her face that

she is false and claims to have seen through all her little arts.

His allegation deeply upsets Mrs. mar wood and she threatens

to expose their illegitimate/illicit affair and wins the day.

“I’ll publish to the world , the injuries

you have done me, both in my fame and

Fortune. With both I trusted you , You

Bankrupt in Honour as indigent of

wealth” (II-i-201-204).
 He goes down on his knees and placates her to calm

down and keep her cool and silence as he thinks that her

threatening will one day upset his future plans to enrich

himself by blackmailing Lade Wish fort, so he buys peace and

ensures a temporary truce of hostility with Mrs. Marwood. If

not a union of convenience, what else is it? What a piece of

immaculate dissimulation ! What a clever repartee ! Their

relationship thrives on mutual monetarily as it is evident from

his own admission. He loves her only to make “a Lawful Prize

of a ricj Widow’s Wealth”. (II-i-213-14) and ultimately makes

her an accomplice to acquire the lawful possession of Lade

Wishfort’s property. Mrs. Marwood, on her part, nurses her

wounded ego while enjoying the adulterous lialison to her, best

advantage and wants to take revenge on Mirabell making

Fainall a pun. They are no less than scheming villains.

Lady Wishfort, the old widow of fifty-five is also sex-

hungry. She is the central female character who controls the

fortunes of all the rest. She hankers after youthful pleasures

and lives in a make-believe world – a life replete with sensual

fantasy. She deludes herself imagining that Mirabell loves her

passionately and subsequently believing that Sir Rowland was

prepared to marry her. Never can she free herself from

Mirabell’s hypnotic charm. When Millament informs her that

Mirabel would go away forever, she heaves a sigh of both relief

and regret and yells out: ‘Shall I never see him again.” (v-i-

353). Her regret shows her romantic enchantment towards this

young man, who is no less responsible for making her suffer

such delusions by making sham address to her, which were

really meant for Millament.

But the love of Mirabell and Millament is of a quite

different nature/stuff. Though Mirabell is sexually

promiscuous and accused of moral lapses she accepts his love

for her as genuine. Millament laughingly teases him and aptly

calls him “Sententious Mirabell”. He has no complaint against

Millament as she is unsullied. He admits:

I like her with all her faults; nay like

her for her faults”. (I-i-164-165)

 Similaly Millament’s love for him is also true as she has

no illegitimate liaison with anyone else. There is no place for

misunderstanding between the two. Millament knows that her

lover was at one time deeply involved with her cousin. But

evidently she does not mind a lover with such a past as she

has studied Mirabell’s emotions very well. She expresses her

cherished feelings/emotions about her love to Mrs. Fainall in

these words;

“Well if Mirabell should not make a good

Husband, I am a lost thing – For I find, I

love him violently”. (IV-i-321-23)

It will not be fair wide off the mark to say that Millament’s

plea is a pioneering precursor of the agenda of women’s

liberation. She fights for the equality of the sexes and

advocates for individual sexuality. Despite their mutual respect

and sincere feelings for each other, they brook no interference.

Their union is not going to be a complete sell-out as they want

to maintain their own independent existence even after their

nuptials or coming together. This aspect of their understanding

is well brought out in the proviso-Scene or the Bargaining

Scene.

The Proviso-Scene is a convention continued. It serves a

dual purpose (i) of providing rich romantic entertainment and

(ii) laying out a solid foundation on which the lover’s

harmonious married life can stand and prosper avoiding those

pitfalls and blunders which plaque most marriages. It brings

the principal love affair in the story to ahead. Here Mirabell

and Millament bargain with each other for mutual non-

interference, the conditions under which each might

contemplate matrimony. They meet each other not as lovers

but as rational human beings. Millament bargains for her

privileges for her library and right to privacy, for her freedom to

meet whom she pleases. She is very well aware of the

disillusionment that comes to people after marriage. She says

that she would not like to be “free from the agreeable fatigues

of solicitation”. (IV-i-171-172) Secondly, her individual liberty

should be preserved. She would like to get up when she

pleases to give reigns to her morning thoughts. Furthermore,

she would not like to be addressed by such names as:

“Wife, Spouse, My Dear, Joy, Jewel, Love

Sweetheart and the rest of that Nauscous

Cant in which Men and their wives are so fulsomely familiar”.

