Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Way of the World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Jealousy, Deceit, and Intrigue
Wits and Fools
Men vs. Women
Female (In)dependence
Love and Money
Summary
Analysis
Once they are alone, Mrs. Fainall tells Millamant that Wilfull has gotten so drunk and noisy that her mother had to leave Sir Rowland’s side to go out and quiet him. She adds that Wilfull was quarreling with Petulant the last time she saw him.
Poor Wishfort, it seems, can have no peace in her house. Though Wilfull is an obvious nuisance to her, she doesn’t realize that he isn’t her biggest problem, given the secret engagement.
Themes
Millamant, totally ignoring everything that Mrs. Fainall has just said, admits to Mrs. Fainall that she loves Mirabell “violently.” Mrs. Fainall is exasperated and tells her that if she ever doubts Mirabell, then she should marry Wilfull. Millamant is disgusted by this idea.
Mrs. Fainall has reached the limits of her patience with Millamant. She bluntly points out how lucky Millamant is to be engaged to Mirabell rather than forced to marry Sir Wilfull.
Themes
