The way of the world

By

William Congreve

The Way of the World



Charles-II and the Restoration

Charles–II was 19 when he fled fromEngland in 1649 and took shelter inFrance. He restored his father’s crown in1660 with a mind enlivened with Frenchcultural heritage and shaped by Frencheducation system. He borrowed with himall the virtues and vices of French societywith him. Restoring his Father’s crown,he vowed to reform all the deficienciesof his countrymen with the goodqualities of French cultural heritage. Hewas very interested infashion,theatre,entertainmentandwomen.

A new middle class emerged withinterest in all the aforementionedqualities. England was becoming ‘anation of the shop-keepers.

The theatre houses that were closed bythe puritans started re-opening.


Samuel Pepys PRS,MP,JP ( 23 February 1633 –

26 May 1703) was an English naval

administrator and Member of Parliament who

is now most famous for the dairy he kept for a

decade as a young man. Samuel Pepys account

kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published

in the 19th century and is one of the most

important primary source for the English

Restoration period. It provides a combination

of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts

of great events.

Samuel Pepys


Restoration London Society: In 1660, London seethed with a

population of 300,000. In Europe only Paris and Constantinople were

larger. King Charles II – a lover of women and of good living – was on

the throne, and the streets were crowded with velvet-clad noblemen

making their way to the reopened theatres. Watermen plied their trade

along the River Thames between the Palace of Westminster and the

City, and in the newly fashionable St James's Park, Londoners took the

air by day and sought other – illicit – pleasures at night. The sense of

morality was banished from England. Immorality ,foppishness, frivolity

and licentiousness became the order of the day. Extra-marital

relationship became a criteria for social –recognition.


Comedy of Manners

Dramas staged between 1660 and 1700 are called ‘Restoration

Dramas’. The dramatic literature of the period was dominated

by comedies called ‘Comedy of manners’. Actually ‘Restoration

Comedy’ is used as a synonym for “Comedy of Manners”. The

plot of the comedy, often concerned with scandal, was

traditionally less important than its witty dialogues.

The comedy of manners was first developed in the new

comedy of the Ancient Greek Playwright Menander. His style,

elaborate plots, and stock characters were imitated by the

Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence, whose comedies

were widely known and copied during the Renaissance. The

best-known comedies of manners, however, may well be those

of the French playwright Moliere.

Oscar Wilde and William Congreve are the most celebrated

authors of ‘Comedy of Manners’.


Some of the important features of the 'Comedy of Manners' are as follows:

1. The action always takes place in London.

2. There is always a contrast between the rural and the urban. For example in Congreve's "The Way of the World" Squire Witwoud is from the county of Shropshire and his arrival in London results in a lot of amusement and humour.

3. The presence of at least one pair of very intelligent young lovers.

4. Witty dialogue is perhaps the most important feature of the Comedy of Manners.

5. All the other aspects of the play are usually sacrificed for the sake of contriving a situation which would give rise to 'witty' dialogue.

6. The appeal of the Comedy of Manners is to the intelligence of the audience/reader and not to the emotions.

7. The 'witty' dialogue was usually obscene, for the theatres had just reopened after the Restoration.

8.The women in these plays were very emancipated and bold and independent, unlike the heroines of the Sentimental dramas.

9.The institution of marriage was always held to ridicule. Both husbands and wives openly expressed their dissatisfaction of their spouses.

10. These plays were mainly intended for the elegant and sophisticated audiences of London city. Hence the characters were almost always from the upper class society of London.

11. These plays portrayed the lifestyle of the idle rich of London city very realistically.

12. The plays were mildly satirical-the playwright could not afford to hurt his upper class audience.

[Copy from enotes.com]


Chocolate House of St.

James Park

The Mall & St. James

Park


Chocolate Houses

Chocolate was brought to Spain by Christopher Columbus from the

Caribbean Islands for his patron the King Ferdinand and Queen

Isabella . For nearly 100 years the Spaniards tasted Chocolate

secretly. Chocolates was prepared from Cacao plants then available

only in the Caribbean Islands. It came to England in the Restoration

period. The first Chocolate House was established in Bishopgate in

London in 1657 under the patronage of Charles –II. Chocolate at that

time was very costly and only moneyed people(aristocrats) can afford

to have chocolate drinks. Visiting the Chocolate Houses was not only

a favourite pastime but also a part of Restoration culture.

