Discuss the relationship between Mirabell and Millament in the Way of the World.
In The Way of
the World, his last comedy, Congreve seems to come to realise the importance
for providing an ideal pair of man and woman, ideal in the sense that the pair
could be taken for models in the life-style of the period. But this was almost
impossible task, where the stage was occupied by men and women, sophisticated,
immoral, regardless of the larger world around them, and preoccupied with the
self-conceited rhetoric as an weapon to justify their immoral activities within
a small and restricted area of social operation. Congreve could not avoid this,
and for this, he had to pave his way through the society by presenting a plot
which, though complicated enough for a resolution, aims at the ideal union
between the hero and heroine—Mirabell and Millament. They emerge as the
triumphant culmination of the representative characters of the whole period, of
course not types, for they are real enough to be human. Congreve endowed his
hero and heroine with all the qualities typical of the society, but towards the
end the qualities, if negative, are employed as guards against the venoms of
the society.
At the
beginning of the play, we find Mirabell shaping up a situation so that he can
win the hands of Millament and her estate as well from Lady Wishfort who has
the rein of power over them. In this Mirabell is perfect Machiavellian:
conscious of his surroundings. He is not at all a man from chivalric romance.
That he is a past master in the game of love, of course, in the sense of the
period, that is, sexual relationship—is evident from his past affairs with Mrs.
Fainall, from Mrs. Marwood’s fascination towards him and, one many suspect,
from Lady Wishfort’s unconscious longing for him. Moreover, Mirabell has
mastered rhetoric to encounter men and women around them.
Consistent
with the irresistible charm of Mirabell, Congreve built the character of
Millament. She is the perfect model of the accomplished fine lady of high life,
who arrives at the height of indifference to everything from the height of
satisfaction. To her pleasure is as familiar as the air she draws; elegance
worn as a part of her dress; wit the habitual language which she hears and
speaks. She has nothing to fear from her own caprices, being the only law to
herself. As to the affairs of love, she treats them with at once seriousness
and difference. For instance, she exclaims to Mirabell: “Dear me, what is a
lover that it can give? One makes lovers as fast as one pleases, and they live
as long as one pleases, and they die as soon as one pleases; and if one pleases
one makes more.” This, however, may be a case for Millament who is “standing at
the threshold of maturity from girlhood”, as Norman N. Holland points out. But
from her discussion of preconditions before entering into marriage with
Mirabell, it is clear that she is intelligent and discrete enough to judge her
situation.........................................
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