How would you characterize Mirabell in The Way of the World?
In a play that concerns itself so much with the sexual mores of its day and deception and trickery, Mirabell is clearly the protagonist in this play who uses his charms and beauty to gain what he wants. He is the suitor of Millamant and has something of an "interesting" history, as he used to be the former paramour of Mrs. Fainall, and also deliberately flirts with mrs. Marwood. He has also managed to turn Lady Wishfort against him through deliberately pretending to be in love with her. Mirabell shows himself to be a very intelligent and canny strategist, as he develops and enacts stratagems that will enable him to marry Millamant, Lady Wishfort's niece, against Lady Wishfort's will and also gain Millamant's rather impressive dowry.
He is a character that seems to divide audiences. On the one hand, he possesses a certain irrascible charm and charismatic nature that makes...
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him attractive, however, it is clear that he heartlessly exploits those around him to gain success in his endeavours. What is his saving grace is the way in which all seem to benefit from his stratagems, so that nobody seems to mind. The only people who definitely do take issue with him is Fainall and Marwood, because he shows them up to be the traitors that they really are. Perhaps we sympathise with him because he is a raconteur who is nevertheless hopelessly in love, and is determined to use all of his wits to satisfy his passions.
What is interesting about his character is that Congreve, rather ironically perhaps, chooses to give him the final moral at the closing of the play:
From hence let those be warned, who mean to wed,
Lest mutual falsehood stain the bridal-bed:
For each deceiver to his cost may find
That marriage frauds too oft are paid in kind.
The irony is evident: Mirabell, a character who has been characterised by sexual infidelity, now at the close of the play, preaches against dishonesty and adultery. Perhaps we are to assume that he has changed as a result of marrying his love, or perhaps Congreve is presenting a sexual moral lesson whilst at the same time undermining its impact by allowing Mirabell, a character who has allowed deception and infidelity to govern his life, to deliver it.
Explain the portrayal of Mirabell's character, with his merits and follies, in The Way of the World.
In his classic Restoration comedy, The Way of the World, the English playwright William Congreve excels at portraying characters in all their contradictions and complexities. In his world, nobody is wholly good or bad, which amplifies the comedy. Even before the play begins, a quick look at the dramatis personae tells us that Mirabell is not a simple character. He's in love with Mrs. Millamant, but he has earned the enmity of her aunt, Lady Wishfort, because he pretended to love her, and Mrs. Fainall, the wife of his friend, is described as "formerly friend to Mirabell." All this suggests that Mirabell is maybe not the most reliable of people, yet Congreve did not write the play to judge his characters, and Mirabell comes across as witty and charming. Even his name is euphonious.
When he's talking about Millamant, he says "I like her with all her faults" (1.2.), and this could stand as a theme for the play. All the characters are shown with their faults, but they are still, for the most part, likable. Mirabell does have a cutting wit, which can tend towards cruelty, as when he states "An old woman's appetite is depraved like that of a girl" (2.2). He also is scheming most of the play to get Lady Wishfort to allow him to marry Millamant, her niece, but it is clear that his intentions are not malicious.