The Way of the WorldChocolate House


Collie Cibber: Critique of Congreve’s ‘The Way of the World’.

Jeremy Collier's A Short View of theImmorality and Profaneness of the EnglishStage (1698) was a direct attack on Congreveand Dryden. Collier succeeded in garneringpublic support for his cause by beginning withthe accepted neoclassical doctrine that thepurpose of drama is to teach and please andthen pointing out the disparity between theoryand practice. Congreve responded to Collier'saccusations in Amendments of Mr. Collier'sFalse and Imperfect Citations (1698), but theconservative middle class, determined to makeits tastes felt, sided with Collier and theSociety for the Reformation of Manners. CollieCibber failed to understand the undertone ofthe play and judged it simply by its apparentexhibition of ‘licensciousness and immorality’of the Restoration society.

The Way of the WorldRestoration Theatre House


Restoration Theatre

goers.


William Congreve in 1709

Born: 24 January 1670

Bardsey, England .

Died:19 January 1729

(aged 58)London, England

Occupation : Playwright, Poet

Nationality :English

Period 1693–1700

Genre : Comedy of Manners


Congreve as a writer:

In praise of Congreve, it should besaid that, for almost the first time inEngland, he brought to the service ofthe stage a painstaking art. He caredmuch about the way a sentence wasbuilt, about balance, and getting theright shade of meaning. His diction isexactly fitted for oral use; and hispictures of the world of wealth andfashion are diverting. Congreve is,perhaps, the only English writer whocan really be compared with Molière.Artistically he was a follower of JohnDryden. He may be truly acclaimed asthe father of English ‘Comedy ofManners’.

Works of Congreve

William Congreve wrote someof the most popular Englishplays of the Restoration periodof the late 17th century. By theage of thirty, he had written fourcomedies, including Love forLove (premiered 30 April 1695)and The Way of the World(premiered 1700), and onetragedy, The Mourning Bride(1697)

Unfortunately, his career endedalmost as soon as it began.After writing five plays from hisfirst in 1693 until1700.[wikipedia]

http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/moliere006.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Restoration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_for_Love

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_World

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1700_in_literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mourning_Bride_(Tragedy)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1697_in_literature


Edmund Gosse called William Congreve’s ‘The Way of the World’ as

the best-written, the most dazzling and the most intellectuallyaccomplished of all English Comedies, perhaps of all the comedies ofthe world.’


‘The Way of the World’ has been described as being one of the

four great English comedies ,alongside ‘The Importance of

being earnest by Oscar Wilde, ‘Private Lives’ by Noel Coward

and ‘As You like It’ by William Shakespeare.


Congreve’s LONDON


An overview of the play ‘The Way of the World’:-

The play is based around the two lovers Mirabell and Millamant.In

order for the two to get married and receive Millamant's full dowry,

Mirabell must receive the blessing of Millamant's aunt, Lady Wishfort.

Unfortunately, she is a very bitter lady, who despises Mirabell and

wants her own nephew, Sir Wilful, to wed Millamant.

Other characters include Fainall who is having a secret affair with Mrs.

Marwood, a friend of Mrs. Fainall's, who in turn once had an affair with

Mirabell.

Waitwell is Mirabell's servant and is married to Foible, Lady Wishfort's

servant. Waitwell pretends to be Sir Rowland and, on Mirabell's

command, tries to trick Lady Wishfort into a false engagement.

Source: wikipedia


Dedication:-

Congreve dedicated his play , ‘The Way of the

World’

to Ralph, Earl of Montague, whose company and

conversation have made it possible for Congreve to

write this comedy. The dedication also constitutes a

statement of purpose. It is written in the form of a

letter.


-:Prologue:-

Like Classical Comedies, Congreve provided a Prologue to his

masterpiece ‘The Way of the World’. In the prologue to the play,

Congreve categorizes poets as those who fare the worst

among Nature’s fools, for Fortune first grants them fame and then

“forsakes” them. Congreve laments this unfair treatment meted out to

the poets, who are Fortune’s own offspring. Poets have to risk the

fame earned from their previous work when they write a new work. If

his new endeavor fails, the poet must lose his seat in Parnassus. He

tells the audience not to pity him for his stupidity. He promises that

he will blame the audience if they heckle any scene. He proceeds to

state that his play has “some plot,” “some new thought,” “some

humor” -- but “no farce.” Finally, he bids the audience to “save or

damn” him according to their own discretion.


