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Examples Of Millamant In The Way Of The World

1008 Words5 Pages
Pablo Fernández Alonso
Literatura Inglesa II

Millamant: Up to what extent does she control her own destiny?

The Way of the World is a comic or satire drama written by William Congreve. This play is considered as the best representative work in Restoration comedies. As in any Restoration comedy or comedy of manners, in The Way of the World it is portrayed the typical behaviours and manners of the society in London during the restoration period, and William Congreve presents his characters in a very satirical way according to this. In this essay, I am going to explain the concept of “freedom” concerning to the character Millamant.
The Way of the World is quite related with Volpone or the Fox, written by Ben Johnson, because in both works we can see a very high level of avarice by some of the characters, and Ben Johnson’s work is quoted in William Congreve’s:
“He might, like Mosca in the Fox, stand upon terms...”
First of all, it is necessary to explain the relationship between Millamant and the rest of the characters: She is in love with Mirabell, and he also is in love with her, and she is the ward of Lady Wishfort, an old woman attempting to recapture their youth, whose husband was Millamant’s uncle. Lady Wishfort hates Mirabell because he deceived her in order to be nearer Millamant, which is a clear impediment to motivate Millamant and Mirabell’s love. Finally, the conflict between Lady Wishfort and Mirabell is solved and everything finishes well.
The relationship
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