As the title indicates, the play satirizes or pokes fun at "the way of the world" regarding marriage: in the world Congreve depicts, money rules over true love.
Mirabell and Millamant, for example, represent true love, but money stands in the way of their entering into a marriage based on mutual esteem. Further, Mirabell knows that he and Millamant can't live on air and that Lady Wishfort controls much of Millamant's fortune, so he has to resort to stratagems to bend Lady Wishfort to his will in order to live in the style he wishes. Fainfill, meanwhile, cynically marries for money so that he can keep his lover in style on the side.
It's unclear precisely what Congreve's take on the balance between love and money is. Nevertheless, it is clear that he sees a marriage based on love, rather than money, as an impossible romantic fantasy. On the other hand, Congreve uses Fainfall to critique an utterly cynical approach to marriage as nothing more than a financial transaction in which cheating on the side is an expectation. In an ideal world, Congreve's message seems to be, money and mutual esteem would join together to create the perfect marriage. In the meantime, love stumbles along as well as it can in money's shadow: as Mrs. Marwood says, an imperfect love is better than none.
The Way of the World is a Restoration comedy, which deals with the physical love in abundance. In terms of the delineation of love and marriage Congreve is superior to other writers such as Etherege, Dryden, Wycherley and Vanbrugh.
In this comedy, we can find a realistic portrayal of the contemporary society where family members cheat each other, men and women are engaged in many affaires. In the story, Mirabell is in love with Millament but he has an affair with Mrs. Fainall. She has sexual relation with Mirabel but to save her family from social disgrace she married Mr. Fainall.
Mr. Fainall also has an illicit affair with Mrs. Marwood. They have an aim to usurp the wealth of Lady Wishfort. But Mrs. Marwood also threats Mr. Fainall to reveal their affair thus turns him into deep trouble.
The proviso scene is very famous because it brings out many traits of society. Millament is very conscious of her relationship with Mirabell. They create a kind of mutual understanding before marriage to avoid the adverse circumstances after marriage. Millament is very honest in her love.
On the other hand, Lady Wishfort has deep desire for marriage in spite of her old age. Previously, she had an affair with Mirabell; that’s why she has not given consent and wealth to Millamants marriage with Miabell. Now, She wants to impress Sir Rowland. But Rowland is actually the servant of Mirabell who tries to accomplish her thirst of marriage so that Mirabell can marry with Millamant. Thus Congreve presents the eccentric behavior of the society.
Congreve here presents the scenes like Chocolate Houses, St James Park, play houses where these scandals are the main gossip.
In the conclusion, we may say that Congreve very dexterously portray the contemporary society and makes it satire as well as a comedy.
In The Way of the World, Congreve’s comedy of manners paints a humorous critique of the deceit and dishonesty which have become normalized aspects of society, especially with respect to the concept of marriage. Fainall and his wife are examples of Congreve’s satire of unfaithfulness in marriage. Fainall, a character who cheats on his wife with Marwood, is given the line “I am a . . . rank husband . . . all in the way of the world.” This line illustrates Fainall’s belief that deceit is tolerable, since this is simply how the world is—a “way of the world.” In fact, Fainall wonders why “cuckoldom” should “be a discredit, being derived from [marriage].” This is a humorous line; Fainall suggests that the root cause of unfaithfulness is marriage, and, if it is part and parcel of marriage, then it follows that unfaithfulness should not in fact be considered a “discredit”—unfaithfulness is simply part of marriage!
As a counter-example to Congreve’s satirization of Fainall’s marriage, in which Fainall considers that unfaithfulness is a normal aspect of marriage, Congreve depicts Mirabell and Millamant’s marriage in a positive light. When Mirabell realizes that deceit won’t win Millamant over, Mirabell breaks the “way of the world”—dishonesty—and confesses everything, including his previous schemes, in order to win her over. In this sense, The Way of the World is a satire which criticizes the contemporary society of Congreve’s time for deceit and dishonesty at the same time that it shows us how to move past the behaviors he satirizes.
Congreve’s Restoration comedy, which focuses on the obstacles Mirabell and Millamant must surmount in order for them to marry, satirizes the values held by the upper class at the time, particularly those related to financial gain and status obtained through an advantageous marriage. Although romantic love does exist in the play, love for its own sake seems nothing more than a foolish, sentimental notion, especially when it is overshadowed so much by the need for economic gain. Examples of this include Lady Wishfort’s desire to control Millamant’s dowry, Fainall’s money-grubbing scheme, and his marriage to support his mistress. Even marital arrangements between servants hinged on a cash exchange.
The Way of the World may also be viewed as a clash between old and new values. Lady Wishfort embodies traditional Restoration attitudes, while Millamant’s insistence upon a prenuptial contract depicts an emergence of female power and independence.
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