Summary

The main character and libertine, Mirabell, is in love with Millamant, a niece of Lady Wishfort, who pretends to

make love to the aunt to conceal his suit for the niece. His trick is revealed by Mrs. Marwood, who does so to

seek revenge because Mirabell has rejected her advances. Lady Wishfort, who now hates Mirabell "more than a

quaker hates a parrot," will deprive her niece of the half of the inheritance she controls if Millamant marries

Mirabell. Mirabell has his servant Waitwell impersonate his uncle, Sir Rowland, and pretend to marry Lady

Wishfort, but only after having secretly married him off to her maid, Foible. He hopes to use this humiliating

deception to force Lady Wishfort to consent to his marriage to Millamant.

The plot is discovered by Mrs. Marwood, who also finds out that Mirabell has had a previous intrigue with Mrs.

Fainall, daughter of Lady Wishfort, after which she married her off to Mr. Fainall, thinking that she was pregnant

with his child. She conspires with Fainall, her lover, who pretends to be the friend of Mirabell, to reveal this

information to Lady Wishfort, while Fainall threatens to divorce his wife and to discredit Lady Wishfort unless he

is given full control of Mrs. Fainallís property and Millamant's portion is handed over to him. The scheme fails.

Mrs. Fainall denies all and brings proof of Fainall's affair with Mrs. Marwood, while Mirabell produces a deed by

which Mrs. Fainall, before her marriage, made him trustee of all her property. In the end, Lady Wishfort, grateful

for her release from Fainall's threats, forgives Mirabell and consents to the marriage.

[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org


Characters:-

Mirabell A young man-about-town, in love with Millamant.

Millamant A young, very charming lady, in love with, and loved by, Mirabell. She is the ward of Lady Wishfort because she is the niece of Lady Wishfort's long-dead husband. She is a first cousin of Mrs. Fainall.

Fainall A man-about-town. He and Mirabell know each other well, as people do who move in the same circles. However, they do not really like each other. Fainall married his wife for her money.

Mrs. Fainall Wife of Fainall and daughter of Lady Wishfort. She was a wealthy young widow when she married Fainall. She is Millamant's cousin and was Mirabell's mistress, presumably after her first husband died.

Mrs. Marwood Fainall's mistress. It does appear, however, that she was, and perhaps still is, in love with Mirabell. This love is not returned.

Young Witwoud A fop. He came to London from the country to study law but apparently found the life of the fashionable man-about-town more pleasant. He has pretensions to being a wit. He courts Millamant, but not seriously; she is merely the fashionable belle of the moment. [Cliffnotes]


Characters:

Petulant A young fop, a friend of Witwoud's. His name is indicative of his

character.

Lady Wishfort A vain woman, fifty-five years old, who still has pretensions to

beauty. She is the mother of Mrs. Fainall and the guardian of Millamant. She is

herself in love with Mirabell, although she is now spiteful because he offended

her vanity.

Sir Wilfull Witwoud The elder brother of Young Witwoud, he is forty years old

and is planning the grand tour of Europe that was usually made by young men

to complete their education. He is Lady Wishfort's nephew, a distant, non-

blood relative of Millamant's, and Lady Wishfort's choice as a suitor for

Millamant's hand.

Waitwell Mirabell's valet. At the beginning of the play, he has just been

married to Foible, Lady Wishfort's maid. He masquerades as Sir Rowland,

Mirabell's nonexistent uncle, and woos Lady Wishfort.

Foible Lady Wishfort's maid, married to Waitwell.

Mincing Millamant's maid.

Peg A maid in Lady Wishfort's house. [

[Source:Cliffnotes]


Act-I:-

Act 1 is set in a chocolate house where Mirabell and

Fainall have just finished playing cards. A footman

comes and tells Mirabell that Waitwell (Mirabell's

male servant) and Foible (Lady Wishfort's female

servant) were married that morning. Mirabell tells

Fainall about his love of Millamant and is encouraged

to marry her. Witwoud and Petulant appear and

Mirabell is informed that should Lady Wishfort marry,

he will lose £6000 of Millamant's inheritance.He will

only get this money if he can make Lady Wishfort

consent to his and Millamant's marriage. [source-

wikipedia]


Act-II

Act 2 is set in St. James’ Park. Mrs. Fainall and Mrs.

