The Way of the World

Fainall, like Mirabell, is a man-about-town looking to secure a fortune through marriage. Before the events of the play, Mirabell had an affair with Arabella Languish, then he urged her and Fainall to marry. Fainall, thinking he would take control of Arabella’s money, married her without knowing that Mirabell had arranged Arabella’s money in a trust. In the play, Fainall resents Mrs. Fainall, whom he does not love and who does not love him anymore. As with Mirabell, Fainall reveals some knowledge of the law in his attempt to blackmail Lady Wishfort, but his plot is thwarted by Mirabell’s prior actions.

Fainall is the antagonist of the play, though his character, actions, and immorality are in line with Mirabell’s: Fainall’s plan is like Mirabell’s in that they both want to secure both a marriage and a fortune, with Fainall trying to get Mr. Fainall’s money to live happily with Mrs. Marwood. However, Fainall is the antagonist, because his plot serves to subvert Mirabell and Mrs. Fainall’s interests. Fainall is also defined by his intelligence, but he is an arrogant character who cannot believe that anyone is smarter than himself. This flaw in Fainall’s character leads to his downfall, and his worst fears are realized when Mrs. Fainall reclaims her fortune. While Fainall spends the play trying to control women, he ends the play entirely under Mrs. Fainall’s control.

Millamant is Lady Wishfort’s niece and Mrs. Fainall’s cousin. She is an attractive young woman who stands to inherit a fortune if she marries with Lady Wishfort’s approval. However, Millamant is uninterested in marriage because of the way marriage will restrict her freedom, making her character arc key to the play’s investigation into The Complexities of Gender Dynamics in Personal and Financial Power. She loves Mirabell, but she fears that he will be too controlling once they are married. Millamant is intelligent, but she uses her intelligence largely to insult other characters rather than to scheme. Though Millamant ultimately marries Mirabell, the song she has played for Mrs. Marwood indicates that she only likes Mirabell because he is the object of obsession for other women.

Millamant is the main romantic interest in the play, since Mirabell, the protagonist, loves her. She also serves as a foil to Mrs. Marwood, who is less skilled in insulting others but uses her intelligence to scheme. A key detail about Millamant is her assertion that she wants to lay in bed through the morning and go to the play in a mask. These traits would have indicated to a Restoration audience that Millamant is a “bad” woman, as lying in bed all morning would indicate a failure to maintain her home, and going to the play in a mask implies that she is sexually active before marriage: Women who went to the theater in masks, called “vizards,” were assumed to be either sex workers or women looking to have an affair.

Mrs. Fainall is Mirabell’s former lover, Fainall’s current wife, and Lady Wishfort’s daughter. Prior to the events of the play, she went by Arabella Languish, and she was a young widow. Though her prior marriage is not discussed in any detail, the play implies that she married a man who did not have a fortune of his own, as Mrs. Fainall’s wealth is tied to her mother, Lady Wishfort. Mrs. Fainall implies that Mirabell arranged her marriage to Fainall, and she professes to hate all men. Her primary complaint in her marriage, though, is that Fainall is uninterested in her, noting how he does not want to walk or talk with her. Mrs. Fainall does not come up with schemes of her own, but she is dedicated to helping Mirabell achieve his goals, though she does not express romantic interest in Mirabell during the play.

Mrs. Fainall is a supporting character in the play, not serving as a romantic interest for any of the men or participating actively in the plot beyond conveying information on Mirabell’s behalf. However, Mrs. Fainall is also supportive of the women in the play, with the notable exception of Mrs. Marwood. Mrs. Fainall helps Millamant in resolving to marry either Wilfull or Mirabell; provides comfort to Foible, Mincing, and Peg; and tries to help Lady Wishfort within the confines of also promoting Mirabell’s scheme.

Lady Wishfort is a wealthy widow already past the point in her life when she would be expected to remarry. Nonetheless, Lady Wishfort’s strongest desire is to secure a husband, and her efforts throughout the play center on either marrying Sir Rowland or punishing Mirabell for rejecting her. Prior to the events of the play, Mirabell pretended to court Lady Wishfort, and Lady Wishfort hoped she would marry him. However, after Mrs. Marwood revealed Mirabell’s true desire to marry Millamant, Lady Wishfort felt betrayed and dedicated herself to preventing Mirabell’s wishes. In the end, Lady Wishfort identifies Fainall as the bigger threat to her family’s reputation, agreeing to let Mirabell marry Millamant as a reward for thwarting Fainall’s plot. Still, Lady Wishfort’s desire to remarry remains unfulfilled.

Lady Wishfort’s most pivotal role in the play is as a static, malleable character, operating within a strict series of conditions. She would have been one of the most humorous characters to the Restoration audience, as she represents a scathing satire on older, aristocratic women. Her use of makeup and portraits plays on the falsehoods of the upper classes, which is mirrored in her desire to follow “decorum” while simultaneously mistreating her staff. Lady Wishfort combines the traditional characterization given to young women of the period—irrational behavior, desire for a husband, and vanity—but these traits are expressed in a woman that a Restoration audience would expect to have outgrown them.

Anthony Witwoud, Petulant, and Wilfull Witwoud are comedic side characters in the play, each serving to highlight different forms of buffoonery in the upper classes—particularly The Performative Aspects of Social Interaction among the elite. Witwoud is foolish in that he pretends to be witty, and his petty comparisons and attempts at flirtation are ridiculed by other characters in the play. Nonetheless, Witwoud is the closest to a moral character in the text, as his only flaw is his inability to understand wit. Outside of wit, Witwoud is honest and caring, refusing to insult his friends or engage in underhanded activities. Witwoud’s name is a play on “wit would,” meaning he wishes he had wit.

Petulant is Witwoud’s opposite in temperament, though he lacks wit as well. Petulant’s name means bad-tempered, and he is characterized by his general disregard for decorum. Like Witwoud, Petulant is an honest character, but his honesty takes on a critical, argumentative form. By his own disclosure, Petulant will argue with someone for the sake of having a disagreement, and he does not have any strong perspectives of his own. Like Witwoud, though, Petulant is allowed into the women’s meetings, indicating that they trust him and Witwoud more than the other men in the play.

Wilfull Witwoud is the new arrival in the play, and he is like Witwoud in his inability to understand wit. However, he differs from Witwoud in fulfilling his name: a play on “willful,” meaning stubborn. Wilfull wants to travel, and he maintains this desire throughout the play, even acquiescing to marry Millamant and travel with her and Mirabell. This implies that he does not care if Millamant continued an affair with Mirabell after marriage. Likewise, Wilfull is willing to start fights with those who disagree with him, threatening to duel Fainall in the final act.