(IV-i-202-204)

She also demands the freedom to pay and receive visits, to

weite and receive letters, to keep away from Mirabell’s friends if

she does not like them. Mirabell on his part also demands of

his wife, “not to have a confidante, no she-friend to screen her

affairs, no fops to take her to the theatre secretly”. (IV-i-242-

43). He prohibits the use of masks for the night made of “oiled-

skins, Hog’s bones, Hare is gall, Pig-water and the Marrow of a

roasted cat”. (IV-i-255-57). He disapproves the use of tight

dress during pregnancy and he forbids the use of alcoholic

drinks. The spirit of give and take along with the beguiling fun

and gaiety of Mirabell and Millament enhances and advances

mutual understanding and furthers the chances of a happy

and successful married life.

 Enough of self control, intellectual discrimination and

sense of decorum entered into the agreement ultimately

reached at. This augurs well for the level-headed, no-nonsense,

rational and conscientious pair of lovers who are surrounded

on all sides by a mad world obsessed with sex intrigues.

The title “The Way of The World” is apt and highly

significant as the characters are part and parcel of the social

milieu and swim and sink with the time-flow and never bother

to go against it, save a few exceptional ones despite their

blemishes and moral lapses.

They symbolise a saving grace and remind one that the

world is not yet completely lost.

Conforming to the tradition of the genre this play is also

replete with brilliantly refined, subtle wit and polished humour.

We are dazzled by what Bonamy Dobree calls the “Verbal

pyrotechniques” of the characters. Even Foible has her moment

when she tells Lady Wishfort with delightful irony;

“A little Art one made your picture like

your; and now a little of the same Art

 must make you like your picture”. (II-i-135-55)

There are also many witty remarks of the other characters

as well. Here are a few of them to corroborate the point made.

“cabal Nights where that come together like a Corner’s Inquest

to sit upon the murdered Reputations of the weak,” says

Fainall to Miorabell in I-i-56-59. A ittle letter, “I wonder there is

not an Act of Parliament to save the credit of the Nation and

prohibit the Exportations of Fools, “Mirabell retorts to Fainall

in I-i-232-14. “A Fellow that lives in a wind mill, has not a

more whimsical dwelling than the heart of a man that lodged in

a women, Mirabell tells to Millament in II-i-501-03. Even the

false wits, witwoud and Petulant occasionally make remarks

which are truly witty. Witwoud for an example says;

“Friendship without freedom is as dull as

Love without Enjoyment or wine without Toasting” (I-i-366-68)

Millament as a true wit remarks;

“A woman’s cruelty gives her a sense of power and when she

parts with her cruelty, she parts with her power”.

(II-i-395-97)

Mirabell retorts, “The Beauty of a woman is a gift to her from

her lover”. (II-i-404-05). Prompt comes the reply form

Millament.

“Beauty, the Lover’s Gift ! Lord what is a

lover that it can give”. (II-i-412-13)

The list can continue and entertain us to no end but we

dispense with the luxury and end our discussion with a

modern critic’s remarks on congreve’s wit’

“It is a Toledo Blade, sharp and wonderfully supple for

steel, cast for dwelling; restless in the scabbard, being so

pretty, when out of it. To shine, it must have an adversary”.

