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The Way of the World (Characters (Petulant A young fop, a friend of…
The Way of the World
Characters
Petulant A young fop, a friend of Witwoud's. His name is indicative of his character.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Foible Lady Wishfort's maid, married to Waitwell.
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.
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Mirabell A young man-about-town, in love with Millamant.
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Love a la Mode
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The illicit love of Fainall and Mrs. Marwood, presumably passionate, but wholly without mutual trust.
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Mirabell and Millamant represent the ideal of the Restoration attitude, intense yet balanced.
The aging and undignified longings of Lady Wishfort, vain, unrealistic, over-eager, desperate, and a little pathetic.
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Love and Money
Such an approach is closely related to that of love a la mode, although they are not identical.
In the world whose way is presented here, love and money are values to be taken into account at all times.
The sincerity of Mirabell's love does not make him lose sight of the importance of Millamant's fortune.
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This is the world's way. Love without money is an impossible sentimental dream, although money often corrupts what love there is.
A Gallery of Portraits
Millamant is the belle: feminine, beautiful, witty, not prudish, but with a sense of her own worth. She has avoided the messiness and humiliation of sexual intrigue.
Mirabell is the beau ideal: polished, poised, rational and balanced, witty and perspicacious.
Opposed to Mirabell are would-be wits, worthy but graceless boors, and deep intriguers
Since it is the way of the world to put a premium on youth, Mirabell and Millamant stand at the center, representing all that is to be commended.
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Every character reveals himself in action, and together they produce a gallery of self-portraits.
Jungle of High Intrigue
As we see in the play, victory goes to Mirabell, not because of his virtue, but simply because he is the most successful intriguer.
Even Lady Wishfort in her willingness to marry Sir Rowland has a devious purpose — revenge on Mirabell.
Mirabell intrigues to gain consent to his marriage from Lady Wishfort, and this involves intrigue within intrigue, for he does not trust Waitwell.
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Setting
The scenes are set in a chocolate house, in St. James's Park, and in the home of one of the main characters, Lady Wishfort.
The action takes place in Greater London, circa 1700.
St. James's Park, consisting of ninety acres that include elaborate landscaping, is in the Westminster borough of London.
Chocolate houses, popular in London after 1650, attracted elite young males and usually permitted gambling. One of the most famous of London's chocolate houses was White's.