Marwood are discussing their hatred of men. Fainall

appears and accuses Mrs. Marwood (with whom he is

having an affair) of loving Mirabell (which she does).

Meanwhile, Mrs. Fainall (having previously been his lover)

tells Mirabell that she hates her husband, and they begin

to plot about tricking Lady Wishfort to give her consent to

the marriage. Millamant appears in the park, and angry

about the previous night (where Mirabell was confronted

by Lady Wishfort) she lets him know her displeasure in

Mirabell's plan, which she only has a vague idea about.

After she leaves, the newly wed servants appear and

Mirabell reminds them of their roles in the plan.

[wikipedia]


Act-III

Acts 3, 4 and 5 are all set in the home of Lady Wishfort.

We are introduced to Lady Wishfort who is encouraged to

marry 'Sir Rowland' – Mirabell's supposed uncle – by

Foible so that Mirabell will lose his inheritance. Sir

Rowland is however Waitwell in disguise, the plan being

to arrange a marriage with Lady Wishfort, which cannot

go ahead because it would be bigamy, not to mention a

social disgrace (Waitwell is only a serving man, Lady

Wishfort an aristocrat). Mirabell will offer to help her out of

the embarrassing situation if she consents to his

marriage. Later, Mrs. Fainall discusses this plan with

Foible, but this is overheard by Mrs. Marwood. She later

tells the plan to Fainall, who decides that he will take his

wife's money and go away with Mrs. Marwood. [wikipedia]


Act-IV

Mirabell and Millamant, equally strong-willed, discuss in detail the

conditions under which they would accept each other in marriage

(otherwise known as the "proviso scene"), showing the depth of

feeling for each other. Mirabell finally proposes to Millamant and, with

Mrs. Fainall's encouragement (almost consent, as Millamant knows of

their previous relations), Millamant accepts. Mirabell leaves as Lady

Wishfort arrives, and she lets it be known that she wants Millamant to

marry her nephew, Sir Wilfull Witwoud, who has just arrived from the

countryside. Lady Wishfort later gets a letter telling her about the Sir

Rowland plot. Sir Rowland takes the letter and accuses Mirabell of

trying to sabotage their wedding. Lady Wishfort agrees to let Sir

Rowland bring a marriage contract that night.[wikipedia]

The Way of the World Act-V

By Act 5, Lady Wishfort has found out the plot, and Fainallhas had Waitwell arrested. Mrs. Fainall tells Foible that herprevious affair with Mirabell is now public knowledge. LadyWishfort appears with Mrs. Marwood, whom she'sthanking for unveiling the plot. Fainall then appears anduses the information of Mrs. Fainall's previous affair withMirabell and Millamant's contract to marry him to blackmailLady Wishfort, telling that she should never marry and thatshe is to transfer all the money over to him. Lady Wishforttells Mirabell that she will offer consent to the marriage ifhe can save her fortune and honour. Mirabell calls onWaitwell who brings a contract from the time before themarriage of the Fainalls in which Mrs. Fainall gives all herproperty to Mirabell. This neutralises the blackmailattempts, after which Mirabell restores Mrs. Fainall'sproperty to her possession and then is free to marryMillamant with the full £6000 inheritance. [wikipedia]

The Way of the World The Proviso Scene:

The Proviso Scene: In Act 4 of The Way of the World, couple Mirabell and Millament find themselves in a battle of wit as they discuss the terms of

their marriage. This scene, called the proviso scene, gives important insight into Mirabell and Millament's relationship. The terms of both

characters illustrate their concerns and fears for their future marriage. This Scene is called the Proviso scene of the play.

Millament's Terms

Allowed to stay in bed late as she wishes

Mirabell cannot call her by pet names

No public displays of affection allowed

Allowed to have any visitors without question

Allowed to write and receive any letters without question

Not required to spend time with Mirabell's friends or family

Allowed to eat dinner together or alone as she wishes

Allowed to dress how she wants

Allowed to be in charge of her tea table

Mirabell must always knock before entering a room. [source:weebly.com]


The Proviso scene: Mirabell's Terms

Millamont must not have friends who are women

Millamont must like her own face

Millamont cannot wear makeup or other cosmetics

Millamont must not wear corsets

Allowed to restrict Millamont's drink intake’

