The play can be thought of as a combination of dramatic and comedic elements. Whereas the function of comedy in the play is accomplished through the concealment and revelation of truth, the dramatic aspect of the play underlines the characters’ freedoms and their constraints. In Kate and Marlow’s story, it is Marlow who is under the constraints of his upbringing and social pedigree. The real protagonists of this drama, however, are arguably Constance and Tony, both of whom are subjugated by Tony’s mother. One wants to pursue Hastings, and the other Bet Bouncer. Both want the freedom to pursue their own ends. 

However, there is a danger to confronting these desires and obstacles head-on. In the same way that Kate stoops to conquer, Constance is obliged “to stoop to dissimulation to avoid oppression.” As Tony expresses it, his mother has a habit of trying to control his moods. Tony, then, is more than enthusiastic enough to subvert his mother. Tony and Constance’s plans fail, however, and Constance and Hastings find their happy resolution not by running but by appealing to Mr. Hardcastle’s better nature. This ending reflects the idea of “kneel[ing] to rise” from the Dryden poem that inspired this play’s title: 

The prostrate lover, when he lowest lies, 
But stoops to conquer, and but kneels to rise.

Indeed, by the end, Kate has stooped to conquer, and Constance has knelt to rise.