The Way of 17th Century in the Way of the World

The Way of 17th Century Society in The Way of the World

The Way of the World is a popular English play written by William Congreve in 17th century. Like most plays in the Restoration period, The Way of the World is regarded as a satire on the lives of the idle-classes in 1700s. Ironically, it has been reported that in his later life, Congreve, never been married, had good friendships with several actresses and noblewomen, especially, Henrietta Godolphin II, Duchess of Marlborough whom he had a daughter with. Apart from this considerable contrast, his work, the Way of the World reflects many aspects of aristocracy’s society in 17th century, which worth discussing.

Firstly, according to the conversation between Mirabell and Millamant, readers could obviously see how marriage customs and gender roles performed in the Restoration period. It should be underlined that Mirabell and Millamant’s ideas and manners were quite different from their people, which means everything that was committed by the couple would be behaved in the opposite way by others. Therefore, when Millamant said she will “fly and be followed to the last moment,” it represents that women in those age considered marriage a significant part of her life. For further understanding we should account for the situation of English women in that period, whom despite several social improvements continued having less rights or freedom than men. Since male-centered was a deep-rooted custom that ruled society, marriage was often forced on women as their only way to have a recognized position in society. Traditionally, a woman was supposed to be married to a well-educated and graceful gentleman, be loyal to her husband and give birth to children. On the other hand, a man would marry to an obedient lady to pursue neither love nor happiness but a rising in

social hierarchy and her dowry because every woman was considered, together with her properties, a possession of the husband.

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social hierarchy and her dowry because every woman was considered, together with her properties, a possession of the husband.

Secondly, social hierarchy is another point critiqued in the play. For instance, when Mirabell asked Millamant to marry him and she replied “O, I should think I was poor and had nothing to bestow…,” these couple of lines, although Millamant finally agreed to marry Mirabell, state that marriage between a noble and a peasant was unacceptable because the difference of social class. In the Restoration period, the medieval sense of rank and degree was still persistent and even became more rigid. On one hand, aristocrats were on the top of social order and played a dominating role in the country. They owned land and possessed a wide range of privileges, which could be inherited from father to son. On the other hand, since the landlords were the aristocracy, they either influenced or had direct control over the peasants’ life. As a result, peasantry class received no individual rights, particularly the right to love and marry to the upper-classes.

The last social state discussed in the Way of the World is the idle-classes’ extravagance and the nonsensical fashion of 17th women. From Mirabell and Millamant’s conversation, we could picture daily activities of the upper-class people. For examples, when Millamant announced “Positively, Mirabell, I’ll lie abed in a morning as early as I please.”

This reflects idleness of the high-class people. Having land ownership allowed them to hand over all works to their serfs and spent the rest of the time eating, dressing and gossiping. We could see in the play that the favorite activities of these “idle-creatures” were going out to the Hyde Park, the theater and the mask party. Moreover, in order to be attractive or to provoke people’s attention in the party, the 17th century ladies would dress in fancy dresses and it was common for them to wear a body-lace. Since 16th century, tight-lacing was the popular fashion in an attempt to support body, enhance breasts and make the waist appears smaller than it was naturally. Fortunately, the fair Millamant considered this a fulsome behavior.

In conclusion, due to the fact that Congreve encountered with many noble women in his later life; therefore, it is possible to say that although often regarded as a satire on the idle-class life, it is worth considering that the play itself might simply constructed from what it criticized.