Critics have generally accepted “The Way of The World” as

a comedy of manners, but to some the play is first and

foremost, a comedy of characters. The episodes and events of

this play, perform minor roles but the characters of this play

lend vitality, charm and force to the play. The characters are

mainly flat and typal. They show no progress, no development

hence lack roundedness. Some characters are animated by a

greatness which is above circumstance, which seems to be its

own end. The style of the play is inimitable, flawless and

perfect. Every sentence is replete with sense and satire

conveyed in the most polished and pointed terms. Every act of

the play presents a bouquet of brilliant conceits. William

Hazlitt befittingly comments; “The Way of the world”: has an

essence almost too fine and the sense of pleasure evaporates in

an aspiration after something that seems too exquisite ever to

have been realised. After ingaling the spirit of congreve’s Wit

and tasting Love’s thrice reputed nectar’ in this work, the head

grows giddy in turning form the highest point of rapture to the

ordinary business of life (Hazlitt-91)

Now it’s time to wind up and conclude. In the foregoing

paragraphs we have made a thorough and exhaustive textual

study of the play and critically analysed the thematically and

formally relevant and corroborating facts with a sample of the

prevalent critical opinion and on the basis of the evidence

available, we justifiably feel inclined to conclude that the play

richly deserves to be called a comedy of manners.

RELATIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN MARRIAGE

Love and Marriage as the central subject. Restoration

comedy was almost exclusively concerned with sexual

relations. The central subject of most Restoration comedy s

was love and marriage. In this respect, Restoration dramatists

aimed at portraying the manners and modes of aristocratic

society. Congreve’s comedies, more than the plays of Etherege,

WycherJey, and Dryden, seem to be subtle comments on love

and marriage. In fact, it is by keeping this in view that we can

defend the best comedies of that period from the charge of

triviality, for the relationship of the sexes is the acid test of a

civilization. "The immediate, natural and necessary relation of

one human being to another is that of man to woman. From

the character of this relationship, it can be seen how far man

has developed." If we agree with this view of Karl Marx, we

would not dismiss The Way of the World as a comedy pure and

simple but would regard it as a play with a serious purpose,

having as its theme the relations of men and women not only

in marriage, but out of marriage also.

 Witty dialogue, but a serious purpose, in the play. The Way

of the World primarily engrosses us by its witty dialogue. Not

only are the hero Mirabell and the heroine Millamaut brilliant

in their wit, but there are fireworks in the conversation of even

the subsidiary characters.

The element of wit indeed dominants the play. But what is

the theme round which the plot is built up and round which

most of the witty dialogue centres? The theme is undoubtedly

the relations of men women, illicit love-affairs, adulterous,

relations, true and false wooing and courtship, unhappiness in

marriage and the desire for divorce, a hankering after

marriage, marriage for the sake of money and marriage for the

sake of love, the terms and conditions governing what may be

regarded as an ideal, or as or nearly ideal, marriage. Love and

Marriage are the subjects which occupy the minds of all

characters, although we should not forget that wealth and

property also occupy an important position in relation to both

love and marriage. It may seem to us that the play ridicules

both love and marriage by exposing the worldliness,

materialism, and hypocrisy which operate as motives behind

them, but a distinctly serious social purpose in the writing of

the play is clearly perceptible. Congreve seems here to be

subjecting- the relations of men and women to close and

searching scrutiny in an effort to arrive at some kind of basis

that can make a happy marriage possible.

The past love-affair of Mirabell and Lady Wishfort's

daughter. The principal love-affair in the play is the one

between Mirabell and Millament. The Restoration was

historically a period of loose morals, and every young man of

the upper classes thought it legitimate to sow his wild oats.

Accordingly, Mirabell, contrary, to our conventional idea of a

hero, has already had a love-affair. He had sexual relations

with Lady Wishfort's daughter when the latter was a widow.

He, however, her got married to

Mr. Fainall as soon as she feIt that she had probably become

pregnant. In arranging this match, Mirabell had obviously no

qualms of the conscience because, according to our present

standards of morality, he should have himself married the

woman. As was to be expected, her marriage with Mr. Fainall

proves to be a failure. Thus we find that the relationship of

Mirabell and Lady Wishfort’s daughter, in carrying on a love-

affair not leading to marriage, is obviously a false relationship.

