The Way of the World

Read “Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage” by Jeremy Collier or a summary of Collier’s ideas. How does The Way of the World respond to criticisms of profanity and lewdness? Which scenes could you argue are still profane and why?

There are a series of plots that occur before the events of the play, such as Mirabell arranging Fainall and Mrs. Fainall’s marriage, Mrs. Fainall and Mirabell’s affair, and Mirabell trying to seduce Lady Wishfort to get close to Millamant. Choose one of these schemes and analyze how it impacts the events of the play, using evidence from the text to show this impact.

What are the roles of the servants in the play like Foible, Mincing, Peg, and Waitwell? How do each of these characters influence the story, and why might Congreve have wanted to include characters from lower social classes in his critique of the upper classes?

Fainall and Mirabell are essentially in competition with each other, but they compete indirectly through the other characters in the play. What does this methodology tell us about these two men? Why might they choose this course of action in the context of social norms and decorum discussed in the play?

The Way of the World is a comedy on two levels: the literal foolishness of the characters and the abstract foolishness of society. Find an example of each type of humor, then discuss how that kind of humor would be translated into a modern context. What kinds of characters in the play could you see recreated today, and what would need to change about them to adjust to a modern audience?

Think about the different ways men and women in the play approach their desires. Identify a man and a woman in the play with similar desires, then compare their motivations and methods for achieving their goals using evidence from the text. What point might Congreve be making about gender roles?

Petulant, Witwoud, and Wilfull have little impact on the story, but they provide a source of humor. Why are explicitly foolish characters necessary for a satire like this one? How does the humor of Petulant, Witwoud, and Wilfull differ from that of Fainall and Mirabell?

Lady Wishfort is a static character, meaning that she does not develop or change throughout the play. Why is it important that Lady Wishfort remains the same? In what ways does the play revolve around Lady Wishfort’s predictability, and how do the other characters take advantage of her?