Journal Entry #2: The Way of the World

The Way of the World focuses a lot on the issues between loved ones and former loved ones. The story, I will admit, was a bit hard to understand; there was a lot going on at once, and some of the situations were not previously explained, so, it was left up to the reader to “fill-in-the-blanks” on some of the events in the play. One such event was the previous relationship love affair between Mirabell and Lady Wishfort. In the first act, not a lot of details were given concerning the upcoming situation the affair played a role in. Like stated before, the reader had to guess on what happened, however, later Congreve gave more of a background story on what had happened between Mirabell and Lady Wishfort. The reason that this affair is so important is because of the plot which Mirabell has come up with to successfully marry Millamant, Lady Wishfort’s niece.

A lot of the issues that were brought up in The Way of the World were distrust in marriages and relationships, and reasons for being with a certain partner. In this play, the reader sees Fainall mention that he only married his wife for her money, that way he would be well off in life and be able to finance his love. It’s clear to see that there is no faith or trust in the love they share. In Act II the reader finds out that due to the lack of “love” for his wife, Fainall is having an affair with Mrs. Marwood. I fnd it interesting, though, how Mrs. Fainall was so easily tricked in the beginning of Act II into believing that Mrs. Marwood had feelings for Mirabell; but of course that was just a cover up. The two were speaking of manipulating men, and one line that stuck out to me was what Mrs. Fainall said in the first line of Act II. She states, “if we will be happy, we must find the means in ourselves, and among ourselves. Men are ever in extremes, either doting or averse.” This line states how men’s opposing feelings tend to clash, and those feelings eventually lead to men losing interest and attraction in the woman they are with. The conversation continues and the reader sees how the two women seem to despise men because of their constant need for sex and how they see women as objects. I agree with this line, but at the same time I disagree. For centuries, women have been degraded and used by men; it’s sickening. Women have been used as objects of lust just to feed the sexual desires that men possess; but, in this opening scene, Mrs. Fainall and Mrs. Marwood seem to be directing this toward all men. This reminds me of a saying that I hear quite often: “men are all the same.” While that may be true in some senses, as a whole, no man is the same. Some men have desires that they can control much easier than some men, but because women have been screwed over and “played” so many times the men are judged based on the acts of so many other men.

Nowadays, these womanizing acts are frowned upon a lot more than they were in earlier times.Men are not the only ones performing these acts. As I stated previously, Mrs. Fainall and Mrs. Marwood were speaking of how they like to manipulate men, so, it is not just men who are doing the manipulating. But sometimes, the reason for women doing the manipulating is because they have been hurt by a man in some way. In Act III the reader begins to see the plot unfold, but at the same time unravel. One scene that stood out was when the reader sees how the feelings that Mrs. Marwood has for Mirabell quickly change; her love becomes hatred. What I found interesting was the connection between two of Congreve’s plays. In his play The Mourning Bride, lies the famous line “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and in The Way of the World Mrs. Marwood is the woman who is being scorned. By this scene, and by that relating line, the reader can tell that Mrs. Marwood seeks revenge. Her revenge involves telling Lady Wishfort about Mirabell’s plot in hopes that Lady Wishfort’s feelings toward Mirabell will arise, causing her to foil the plan.

Obviously, we can see the dangers in messing with a woman’s heart. Manipulation can go a long way, and so does lack of trust. Any relationship, whether marriage, friendship, or dating, needs trust; at the conclusion of the play we see the “friendship” between Mrs. Marwood and Lady Wishfort wither. When Fainall is revealed as the villain in the play, and Mrs. Marwood being his protégé, Lady Wishfort clearly sees that the friendship that she and Marwood had was a lie; and as a result she forgives Mirabell for the past, and allows him to marry her niece. This play is filled with a lot of information and is hard to follow at times; as a reader, you have to read the lines very carefully or else you will miss what the author is trying to say. Though, in some parts it was hard to understand and follow along with, other parts made up for that and helped me grasp the message that Congreve was trying to show. Trust and faith are what makes for lasting relationships, and manipulation will get you nowhere. If you want to succeed in anything, especially relationships, do not play with the emotions of your partner; trust them and give them a reason to trust you; and if you marry someone do not marry them for the wrong reasons and have them believe that you love them when you don’t, because that is manipulation, and it will come back to bite you. In my opinion, Congreve was saying that love is found through trust and faith, and once you can trust someone, then, you can love someone.