The woman does not seem to have protested at all against

Mirabell's strategy. In other words, she acquiesced in her

loveless marriage with Mr. Fainall. This is a mockery of love,

but it appears that both Mirabell and his mistress had treated

their love-affair merely as a sport. The present relationship

between the two is purely one of friendship, even though one

particular remark by Mirabell makes us suspect that the love-

affair is still continuing. (Mirabell holds in trust the entire

property or his ex-sweetheart, and he fully and honestly,

discharges his obligations in this respect.)

The Marriage of Mr. Fainfall and Lady Wishfort’s daughter.

The marriage of Lady Wishlfort’s daughter (whom we have

described above as the ex-sweetheart and present friend of

Mirabell) with Mr. Fainall proves an utter failure. Here is

another false relationship. Lady Wishfort's daughter agrees to

marry this man in order to cover up her illicit relations with

Mirabell and the suspected pregnancy resulting there from. Mr.

Fainall agreed to marry this woman for the sake of her wealth.
Mr. Fainall , it would seem , had an inkling before-hand that

the woman he was going to marry had previously been sexually

involved with Mirabell. Mrs. Fainall’s bitterness is reflected in

her remark, early in the play, that if she and her husband were

seen talking to each other publicly they would he creating a

sensation. (This remark shows that they are known in their

social circle as not getting on well with each other). Mr. Fainall

shows his bitterness against his wife in the course of his

conversation with Marwood. He describes his wife to Marwood

as “a very arrant, rank Wife, all in the way of the world." He

calls, himself "an anticipated cuckold, a cuckold in embryo,”

He refers to his marriage as a "scurvy wedlock". Reviewing his

married life, Mr. Fainall says: "My wife has played the jade with

me; well, that's over too. I never loved her, or if I had, that

would have been over too by this time," (Act III, Lines 597-

6OO). Continuing this account, he says that his wife came to

him after having lost all her reputation. Nor does he claim that

his own conduct before marriage was exemplary. Mr. Fainall’s

motives were purely mercenary.

Mr. Fainall's love-affair with Marwood. The love-affair of

Mr. Fainall and Marwood represents another example of a false

relationship. Marwood was originally in love with Mirabell to

whom she made advances but without any success. She is

thus a frustrated woman; but a woman never forgets a rebuff

from the man whose love she has vainly sought. She would

therefore like to avenge herself on Mirabell. It would seem that

she has turned

to Mr. fainall in sheer desperation and not because she is

deeply or genuinely in love with him. Mr. Fainall suspects that

she is still in love with Mirabell, and he frankly tells her his

suspicion. He Says that he can see through all her little arts,

His allegation deeply annoys Marwood and she threatens to

expose his affair with her. However, he quickly seeks

reconciliation with her and promises to make amends to her in

every possible way. The exposure of his love-affair with

Marwood would seriously upset his future plans to enrich

himself, and so he tells her: “I’ll hate my wife yet more, damn

her! I’ll part with her, rob her of all she's worth, and we'll retire

somewhere, anywhere to another world. I’ll marry the; be

pacified.” All this is really funny, and Congreve is obviously

ridiculing a relationship such as this. The basis of this illicit

love- affair is money so far as Marwood is concerned, and lust

combined with money so far as Mr. Fainall is concerned.

Marwood, a born schemer as she is, suggests to Mr. Fainall a

plan by which he can blackmail Lady Wishfort. Mr. Fainall

accepts the plan, promising to share the booty with her. The

indications are that, soon after the two of them make their exit

from the stage a little before the end of the play, Mr. Fainall

would carry out his previous threat to divorce his wife. He

would then most 'probably get married to Marwood. We can,

however, easily speculate that their marriage too would prove a

failure because they would constantly be devising methods to

make easy money and would probably be quarrelling most of

the time.

