Act 3

Lady Wishfort sits at her dressing table, preparing to impress Sir Rowland. Marwood enters and tells Lady Wishfort that she saw Foible talking to Mirabell in the park. Lady Wishfort then orders Marwood to hide in the closet and listen. When Foible arrives, she easily deflects the Lady’s concerns by telling her that Mirabell was saying horrible things about her. Lady Wishfort is horrified and returns her attention to the arrival of Sir Rowland, whom, Foible assures her, is more than interested in her.

After Lady Wishfort leaves, Mrs. Fainall and Foible discuss Mirabell’s scheme, not realizing Marwood is hiding in the closet. Marwood, when alone, vows to ruin the plan. When Lady Wishfort returns, Marwood encourages her to force a match between Millamant and Sir Wilfull, which she agrees to.

When Marwood and Millamant meet, the two banter about men and freedom. Marwood taunts Millamant about masks and Mirabell. Millamant brushes her off casually, but Marwood warns her, “Your merry note may be changed sooner than you think.”

Petulant and Witwoud enter and are later followed by Sir Wilful and Lady Wishfort, who all greet each warmly, if comically. Separately, Marwood and Fainall converse, and Marwood fills her lover in on what she has discovered. With these revelations in mind, Fainall makes a plan of his own. He will expose Mirabell’s plot, threaten to reveal his wife’s affair, and thereby get control of three fortunes: those of his wife, Lady Wishfort, and Millamant. Then, he and Marwood will run away.

Act 4

Lady Wishfort discusses how best to impress Sir Rowland with Foible. Sir Wilfull has become drunk and is carrying on a one-sided conversation with Millamant and Mrs. Fainfall.

Mirabell arrives to visit Millamant, and the two discuss marriage. Each has a set of demands for the other. Millamant, for instance, wants to be free to dress as she pleases and go where she pleases. She desires control over her life. Mirabell, for his part, bans strong drinks and masks. The two finally agree to their contract.

Mrs. Fainall enters, and Millamant confesses that she simply must have Mirabell. Ms. Fainall advises Mirabell to leave, as her mother is coming. After he does, Millamant admits: “I find I love him violently.” Witwoud and Petulant come in, both drunk, with an even drunker Sir Wilfull. Lady Wishfort scolds her nephew, and as the three men carry on, she finally sends them away so that she can meet with Sir Rowland.

Lady Wishfort and Sir Rowland finally meet, and Sir Rowland (really Waitwell in disguise) courts the Lady beautifully. He also promises to punish Mirabell, all the way to starving him to death. The Lady stipulates that Sir Rowland must not think her too forward, and he assures her he does not.

At this moment, Foible interrupts them with a letter. It is from Marwood, and it exposes Mirabell’s whole scheme. Foible and Waitwell, however, act quickly and manage to convince Lady Wishfort that the letter is really from Mirabell, who must be trying to interfere with her match to Sir Rowland. It works for the moment, and Sir Rowland hurries off to get his “black box, which contains the writings of my whole estate,” which he will put into the Lady’s hands as his pledge of true love.