Source: weebly.com


Mirabell - Mirabell, a man of fashion, intelligent andauthentically in love with Mrs. Millamant. He enjoys the favors,either overt or covert, of most of the women in the play, who,either through unrequited love of him or mutual affection, try toaffect the course of his fortune. He is presented as a man ofgenuine parts, not so superficial as to render him without asense of honor or the genuine ability to experience love, but atthe same time a clever schemer. His love for Mrs. Millamant andhis hope of legitimate income are the motivating factors in hisintrigues. Mirabell is somewhat more in love with Mrs. Millamantthan she with him. Although his stake in the marriage is higherthan hers, he bears up well under the handicap, neverattempting to outmaneuver Mrs. Millamant by feigningindifference. Instead, he rather admirably presses his proposalwith candor and plain dealing as to his love. Thus, he keeps amanly station without lowering himself to beg or unduly flatterher, and he impresses her with his devotion. He emerges fromthe action as a Restoration gentleman who possesses wit,charm, and masculinity and who does not deal in simper, pose,or guile. Although he is a master schemer on occasion, in him

The Way of the World Millament-Mrs. Millamant, Lady Wishfort’s niece,

loved by Mirabell and perhaps the most fascinating

member of the cast. Mrs. Millamant contains within

her personality an attractive haughtiness, and she

enjoys making Mirabell’s suit appear an even more

one-sided affair than it is. She has a frankness that

sometimes uncouples her from her train of followers

and a glitter that—especially in the famous comic-

love scene between herself and Mirabell—

approaches radiant wit. For all her practiced arts of

conversation and her determination to keep love a

game, Mrs. Millamant is levelheaded, and Mirabell’s

commendable qualities will meet good use in such a

wife. Beneath her protests and shams, she has

carefully marked a line to follow. She wisely


What is Wit?

Wit is a form of intelligent humour. It is the ability to say or

write things that are clever and usually funny.

Who is a Wit?

A wit is a person skilled at making clever and funny

remarks.

How many type of Wits are portrayed by Congreve ?

Congreve portrayed there type of Wits.

i.True Wit

ii.False Wit

iii.Half-Wit

More generally, one's wits are one's intellectual powers of

all types.

[Source: wikipedia]


Millamant & Mirabell

True Wits


Half- Wit

[foolish or stupid fellow]

Wilful, Witwould

Half-Wit

Sir Wilfull Wishwould is atypical country bumpkin, abutt of the city wit.He is atraditional character type incomedy. Like othercharacters in the play, SirWilfull does not quite conformto type. He is shown ashaving country manners: hecalls for slippers; he drinkstoo heavily; he is very shywith Millamant, awed by thecity lady. He is a Half-Wit.

The Way of the World False-Wit

“False wit is a fatiguing

search after cunning traits,

an affectation of saying in

enigmas what others have

already said naturally, to

hang together ideas which

are incompatible, to divide

that which ought to be

united, of seizing false

relations.”

―Voltaire

http://izquotes.com/quote/367909

False –Wit in ‘The Way

of the World’.


http://izquotes.com/author/voltaire


The Way of the WorldFalse Wit

Lady Wishfort and Mrs. Marwood

are the examples of ‘False Wits’.

A False wit is a fool who affects

witticism but fails miserably.

The very names are significant and

meaningful.

Wishfort means ‘Who has unbound

wishes’ while Marwood means ‘One

who mars or destroys everything’.

False Wit


Servants:-

In Restoration society servants had a very decisive and

important place. The beaus were too much dependent on

their servants as they could not do anything themselves.

In ‘The Way of the World’, we get three servants: Foible,

Mincing and Waitwell. They were not just servants. They

acted as friend, helper and even guide to their masters.

Foible was Lady Wishfort’s resourceful, energetic

servant, allied with Mirabell.

Waitwell was Mirabell’s serving-man, married to Foible.

Mirabell used him in his plot against Lady Wishfort.

Mincing was Mrs. Millamant’s maid.


The Proviso Scene:-


Congreve may be describedas a master of illustratingfeminine psychology of theRestoration but sadly thereaction to this play'smorality made it his last. Hesuffered the irony of beingkilled by a carriage while inthe post of "Commissionerfor Licensing HackneyCarriages"! [BBC]

Nb. Congreve died in acarriage accident.


FINIS


Education

The way of the world