The Way of the World

The opening of the act, in which Lady Wishfort worries about getting along with Rowland, reflects the same tone as Millamant’s concerns over Mirabell. Lady Wishfort is worried that Rowland will not like her, while Millamant is worried that Mirabell will not be trustworthy in love. The lines Millamant recites from Sir John Suckling’s untitled poem read, “There never yet was woman made, / Nor shall, but to be cursed” (293). The poem is about men’s treachery and the ephemeral nature of love, so Millamant’s recitation betrays her fears about Mirabell’s plot and how he might take advantage of her love for him. Though Lady Wishfort is unaware of the plot involving Rowland, both Lady Wishfort and Millamant are essentially hoping they have placed their trust in honest men.

Further developing the theme of The Complexities of Gender Dynamics in Personal and Financial Power, Millamant’s discussion of marriage with Mirabell highlights the differing concerns of husbands and wives in Restoration England. Millamant demands Mirabell’s affection, saying, “I’ll be solicited to the very last, nay and afterwards,” adding that she must retain her liberty with the example, “I’ll lie abed in a morning as long as I please” (296). Millamant’s demands are all centered on the love of the marriage and her own independence. She wants both to feel wanted and cared for while still retaining her freedom to go about town or remain in bed as she pleases. Mirabell, on the other hand, makes demands entirely focused on restricting Millamant’s freedom. Mirabell says: “I prohibit all masks for the night” (297) and adds that he will only allow her to drink “dormitives,” meaning alcohols that are meant for sleep rather than revelry. These demands reflect the possibility of infidelity, as “vizards,” or masks, were considered synonymous with sex work, and men suspected that wives would go to the theater, drink, and wear masks to cheat on their husbands without being detected. This contrast reflects the same distinction in gendered desire that persists throughout the play, wherein men desire official control while women desire happiness.

In the end of this act, Marwood attempts to warn Lady Wishfort that Sir Rowland is an imposter, sending a letter declaring that “Sir Rowland is a cheat and a rascal” (304); however, Waitwell, disguised as Rowland, deftly redirects the charge to Mirabell. Because Lady Wishfort already perceives Mirabell as a “cheat and a rascal” (304), she is eager to believe Sir Rowland, compounded with her own desire for Rowland to be a legitimate suitor. Rowland offers to provide the “black box, which contains the writing of my whole estate” (305), which serves as sufficient evidence for Lady Wishfort. The box is a symbol of deceit or false hope itself, one the play’s contemporary audience would’ve recognized. At the time, a black box was said to hold documents proving the legitimate claim of the Duke of Monmouth to the throne of England over Charles II, but it was never shown to exist. Likewise, Rowland’s black box is a fabrication. Overall, this exchange adds another dimension to The Performative Aspects of Social Interaction, as the characters are more likely to believe a performance they want to be true. In the end, the black box serves only to complete Mirabell’s plan, but, in this moment, Lady Wishfort prefers to think Rowland is a real person in competition with Mirabell. It is only when Lady Wishfort’s desires shift from her own hope to remarry to her urge to protect her and her family’s reputation that she can see through the subterfuges perpetuated by Fainall and Mirabell.