The love-affair of Mirabell and Millament. We now come to

the core of the play, namely the love-affair between Mirabell

and Millament. Millament knows that her lover was at one time

carrying on a love-affair with her cousin who is now married to

Mr. Fainall. But evidently she does not mind a lover with such

a past. There can be no doubt that both Mirabell and

Millament love each other truly. Mirabell tells Fainall that he

likes Millament with all her faults; may he like her for her

faults. He says that her

faults have now become as familiar to him as his own frailties

and

that, in all probability; he will like them equally well. As for

Millament, she frankly tells Mrs. Fainall : “Well, if Mirabell

should not make a good husband, I am a lost thing for I find I

love him violently."

The proviso scene and the conditions of marriage. It is the

proviso scene that provides us with a clue to the serious

purpose of the play, From this scene emerge the conditions

that Congreve thought to be necessary for the success of a

marriage between men and women in love. r t is made clear to

us her ': that love alone cannot sustain a marriage. This scene

is pure comedy

and contains a brilliant display of wit by both Mirabell and

Millament. And yet it is a profoundly serious scene from which

we can draw much instruction, Millament does not want that a

lover's appeals and entreaties should end with the marriage

ceremony, She would like to be "solicited" till the very moment

of marriage; and she would like to be, “solicited" even

afterwards; she, would not like "to be freed from the agreeable

fatigues of solicitation.” It is obvious that Millament knows the

disillusionment that comes to people after marriage.

She has known the unhappy experience of her cousin, Mrs.

Fainall, and so she wants to be sure that Mirabell would not

take her for granted after marriage. Her next condition is that

her individual liberty should be preserved. She would like to

get up when she pleases, to give free reins to her morning

thoughts, and so on. Furthermore she would not like to be

addressed by such names as “wife, spouse, my dear, joy, jewel,

love, sweetheart, and the rest of that nauseous cant, in which

men and their Wives are so fulsomely familiar.” She makes fun

of couples who appear to be proud of One another the first

week and ashamed of one another ever after. For this reason,

she suggests that she and Mirabell should maintain a certain

distance and a certain reserve between them after marriage.

Millament also demands the freedom to pay and receive visits,

to write and receive letters, to keep away from Mirabell's

friends if she does not like them. Mirabell, on his part,

demands that his wife will not have a confidante, no "she-

friend to Screen her affairs", no fop to take her to the theatre

secretly.

Lady Wishfort's matrimonial schemes. Nor must we forget

Lady Wishfort’s craving to get married. This widow of fifty-five

hankers after youthful pleasures. That is the reason why she

easily believes, first, that Mirabell loves her passionately and,

then that Sir Rowland is anxious to marry her. Both Mirabell

and Sir Rowland arc false suitors. Lady Wishfort exists in the

play as an example of a woman who is superannuated but who

yet experiences what may be called a false appetite which

creates embarrassing situations for her. Congreve treats Lady

Wish fort's desires in a satirical manner, because her marriage

with a younger man (and she does seek a younger man) would

be a false relationship. Congreve also treats Sir Wilfull's role as

Millament's suitor in a satirical light, because such an alliance

between a highly, sophisticated town girl with a country yokel,

his homely intelligence notwithstanding, would be a false

relationship too.

WORKS CONSULTED
1. Baugh, A.C. A Literary History of England.

London : Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. 1967

2. Dobree, Bonamy. Restoration Comedy

London : Oxford University Press, 1924

3. Hazlitt William. Lectures on The English Comic Writers.

London; Oxford University Press, 1951

4. Legouis E & Cazamian L. A History of English Literature.

New York : The Macmillan & Co. 1995

5. Sengupta K. The Way of The World By William Congreve.

Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998

6. Stephen Leslie. English Literature and Society in the

Eighteenth Century.

London: Dukeworth & Co. 1910